Joshua Murphy
03-09-2021, 3:25 PM
First thread here. Been shopping for brad point bits and grateful for opinions on this site. I looked around and found a couple of old brad point bit threads from 2018 at the newest (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?264522-BRad-point-bits). That was a great thread, but the "best set" discussion centered around a $269 drill bit set. I paid $150 for my old radial arm drill press including the maybe $50 for a new switch and chuck. (Lotta elbow grease and oil, though). I'm not sure I'm ready to spend that when I drill about half my holes with a bit brace anyway.
I'm interested in knowing if any new "best set"s are out there, but also curious if anyone here has tried out this USA-made brand I just found, Montana Brand Tools (I think the manufacturer is Rocky Mountain Twist, or else the Montana Brand is a dba for marketing purposes). Have you used their stuff? Does it hold up?
I was intrigued by the fact that they hold a patent on their X29 brad point bits (https://www.montanabrandtools.com/collections/x29-bradpoint-drill-bits), and their testing videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOAuyTj71N4) show the bits drilling clean holes at crazy speeds. And the bits are like $5 a piece. They only make 6 sizes, but they are sizes I often need, so I took a chance and ordered a kit that contains: one 6-piece set of black oxide finished brad point bits, two retractable-center plug cutters, and a combination pilot drill/driver. Here's a brief first-impressions review of what I received:
Haven't put it all through the paces yet, but I'm so impressed with what I just unboxed that I wanted to share.
The bits are SHARP. They feel and (more importantly) roll dead straight. Even the flutes feel like they could cut my fingers.
Plug cutters seem fine; I wanted some self centering ones to use in my hand drill, and so I got them in this kit. I'll need to test them out.
The combination drill and driver is super-impressive. I didn't even think I needed this,but I am genuinely excited about it. Feels pretty high quality, but time will tell.
This is one of those "drill/countersink, flip, drive" sets you see at Rockler and other places, but significantly better design, IMO.
The driver bit and the drill are held into the reversible armature with BOTH grub screws and a strong magnet. Same size grub screw holds on the countersink. This makes it impossible (or at least really difficult) to drop and lose a bit while loosening the grub screw for a changeover. It also takes all the wobble out of the driver bit (at least at that one point of contact) because it slips into a magnetic holder and then gets cranked down. Solid.
The Driver Housing that the reversible armature goes into (the part that attaches to your impact driver) features a spring-loaded ball bearing to hold in the armature and THAT is backed up with a snap-to-lock collar. Impressive. The Rockler one definitely doesn't have that.
The first thing I noticed was they included a tube full of replacement pilot drill bits and even an extra grub screw. Classy move.
Then I couldn't find the &$*$( hex key anywhere. How do you design something this nice and not include a place to keep the hex key? I take it all apart, looking for hidden chambers in the tool box. No luck. Finally, I dig through the trash for the package and read the instructions on the box. The HEX KEY IS BUILT IN (PRESS FIT) TO THE BOTTOM OF THE DRIVER HOUSING. So the whole driver housing can be used as a screwdriver to tighten and loosen ANY grub screw on the reversible armature. That should also keep me from cranking down too hard on the set screws with an Allen key.
Okay, so that's first impressions. A real in-use review will have to wait a week or two probably. Please comment if you've used their stuff and have opinions.
Thanks, all
I'm interested in knowing if any new "best set"s are out there, but also curious if anyone here has tried out this USA-made brand I just found, Montana Brand Tools (I think the manufacturer is Rocky Mountain Twist, or else the Montana Brand is a dba for marketing purposes). Have you used their stuff? Does it hold up?
I was intrigued by the fact that they hold a patent on their X29 brad point bits (https://www.montanabrandtools.com/collections/x29-bradpoint-drill-bits), and their testing videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOAuyTj71N4) show the bits drilling clean holes at crazy speeds. And the bits are like $5 a piece. They only make 6 sizes, but they are sizes I often need, so I took a chance and ordered a kit that contains: one 6-piece set of black oxide finished brad point bits, two retractable-center plug cutters, and a combination pilot drill/driver. Here's a brief first-impressions review of what I received:
Haven't put it all through the paces yet, but I'm so impressed with what I just unboxed that I wanted to share.
The bits are SHARP. They feel and (more importantly) roll dead straight. Even the flutes feel like they could cut my fingers.
Plug cutters seem fine; I wanted some self centering ones to use in my hand drill, and so I got them in this kit. I'll need to test them out.
The combination drill and driver is super-impressive. I didn't even think I needed this,but I am genuinely excited about it. Feels pretty high quality, but time will tell.
This is one of those "drill/countersink, flip, drive" sets you see at Rockler and other places, but significantly better design, IMO.
The driver bit and the drill are held into the reversible armature with BOTH grub screws and a strong magnet. Same size grub screw holds on the countersink. This makes it impossible (or at least really difficult) to drop and lose a bit while loosening the grub screw for a changeover. It also takes all the wobble out of the driver bit (at least at that one point of contact) because it slips into a magnetic holder and then gets cranked down. Solid.
The Driver Housing that the reversible armature goes into (the part that attaches to your impact driver) features a spring-loaded ball bearing to hold in the armature and THAT is backed up with a snap-to-lock collar. Impressive. The Rockler one definitely doesn't have that.
The first thing I noticed was they included a tube full of replacement pilot drill bits and even an extra grub screw. Classy move.
Then I couldn't find the &$*$( hex key anywhere. How do you design something this nice and not include a place to keep the hex key? I take it all apart, looking for hidden chambers in the tool box. No luck. Finally, I dig through the trash for the package and read the instructions on the box. The HEX KEY IS BUILT IN (PRESS FIT) TO THE BOTTOM OF THE DRIVER HOUSING. So the whole driver housing can be used as a screwdriver to tighten and loosen ANY grub screw on the reversible armature. That should also keep me from cranking down too hard on the set screws with an Allen key.
Okay, so that's first impressions. A real in-use review will have to wait a week or two probably. Please comment if you've used their stuff and have opinions.
Thanks, all