Whiteside Spiral Bits

[Mark W Pugh]

OK, so I'm having a hard time drilling shelf pin holes. I made a jig and used the bits from Rockler designed to drill holes. I have a 1/4 and 9/32 bit. Both of them ripped the crap out of the plywood. I believe my drill speed was not high enough, according to my previous thread.

So, I ordered a Whiteside 1/4 spiral downcut bit, recommended by someone on this board, and a 9/32 upcut bit. Using the same jig I made, and a collar on the router, I plunged the holes. Guess what? No tear out, but both holes are too big!! AARGH!! Plus, the downcut bit burnt the wood.

Where am I going wrong in trying to make shelf pin holes???

[Prashun Patel]

Are you sure your pins are not undersized?

[Victor Robinson]

Are your pins 5mm? (e.g. Ikea pins)

[william watts]

You my have pins that are 5mm, they're a tight fit in a 3/16 in. hole. You may have that size. Prashun is on track with the undersize pin suggestion. Get some 1/4 in. pins to use with your 1/4 in. bit.

[Mark W Pugh]

Are you sure your pins are not undersized?

The pins and the sleeves fit the holes that the Rockler bits made. It's just that the Rockler drill pin bits chipped the crap out of the ply. This is why I tried the router route.

[John TenEyck]

I use the spring loaded Rockler bit and it works fine in plywood IF you run it at high speed and slowly plunge it into the wood. I use it with Rockler's plexiglass shelf pin guide with a corded drill that must run at something greater than 2000 rpm. Full speed + slowly plunge into the wood = smooth holes for me. 1/4" shelf pins fit perfectly in the 1/4" holes, not too loose, not too tight, just right.

John

[Art Mann]

My experience with the Rockler bit is the same as John's. My results using their shelf pin system were flawless.

[Mark W Pugh]

My experience with the Rockler bit is the same as John's. My results using their shelf pin system were flawless.

I guess I will go back and practice with the Rockler bits with my ELECTRIC drill. Still, it's pissing me off with the Whiteside bits and router combo!!

Thanks

[Thomas Hotchkin]

FYI
I use a 3/16" Veining high speed steel bit for all of my 5mm shelf pin holes with a shop made fixture and my router no burning no tear out, I have picked up this type of bit for under $2.00 on sale. One high speed steel bit will last for over 300 holes. Also works with 1/4" Veining bit for that size hole. Hope this helps . Tom

[Mark W Pugh]

FYI
I use a 3/16" Veining high speed steel bit for all of my 5mm shelf pin holes with a shop made fixture and my router no burning no tear out, I have picked up this type of bit for under $2.00 on sale. One high speed steel bit will last for over 300 holes. Also works with 1/4" Veining bit for that size hole. Hope this helps . Tom

Yes!! So the 1/4 bit will produce the hole required for the 1/4 shelf pin. I'm just being a little gun shy here after using the Whiteside bits with failure being the prevelant outcome.

I want to use shelf pin sleeves, so who has the best router bit for that (9/32)?

[Tony Joyce]

Yes!! So the 1/4 bit will produce the hole required for the 1/4 shelf pin. I'm just being a little gun shy here after using the Whiteside bits with failure being the prevelant outcome.

I want to use shelf pin sleeves, so who has the best router bit for that (9/32)?

The culprit could be run out on the router, if the holes are larger than the bit.

Tony

[Steve Baumgartner]

The pins and the sleeves fit the holes that the Rockler bits made. It's just that the Rockler drill pin bits chipped the crap out of the ply. This is why I tried the router route.
I won't defend Rockler's bits, but they sell both 1/4 inch and 5mm pins and sleeves. You should check the part numbers to see which you have. That could be why you can't get a good fit using the Whiteside bits.

[Tom Walz]

If there is a problem with Whiteside bits they would really like to know about it. As a matter of fact, so would we.

