Soft Wood Auger Bits

[Joe Tilson]

Does anyone make auger bit sets for soft wood anymore? I have looked in nearly all the catalogs and online with no results. I am going to Ace in a little while to look at the Irwin fast track bits. I am tired of going to flea markets and antique stores and finding mostly junk or mixed sets of what ever they can throw together. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

[lowell holmes]

Look here.

https://www.homedepot.com/s/auger%2520bit?NCNI-5

[Joe Tilson]

Sorry Lowell, I've already looked at all of these. The ones I am looking for have a larger thread, instead of the fine thread used today. As an example, 13 threads per inch verses 8 threads per inch. I want ( like in days of old ) something that will bite into the wood rather than stripping out.
Thank you just the same.
Regards,
Joe

[Frank Pratt]

Any of the home centers or hardware stores carry them, up to about 16" long. Lee Valley has a selection of auger bits. Just about any electrical distributor will have 16" auger bits, but usually only a few sizes in the 1/2" - 1" range.

[chris carter]

If you mean Irwin bits, I believe Irwin still makes them. The quality is reportedly not so good though. But if you bought them on Amazon or something you could just keep returning until you got ones that weren't defective.... A lot more trouble than buying used though. When I bought a half set of matched Irwin style bits there were plenty of options on the bay and it took me less than a week to find a set in extremely good condition for a very fair price.

[Brian Hale]

Have you looked at Jim Bode Tools, he always has a few sets for sale

[Joe Tilson]

Fellows,
Back in the day they made two styles of auger bit, one for hard wood and one for soft wood. I am looking for a set of soft wood bits which have a wider thread in order to bite into the softer wood. All I have been able to find lately is a finer thread auger bit. The fast track bit from Irwin strips out in some soft woods. It seems I need to talk to some of the older woodworkers back in TN. Lookout Clear Branch old Til is coming home. It use to be young Til. Thank you for your responses.
Regards,
Joe
Thanks Brian I'll give him a try.

[Steve Voigt]

Joe, a lot of knowledgeable people recommend the Wood Owl bits. I have not used them, but they might be worth a look. LV sells them and the have a free shipping event through 1/7.
As an aside, the claim that Irwin pattern bits are for softwood and Jennings pattern for hardwood is debatable…IME both types work in hard and soft woods. I've been using a vintage set of Irwins for years in all types of wood. If the screw strips out, it's usually because the cutting edges need attending to--if they are not sharp enough, the back pressure will cause the screw tip to pop out.

[Derek Cohen]

While the lead screws are intended to differentiate soft- and hard woods by their degree of fine/coarseness, you can circumvent this by using a trick for drilling hardwoods with a brace, especially large bits: first drill a pilot hole for the lead screw. 1/16” is good. This allows the screw to use the pilot hole to pull itself through the wood, rather than having to both cut and pull. The screw thread is no longer a factor. The sharpness of the bit is all important.
Regards from Berlin
Derek

[Derek Cohen]

Joe, a lot of knowledgeable people recommend the Wood Owl bits. I have not used them, but they might be worth a look. LV sells them and the have a free shipping event through 1/7.
As an aside, the claim that Irwin pattern bits are for softwood and Jennings pattern for hardwood is debatable…IME both types work in hard and soft woods. I've been using a vintage set of Irwins for years in all types of wood. If the screw strips out, it's usually because the cutting edges need attending to--if they are not sharp enough, the back pressure will cause the screw tip to pop out.

I have sets of both Jennings (always liked these the most) and Irwin, but now use WoodOwl – on the right for a brace, and Star-M on the left for the drill press (for staked legs) ..





WoodOwl for the brace have 3 cutting edges ..



Regards from Berlin

Derek

[Steve Voigt]

Hey Derek,
Are the wood owl bits soft enough to sharpen with a standard auger bit file?

[chris carter]

To Joe, what do you mean by “Irwin fast track bit”? I tried googling and didn’t find anything. I have a set of Irwin hand brace auger bits and pull them through either hard wood or soft wood without problems. They have the same coarse threads I’ve seen on all other Irwin bits.

To Derek, I continually see people praising the Wood Owl bits; are these the “ultra smooth” ones? Additionally, are you using a hex adapter in the brace or just chucking them up directly into the brace?

[Derek Cohen]

Hey Derek,
Are the wood owl bits soft enough to sharpen with a standard auger bit file?

Steve, I have no personal experience ... yet. I have moderate use with them to date, and no need to sharpen. However .. I have seen Ishitani (on YouTube) sharpening the Star-M bits with a file, so the answer is likely to be yes.

Edit to add: I see on Timberwolf Tools, link earlier, that they offer a "Feather-Type Resharpening File" for the Wood Owl bits.

Regards from Berlin

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

T....
To Derek, I continually see people praising the Wood Owl bits; are these the “ultra smooth” ones? Additionally, are you using a hex adapter in the brace or just chucking them up directly into the brace?

Chris, yes .. these are the ultra smooth type.. Also yes to using them directly in the braces (North Bros Bell System).

Edit to add picture ...



Here is a link: https://www.timberwolftools.com/wood...tri-cut-augers

I purchased the Star-M from Workshop Heaven (UK): https://www.workshopheaven.com/shop-...nd/star-m.html

Regards from Berlin

Derek

[Steve Voigt]

Steve, I have no personal experience ... yet. I have moderate use with them to date, and no need to sharpen. However .. I have seen Ishitani (on YouTube) sharpening the Star-M bits with a file, so the answer is likely to be yes.

Edit to add: I see on Timberwolf Tools, link earlier, that they offer a "Feather-Type Resharpening File" for the Wood Owl bits.

Regards from Berlin

Derek

Interesting…that file looks quite a bit different from a standard auger file. I suppose because the wood owl bits have 3 spurs instead of the traditional two. But at least it suggests, as you say, that the bits can be sharpened, which is essential. For me, the best thing about vintage bits is how easy they are to touch up with a file.