I have seen these bits being demo'd in a video and was pretty impressed.
The video shows how these bits continue to drill very nice clean holes well
past the competitors ability. Looked a bit too good to be true.

My lovely and dear wife bought me a set of Colt Twinland brad point bits for
Fathers day and while I appreciated the effort and thought, these bits were
not the "5 Star" bits that Colt manufactures. So, she and I took the bits
back to Woodcraft tonight and made an exchange for one 3/8" "5" Star bit.
Comparing the bits in the store I can say that the 5 Star bit reminded me
of the Kreg pocket hole bits as far as quality is concerned.

Anyway I put the bit in my new DP and tried it out. To see if the bit
indeed would cut as cleanly as the video indicated I elevated a piece of
3/4" thick Ipe and a piece of Oak 3/4" above the DP table so that the pieces
of wood would not be supported as the bit exited the bottom of the wood.
You know, you normally back the wood up so that there will be no tear out
when the bit exits.

On both pieces of wood there was no burning, there was no chip build up in
the flutes and the exit holes were as clean as the entry holes, with no back
up board. Absolutely no tear out on the bottom exit sides on any of the
holes

Pretty darn clean cutting bits they are.

If you decide to try'em out for your self, they are kinda expensive. IIRC a
7 piece set in a wooden box is around $80. the single 3/8" bit was about
$14. BE SURE to get the "5Star" Twinland Colt Bits.

You can see the video through Infinitytools,
http://www.infinitytools.com/prodinf...number=101-170

On Jun 25, 8:40*pm, "Leon" wrote:

I have seen these bits being demo'd in a *video and was pretty impressed.
The video shows how these bits continue to drill very nice clean holes well
past the competitors ability. *Looked a bit too good to be true.

Sigh.

Yeah, if it looks too good, it probably is. Just tonight I was at the
resurrected woodturning club meeting which is held at Woodcraft.

I saw those on the display, and they looked a bit rough, but at $15, I
thought what the heck.

Then I found the recently restocked wood scrap bin where I found all
manner of exotics that I could use for knife scales. So I bought wood
instead of bits.

It was working on me though... I might have gone back over after
mulling it a bit more.

Thanks for the good (and timely!) report.

Robert

Leon wrote:
I have seen these bits being demo'd in a video and was pretty impressed.
The video shows how these bits continue to drill very nice clean holes well
past the competitors ability. Looked a bit too good to be true.

My lovely and dear wife bought me a set of Colt Twinland brad point bits for
Fathers day and while I appreciated the effort and thought, these bits were
not the "5 Star" bits that Colt manufactures. So, she and I took the bits
back to Woodcraft tonight and made an exchange for one 3/8" "5" Star bit.
Comparing the bits in the store I can say that the 5 Star bit reminded me
of the Kreg pocket hole bits as far as quality is concerned.

Anyway I put the bit in my new DP and tried it out. To see if the bit
indeed would cut as cleanly as the video indicated I elevated a piece of
3/4" thick Ipe and a piece of Oak 3/4" above the DP table so that the pieces
of wood would not be supported as the bit exited the bottom of the wood.
You know, you normally back the wood up so that there will be no tear out
when the bit exits.

On both pieces of wood there was no burning, there was no chip build up in
the flutes and the exit holes were as clean as the entry holes, with no back
up board. Absolutely no tear out on the bottom exit sides on any of the
holes

Pretty darn clean cutting bits they are.

If you decide to try'em out for your self, they are kinda expensive. IIRC a
7 piece set in a wooden box is around $80. the single 3/8" bit was about
$14. BE SURE to get the "5Star" Twinland Colt Bits.

A couple of years back, I bought this set of 7 bits from Lee Valley:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...%2c180%2c42240

(for about 2/3 of todya's price IIRC) and have used 'em a /lot/, mostly
in UHMWPE and Baltic Birch. They're a bit pricey, but they /still/
produce cleaner holes than any other brad points I've ever used.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

Leon wrote:
I have seen these bits being demo'd in a video and was pretty
impressed. The video shows how these bits continue to drill very
nice clean holes well past the competitors ability. Looked a bit
too good to be true.

My lovely and dear wife bought me a set of Colt Twinland brad point
bits for Fathers day and while I appreciated the effort and thought,
these bits were not the "5 Star" bits that Colt manufactures. So,
she and I took the bits back to Woodcraft tonight and made an
exchange for one 3/8" "5" Star bit. Comparing the bits in the store
I can say that the 5 Star bit reminded me of the Kreg pocket hole
bits as far as quality is concerned.

Anyway I put the bit in my new DP and tried it out. To see if the
bit indeed would cut as cleanly as the video indicated I elevated a
piece of 3/4" thick Ipe and a piece of Oak 3/4" above the DP table
so that the pieces of wood would not be supported as the bit exited
the bottom of the wood. You know, you normally back the wood up so
that there will be no tear out when the bit exits.

