On Jun 26, 3:50 pm, Lew Hodgett wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

I'm leaning
towards a short auger style bit - under $15 at HD which should get me
through this project. After all the slots are cut, I'll round them all
over with my router. so a little tearout on the bottom won't be
problem.

- Obviously, initial price, not quality, is the controlling issue.
-
- Lew

To a certain extent, yes. Although once I use my router to round over
the slots, top and bottom, there will be no way to tell what I used to
cut the holes and slots - an expensive carbide forstner bit or a HSS
spade bit from Harbor Fright.

Keep in mind that I am making bat hangers that will be attached to the
fences at a couple of high school softball fields. I can't stop the
kids from hanging on them, trying to use them as a step to climb the
fence, or even just ripping them off for the fun of it after a few
beers. I'd be very surprised if they last through the summer, so I'm
not going to drop a whole lot of money into specialty bits that I may
never use again. That's why I was hoping the old hole saw that I had
hanging around would have done the job, but it looks like I need to
spend a little money simply to make the job to go easier.

My hope is that if the athletic department or sports booster club sees
what I've done and likes the idea of bat hangers for the dugouts,
they'll spend some of their money for something more permanent. If
they ask me to make them, at that point I won't mind spending *their*
money on a carbide forstner bit, a new bandsaw blade, a new router bit
and some marine-grade plywood. For now, since this a labor of love
being performed with my own time and money, initial price is indeed a
controlling factor.