Used Auger Bits for Brace

[Doug Mason]

If I buy used auger bits from E-Bay, will I be shooting myself in the foot in trying to resharpen these w/a file (never used a brace before)? I'm assuming by default that any bits from ebay will need work.

New one's are expensive, and as I find sharpening plane blades/chisels to be a non-issue (I use oilstones and a felt wheel), I thought it might be worth a try.

[Richard Niemiec]

What I use are diamond honing sticks (DMT makes 'em) to sharpen the inside edges (never the outside edges) of the bits, and it works for me. Parenthetically, I just sold a 10 bit Irwin (old stock) set in an oak box this past week in the Creek classifieds which were sweet, for $60, and all were in good shape with lots of life at the working ends of the bits. That'll give you an idea about pricing.

On the bay, you have to be pretty careful as many of the working edges of bits are way worn down, and its difficult to tell from the pictures how much life is left in the bits without closeups or eyeballing them. They can look real purdy in the pics, but disappoint you once you get a close up look and put them thru their paces. Sort of like women who use a lot of makeup........

RN

[Pam Niedermayer]

...Sort of like women who use a lot of makeup........

Or men who use grecian formula and wear girdles... Welcome to the 20th century, Richard.

Doug, you can buy an auger file that makes the inside sharpening a bit easier. You also need to worry about the threaded screws. I've had very good luck on ebay.

Pam

[Marcus Ward]

I'm with Pam. I got 18 bits in a roll for 16.99 buy it now a couple of weeks ago, most are great, all are at least servicable. Keep your eyes peeled and get that file for sharpening bits from lee valley. Makes things a lot easier.

[Richard Niemiec]

Touche, Pam, but in the 20th Century my comment would have passed muster, but given we're in the 21st, you're right. My apologies, it's just that men who use grecian formula and wear girdles never seem to catch my eye.....but women generally do......in the end its all about pretending to be something you ain't.....

RN

[Anchor Sarslow]

I have a couple of spoon bits I like a lot. But they dont start as well as the augers. I like the smoothness of the holes I make with em beter though.

[Ken Werner]

Auger bits show up alot at garage sales too, often for very little.
I like using an auger file, works pretty well.

Ken

[Bill Houghton]

North Coast California is not a treasure trove of old tools, but I've picked up whole buckets of auger bits for $5 - and you can inspect them. Also, a Russell Jennings set (1/4" - 1", with one wrong bit) for $10, and I think the old Craftsman Irwin-type set was $5 or $7 or something.

Takes time, though, which you may not have much of; or maybe you live in an area without garage sales.

Screw-type auger bits are another whole slippery slope. There are the Jennings type double twist bits, on which the lead screw is fine pitch, intended for hardwood; Irwin type solid center single twist bits, with coarse pitch lead screw, intended for carpenters; and lots of other variations. So mull over your intended use before buying, unless you find a hit at a garage sale, in which case, of course, buy away.

Suggestions if buying in the flesh: find a flat spot on a table top or something and roll a few of the bits across the table (on small-diameter bits, you have to hang the square taper over the edge of the table). You can easily see bent bits this way. Also inspect the lead screw for fairly clean threads; I understand they can be sharpened by starting the bit in a piece of pine, removing it, squirting some valve grinding compound from your local auto parts store into the center, and then running the lead screw in and out of that several times. Finally, if you're getting a bit with spurs - the parts at the outer diameter at the nose of the bit that score the limit of the hole - make sure they've got some length left.

[Ruston Hughes]

Doug,

Here's a link to an article on how to rehab a brace and bits.

http://www.cornishworkshop.co.uk/bracecleaning.html

I bought a set of 6 Irwin bits off eBay for about $20 and was able to get them working nicely. An auger bit file is very helpful.
As long as the bits are not bent, the lead screws are OK and the spurs haven't been filed on the outside you should be able to get them working. When looking at bits on ebay I focus on the business end of the bit and skip postings that don't provide a good picture of the tips. Rust can be removed but lead screws and spurs that are boogered up (Texas technical term) are not worth the trouble.

Also FWIW, I only have the coarse threaded Irwin bits but have had no problems using them in hardwood.

[Kevin French]

Doug got to second, (third?) the fact that these bits are everywhere if you look for them. I've had almost 200, most from the dump, to include the Irvin set w/box Richard sold, no make-up OR grecian needed on this set.

I've seen several references on sharpening these bits.

Keep your eyes open and don't rush the buy

[Bill Brehme]

Whatever ya do, dont let your surface rusted bits sit in phosphoric acid overnight!!!

Yep, I did.:rolleyes:

I thought, well, as long as it is still fizzing, it is still ferreting out that dang evil rust! What it was really doing was fizzing off the threads of my screw guide tip.:( And basically turned the entire surface of my bit into 80 grit sandpaper!!!:mad:

The fact that I did it at work (in front of my coworkers) just poured salt on the wound.:mad: :mad: :mad:

Live and learn!:D