On both pieces of wood there was no burning, there was no chip build
up in the flutes and the exit holes were as clean as the entry
holes, with no back up board. Absolutely no tear out on the bottom
exit sides on any of the holes

Pretty darn clean cutting bits they are.

If you decide to try'em out for your self, they are kinda expensive.
IIRC a 7 piece set in a wooden box is around $80. the single 3/8"
bit was about $14. BE SURE to get the "5Star" Twinland Colt Bits.

If you start out with a Freud carbide forstner set, then use the 5Star
bits to fill in the blanks, it's not so much of a hit.

The Freud set contains 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 1, and 1-3/8(35mm).

Lew

I bought this "box o' brad point bits" from Woodcraft when they were
on sale for like $29.99. http://www.woodcraft.com/product.asp...FamilyID=20268

170 different sized brad points bits. Pretty handy to have around. I
can vouch that they do drill holes and only about one in 10 (so far)
have so much run out you can fan yourself with them.

On Jun 25, 6:40*pm, "Leon" wrote:
I have seen these bits being demo'd in a *video and was pretty impressed.
The video shows how these bits continue to drill very nice clean holes well
past the competitors ability. *Looked a bit too good to be true.

My lovely and dear wife bought me a set of Colt Twinland brad point bits for
Fathers day and while I appreciated the effort and thought, these bits were
not the "5 Star" bits that Colt manufactures. *So, she and I took the bits
back to Woodcraft tonight and made an exchange for one 3/8" "5" Star bit.
Comparing the bits in the store I can say that the 5 Star bit *reminded me
of the Kreg pocket hole bits as far as quality is concerned.

Anyway I put the bit in my new DP and tried it out. *To see if the bit
indeed would cut as cleanly as the video indicated I elevated a piece of
3/4" thick Ipe and a piece of Oak 3/4" above the DP table so that the pieces
of wood would not be supported as the bit exited the bottom of the wood.
You know, you normally back the wood up so that there will be no tear out
when the bit exits.

On both pieces of wood there was no burning, there was no chip build up in
the flutes and the exit holes were as clean as the entry holes, with no back
up board. *Absolutely no tear out on the bottom exit sides on any of the
holes

Pretty darn clean cutting bits they are.

If you decide to try'em out for your self, they are kinda expensive. *IIRC a
7 piece set in a wooden box is around $80. *the single 3/8" bit was about
$14. * BE SURE to get the "5Star" *Twinland Colt Bits.

You can see the video through Infinitytools,http://www.infinitytools.com/prodinf...number=101-170

wrote in message
...
On Jun 25, 8:40 pm, "Leon" wrote:

I have seen these bits being demo'd in a video and was pretty impressed.
The video shows how these bits continue to drill very nice clean holes
well
past the competitors ability. Looked a bit too good to be true.

Sigh.

Yeah, if it looks too good, it probably is. Just tonight I was at the
resurrected woodturning club meeting which is held at Woodcraft.

I saw those on the display, and they looked a bit rough, but at $15, I
thought what the heck.



OK NOW PAY ATTENTION! I said the 5 STAR TWINLAND COLT brad point bits.
NOT the set of Colt twinland brad point bits on sale for $15. ;~) The
cheaper set does look kinda rough, the 5 Star are precision milled out of
HSS and are Silver with no paint.

A boxed set of the 5 Star will set you back about $80. Woodcraft does not
stock the sets, only the individual 5 Star bits.

"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...

A couple of years back, I bought this set of 7 bits from Lee Valley:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...%2c180%2c42240

(for about 2/3 of todya's price IIRC) and have used 'em a /lot/, mostly in
UHMWPE and Baltic Birch. They're a bit pricey, but they /still/ produce
cleaner holes than any other brad points I've ever used.


I have about 4 sets of brad points, one is a German set that I have had for
20 plus years and are starting to not do so good. They all produce prett
clean holes but with the 5 Star bit you can use a hand drill and drill
through a board wit no backer board and the exit hole is as clean as the
entry hole. I have seen a bit that will do that. The 5 Stars will cut you
if you are not careful with the point and flutes.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:

If you start out with a Freud carbide forstner set, then use the 5Star
bits to fill in the blanks, it's not so much of a hit.

The Freud set contains 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 1, and 1-3/8(35mm).

Lew




I have a set of German forstner bits that I have had for 20+ years. Mine
start at 1/4 and go in 1/8" increments through 2" IIRC. The 1-3/8" bit has
been used to probably drill 500-600 holes for Euro Hinges in all types of
woods including a good number of MDF doors. That bit finally became dull
and I replaced it a few years ago.

The 5 Star bit put the German set to shame.

