Dennis wrote:
If you keep your eye on all the HF catalogs you receive... you can find
their 7 piece forstner set in Titanium for $7.95 and once in a while I find
them for $3.99... yes I did say $3.99. I usually buy 3 or four sets at that
price and after a few holes, I sell them at my next garage sale and open up
a new box!

I'll second that. I got a cheapo set from HF a few years ago, planning
to replace them as soon as they wore out. I've been using them
semi-regularly since then, and have yet to wear them out! I did get
some of the HSS forstners from LV in my more commonly used sizes, and
they do cut cleaner and spin truer, but I find I'm more worried about
burning them, just because each bit cost more than my whole HF set.
When I need a really smooth or precise hole, I look for the LV bits,
but if I'm drilling through melamine-coated chipboard or something that
would tend to dull the bits, or if I just need a quick deepish hole for
doweling or countersinking or something, the HF bits are more than
adequate. Mine aren't even the gold-colored TiN. Maybe $5 for the
7-piece set IIRC?
Hope this helps,
Andy