On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:11:22 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:

I bought a bunch of drill bits at yard sales recently. Some only have
flutes about a third of the way up the shaft, then clear shaft. They're as
long as normal bits, so they haven't been resharpened until becoming that
short. Can someone explain these to me?


Sounds like what I know as aircraft drills. Though I've never poked
holes in airplanes, I assume they're intended for drilling thin
materials in awkward spots where the extra stiffness of the unfluted
shank is desirable.

--
Ned Simmons