"Leon" wrote:

I have about 4 sets of brad points, one is a German set that I have
had for 20 plus years and are starting to not do so good.

Had a customer/friend back in Cleveland that had a machine shop.

Sharpened his drill bits by eyeball and a very talented set of hands.

No sharpening guides needed.

Handed him a 1/2 drill one day and told him it was going to be mostly
for wood.

A few deft motions of the hands and bingo, a standard metal cutting
twist drill was now a brad point drill.

It was the first time I had ever seen one, much less know what it was
called.

Drilled a lot of holes with that little puppy.

Lew

Leon wrote:


I have a set of German forstner bits that I have had for 20+ years.
Mine start at 1/4 and go in 1/8" increments through 2" IIRC. The
1-3/8" bit has been used to probably drill 500-600 holes for Euro
Hinges in all types of woods including a good number of MDF doors.
That bit finally became dull and I replaced it a few years ago.

The 5 Star bit put the German set to shame.

Were the German bits carbide?

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
news
Leon wrote:


I have a set of German forstner bits that I have had for 20+ years. Mine
start at 1/4 and go in 1/8" increments through 2" IIRC. The 1-3/8" bit
has been used to probably drill 500-600 holes for Euro Hinges in all
types of woods including a good number of MDF doors. That bit finally
became dull and I replaced it a few years ago.

The 5 Star bit put the German set to shame.

Were the German bits carbide?

Lew


No, HSS

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...
"Leon" wrote:

I have about 4 sets of brad points, one is a German set that I have had
for 20 plus years and are starting to not do so good.

Had a customer/friend back in Cleveland that had a machine shop.

Sharpened his drill bits by eyeball and a very talented set of hands.

No sharpening guides needed.

Handed him a 1/2 drill one day and told him it was going to be mostly for
wood.

A few deft motions of the hands and bingo, a standard metal cutting twist
drill was now a brad point drill.


Wow, he was talented.

These 5 Star bits that I am raving about have a point that looks like a
miniature twist bit, you can actually see 2 hollow ground flutes on the
point. The outer spur cutting edges are at a pretty steep angle, I suspect
25 degrees. Apparently you can drill a hole at a 25 degree angle with a
hand drill and have no tear out on the exiting side. The point cuts the
center out therefore does not push the wood fibers out, which normally
causes tear out.

"Leon" wrote:

Wow, he was talented.

Typical of somebody with a German heritage in a machine shop, but
definitely not atypical of the talent pool in Cleveland at that point
in time.

Back then, Major Big 3 installations, major off road equipment
manufacturers, major machine tool manufacturers, major steel
installations back then.

All these industries required outside machine shop services.

A good tool and die guy could work as much as they wanted.

70-80 hrs/wk was common.

Translation: $100K/yr, and that was over 30 years ago.

These 5 Star bits that I am raving about have a point that looks
like a miniature twist bit, you can actually see 2 hollow ground
flutes on the point. The outer spur cutting edges are at a pretty
steep angle, I suspect 25 degrees. Apparently you can drill a hole
at a 25 degree angle with a hand drill and have no tear out on the
exiting side. The point cuts the center out therefore does not push
the wood fibers out, which normally causes tear out.

I'm clueless.

All I can remember was the center tip was ground much the same as a
flat spade bit, same as my Freud carbide forstners which BTW, cut
clean holes.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

These 5 Star bits that I am raving about have a point that looks like a
miniature twist bit, you can actually see 2 hollow ground flutes on the
point. The outer spur cutting edges are at a pretty steep angle, I
suspect 25 degrees. Apparently you can drill a hole at a 25 degree angle
with a hand drill and have no tear out on the exiting side. The point
cuts the center out therefore does not push the wood fibers out, which
normally causes tear out.

I'm clueless.

All I can remember was the center tip was ground much the same as a flat
spade bit, same as my Freud carbide forstners which BTW, cut clean holes.


Yeah, most brad point bits that I have looked at have the similar center
point, these 5 star bits however certainly have some precision hollow
grinding done on 2 sides of the 4 sided point.

On Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:40:18 -0500, "Leon" wrote:

I bought the 7 and 10mm for pens and they seem to last forever, compared to
"normal" bits...
They do a really good job moving chips on problem woods like cocobolo, where
normal bits clog up..
I'm very happy with them..

I have seen these bits being demo'd in a video and was pretty impressed.
The video shows how these bits continue to drill very nice clean holes well
past the competitors ability. Looked a bit too good to be true.

My lovely and dear wife bought me a set of Colt Twinland brad point bits for
Fathers day and while I appreciated the effort and thought, these bits were
not the "5 Star" bits that Colt manufactures. So, she and I took the bits
back to Woodcraft tonight and made an exchange for one 3/8" "5" Star bit.
Comparing the bits in the store I can say that the 5 Star bit reminded me
of the Kreg pocket hole bits as far as quality is concerned.

