40mm forstner bit

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mac1012

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I am looking for a 40mm bit as my wholesale customer wants me to cut some tea light candle holder blanks and I want to use it for myself for my own holders

stevebuk when I was searching I came across a thread by you on here and you said you were going with colt but I cant see them on ax site now I believe they changed to fisch I seen a fisch wave cutter on there for 20 notes just wondered what you went with and how it performs

Geoff I know you cut tea lights etc and wondered what you use

I had a 50mm cheap forstner bit of ebay that cut ok ish for some glass candle holders I wondering whether to just get a cheap bit or pay a bit more

any advice anyone ??

I seen some mention titanium coated but I wonder if that's just a selling blurb as the coating wont last long I would have thought or maybe I am wrong

mark
 
I make lots of candle holders and I also see candle holders others have made at the craft fairs and many make the mistake of not using a glass holder to hold the tea light and I feel this is important as the tee light generates a lot of heat. I have found the best size of forstner bit is imperial 1 and 7/8ths. I am sure I got mine from Axminster and the best type are the saw tooth type rather than the ones with just 2 spurs. The holes I make give the glass holder a nice snug fit in the 18mm thick hardwood I use. I drill within about 3mm of the bottom of the wood by setting the stop on the drill press and then testing it on a scrap piece of wood.

When I was helping a friend set up her workshop she had a small drill press and it did not have the torque for candle holders. I have a large Jet drill press, which is a beast of a machine with lots of torque. You need to have a very firm hand on the wood when drilling or make up a jig to hold the candle holder and clamp it to the drill press table. The forstner bits you see in the pound shops are rubbish. I have also bought bits from e bay that have been good but there is a lot of rubbish out there. When I was researching forstner bits I did find quite a few sites selling them.
 
I know Geoff I have made quite a few before couple of years back with glass holder I want to make some with just the tealight in so I only need advice on what quality bits there are.

my drill press is only standard but does the job fine

thanks mark
 
some links to anywhere anyone has where you got any bits or makes would be handy unless they are g14 classified 8) 8)
 
Hi

My advice would be to buy a saw toothed bit - my choice of manufacturer for regularly used bits is Clico

http://www.flinn-garlick-saws.co.uk/aca ... utter.html

although at £50+ for a 40mm I suspect this may be more than you wish to pay. I seem to remember people liking the Fische bits supplied by Axi but I've no first hand experience of them.

As for Titanium nitride, (TiN), coated tools - I have examples of drills and turning tools but, to be honest, I don't experience any marked advantage over the uncoated versions - I wouldn't pay a premium for TiN coated tools.

Regards Mick
 
thanks spindle yeah it is a bit I don't mind going to 30 , I seen some on ebay coated cheap not saw toothed for a few bucks but I guess the coating is not really any benefit

I found some at reasonable price on ebay sawtoothed for 16 pound but the length to long at 150 mm as I doing some end grain blocks on pillar drill

on another note Geoff I have a couple of tealight holders in my house without glass holder they don't generate lot of heat in fact you can hold a tealight in your hand and let it burn down without it getting very hot so I don't thnk heat is an issue , if you look no ebay there is loads wooden without the holder the ones I am doing wholesale there isn't room for a glass holder , I think they can look effective without any holder , easier to drill and no cost of holder , I guess its down to what you prefer so I don't see it as a mistake as you stated.

mark
 
ok thanks guys , steve what size did you get ? weren't sure if 40mm would be enough clearance for tea to get in and out and can you provide link if possible as I cant see it on ax site is it the same as spindle has put the link to ?

thanks a lot mark
 
i have this set http://www.screwfix.com/p/forstner-bits ... -set/83345. I am sure that I paid about 20 quid and it comes on sale quite often. They are probably not up there with bits that cost £20 each, but I have found them to cut well in the 12+ months that I have had the set- pretty sure that I used some Christmas money last year to buy them.

I believe that for end grain, a saw tooth bit is better- never used one, or done much end grain drilling, so cant confirm or deny.

I did buy a set of imperial ones off somebody- they were sold to me as no name and priced accordingly. They were universally rubbish- probably echoing what Geoff says above. The screwfix ones were recommended on here and I am happy with them.

You are in a slightly different situation to me- i wanted a set whereas you have a desire for a single sized hole. It may be that a single famag, colt etc is worth the money
 
Not sure what size candles you want to use mark, just check that you can get a good supply of the same size ones , I bought some from home base and the wife bought me some from morrisons and although they looked the same they were completely different.
Yes I bought the 40 mm
 
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