We sell Whiteside and a problem with them is very rare. Not impossible, of course, just extremely rare.

We don't show that we sold you those bits but we would still like to buy them from you. Call Whitney at 800 346-8274 (8-4, M-F West Coast) and she will take care of you or email csq@carbideprocessors.com

Tom

[glenn bradley]

I am jealous of the folks who had success with the Rockler spring loaded bit. Mine drill poor holes and heated up so much it stuck to the plastic guide. I have read good and poor reviews and can only attribute this to inconsistent product quality(?). A 1/4" Whiteside carbide upcut spiral at 30k RPM in a plunge router with a template guide yields flawless results with the same jig.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I second the up cut bit. I also tried the down cut & it burnt the hole. Up cut didn't....I never had good success with the spring loaded Rockler bit. Tore to much even with a high speed drill.

[John TenEyck]

I am jealous of the folks who had success with the Rockler spring loaded bit. Mine drill poor holes and heated up so much it stuck to the plastic guide. I have read good and poor reviews and can only attribute this to inconsistent product quality(?). A 1/4" Whiteside carbide upcut spiral at 30k RPM in a plunge router with a template guide yields flawless results with the same jig.

Glenn, my guess is that if the Rockler spring loaded bit melted the plastic guide then the drill was bound up with wood chips so that it took the outer bushing with it. I've seen that happen with mine if I don't constantly check to make sure the chips are clearing.

John

[Phil Thien]

The Rockler bit is terrible. It does shred plywood veneers. As an emergency measure, you can run the drill in reverse to score the holes, then go back to forward and drill them.

The bit that tears the least for me was a Woodcraft-branded one. They sell replacement bits separately, but I think they may be too long for the Rockler jig. The Woodcraft spring-loaded bit I bought on clearance for something like $4 worked great up until the mechanism that holds the entire thing together fell apart.

[Mark W Pugh]

The culprit could be run out on the router, if the holes are larger than the bit.

Tony

That could be the culprit. So, I'm still stuck with finding a way to do this. Everything is always difficult in my world!!!

[John TenEyck]

The Rockler bit is terrible. It does shred plywood veneers. As an emergency measure, you can run the drill in reverse to score the holes, then go back to forward and drill them.

The bit that tears the least for me was a Woodcraft-branded one. They sell replacement bits separately, but I think they may be too long for the Rockler jig. The Woodcraft spring-loaded bit I bought on clearance for something like $4 worked great up until the mechanism that holds the entire thing together fell apart.

Either my Rockler bit is different than yours or I use it differently, because it cuts nice clean holes for me in veneered plywood.

John

[Phil Thien]

Either my Rockler bit is different than yours or I use it differently, because it cuts nice clean holes for me in veneered plywood.

John

Maybe. But even your advice to run it at a high speed and plunge slowly seems to acknowledge that your bit may not cut as well as a typical brand-point bit, as I certainly don't have to make any special efforts like that with any of my other brad-point bits, self-centering or not.

For the record I do use a high-speed corded drill for shelf-pin holes. The thing is, the bit I had from Woodcraft drilled w/o tearout without having to be accommodated with high speed or slow plunging, the Rockler just couldn't match it. The Woodcraft bit did finally fall apart, though.

I was also in Rockler once when someone came in with the same shelf pin bit and was complaining about tearout.

And there have been threads here and other forums about the bit, as well.

And Rockler's previous site's owner reviews of the bits was very mixed, if I recall correctly.

[Rick Potter]

My Rockler bit was not that great, but the Snappy bit is better, so I have used the Rockler, and later the Peachtree jig for years. That being said, you guys have given me an idea. Never considered it before, but I have a little lightweight Trend plunge router that plunges very easily, as opposed to my 690. It also has good dust collection. I think I will try it next time I do shelf pin holes. I have several walk in closet remodels to do, and it might just be a better way for me, because of bad rotator cuffs, the drill gets awful heavy.

Rick Potter