Anyway I put the bit in my new DP and tried it out. To see if the bit
indeed would cut as cleanly as the video indicated I elevated a piece of
3/4" thick Ipe and a piece of Oak 3/4" above the DP table so that the pieces
of wood would not be supported as the bit exited the bottom of the wood.
You know, you normally back the wood up so that there will be no tear out
when the bit exits.

On both pieces of wood there was no burning, there was no chip build up in
the flutes and the exit holes were as clean as the entry holes, with no back
up board. Absolutely no tear out on the bottom exit sides on any of the
holes

Pretty darn clean cutting bits they are.

If you decide to try'em out for your self, they are kinda expensive. IIRC a
7 piece set in a wooden box is around $80. the single 3/8" bit was about
$14. BE SURE to get the "5Star" Twinland Colt Bits.

You can see the video through Infinitytools,
http://www.infinitytools.com/prodinf...number=101-170







mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On Jun 26, 1:39*am, "Leon" wrote:


I have a set of German forstner bits that I have had for 20+ years. *Mine
start at 1/4 and go in 1/8" increments through 2" IIRC. *The 1-3/8" bit has
been used to probably drill 500-600 holes for Euro Hinges in all types of
woods including a good number of MDF doors. *That bit finally became dull
and I replaced it a few years ago.

The 5 Star bit put the German set to shame.

Hmmm, interesting protocol you're using to be able to make a
definitive comparison with 20+ years of testing on one side and,
what?, two days on the other.

R

Morris Dovey wrote:

: A couple of years back, I bought this set of 7 bits from Lee Valley:

: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...%2c180%2c42240

: (for about 2/3 of todya's price IIRC) and have used 'em a /lot/, mostly
: in UHMWPE and Baltic Birch. They're a bit pricey, but they /still/
: produce cleaner holes than any other brad points I've ever used.



Those are terrific -- I have them also. Another brand I have loved
using is Fisch -- German brad point bits sold by Woodcraft.
Truly amazingly clean holes in wood, plywood, and laminated wood.
They're no longer carried, apparently, but they're available on Amazon
and Woodworker's Hardware.


The difference between a standard wood bit and the Fisch or
the Lee Valley is like going froma hole saw to a Forstner bit.

-- Andy Barss

Morris Dovey wrote:
: A couple of years back, I bought this set of 7 bits from Lee Valley:

: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...%2c180%2c42240

: (for about 2/3 of todya's price IIRC) and have used 'em a /lot/, mostly
: in UHMWPE and Baltic Birch. They're a bit pricey, but they /still/
: produce cleaner holes than any other brad points I've ever used.


I'm incorrect -- the Lee Valley ones I use a

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,180,42240

If the carbide-tipped ones you recommended are as good, time
for more drill bit buying!

-- Andy Barss

Andrew Barss wrote:
Morris Dovey wrote:
: A couple of years back, I bought this set of 7 bits from Lee Valley:

: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...%2c180%2c42240

: (for about 2/3 of todya's price IIRC) and have used 'em a /lot/, mostly
: in UHMWPE and Baltic Birch. They're a bit pricey, but they /still/
: produce cleaner holes than any other brad points I've ever used.


I'm incorrect -- the Lee Valley ones I use a

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,180,42240

If the carbide-tipped ones you recommended are as good, time
for more drill bit buying!

Well, if I were in your shoes I think I'd take a look at those Leon
likes so well - there may be an opportunity to get really good bits for
noticeably less...

I like LV, but I /do/ have a Scottish background.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

Morris Dovey wrote:
:
: If the carbide-tipped ones you recommended are as good, time
: for more drill bit buying!

: Well, if I were in your shoes I think I'd take a look at those Leon
: likes so well - there may be an opportunity to get really good bits for
: noticeably less...

I'm actually not sure I need the production-style bits, as the
LV carbide ones are advertised as. I'm just a hobbyest.


: I like LV, but I /do/ have a Scottish background.

I'm half-Canadian, sort of. }:-}

-- Andy Barss

"RicodJour" wrote in message
...
On Jun 26, 1:39 am, "Leon" wrote:


I have a set of German forstner bits that I have had for 20+ years. Mine
start at 1/4 and go in 1/8" increments through 2" IIRC. The 1-3/8" bit has
been used to probably drill 500-600 holes for Euro Hinges in all types of
woods including a good number of MDF doors. That bit finally became dull
and I replaced it a few years ago.

The 5 Star bit put the German set to shame.

Hmmm, interesting protocol you're using to be able to make a
definitive comparison with 20+ years of testing on one side and,
what?, two days on the other.


Because the German forstner set has about 20 bits naturally I have not used
all sizes and I'd say some not at all. So those few still cut pretty good
but still not as good as the 5 star.