# Drill bits



## deakn (Nov 29, 2009)

Which are the best drill bits for wood? I need a short bit that is able to drill through three, two by fours that are in a row and another long bit mabey 16 inchs long. I will be using the holes to pull 14/2 - 12/2. any suggestions on brands? and size. Also is there a supplier that i can order them from online that has a decent price.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Lenox ship auger bits.

7/8" is what I use for 99% of my resi work.

Buy local. You'll get better customer service if there's a problem. Buying online doesn't save anything once you pay for shipping.


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

Greenlee sells some I haven't had any trouble out of the one that I bought, but I don't use it every day either.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Several manufacturers make "nail eater" type bits. Those are the ones to use, nowadays. They always have a black oxide finish, since they're so hard. If they're shiny, they're no good. I use 3/4, 13/16, and 7/8 (all nearly the same) for all my work. I have a 1" and a 1-1/4" that I use for special occasions.


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## Rudeboy (Oct 6, 2009)

Yeah Lenox makes good bits. I use 7/8's pretty much all the time. I have a few skinny ones that I slap on to my cordless if I just need to make a couple holes or for fishing one wire through a top plate, joist, or stud.


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## AWKrueger (Aug 4, 2008)

I have a couple Greenlee nail eater bits. One about 16in long and one maybe 3 or 4 in long. They work excellent.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

ideal makes nice nail eater bits too. i have a short one i like to use. 99% of the time the foot long 7/8 bit is what we use. i use the short one sometimes just because i like it. a lot of people use paddle bits too but if you hit a nail with them you will need a new bit. the nail eater cuts them out but you will still need to sharpen it sometimes


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## I_get_shocked (Apr 6, 2009)

Irwin spade bits with an extension


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

I_get_shocked said:


> Irwin spade bits with an extension


 
 you are kidding,right?????


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## I_get_shocked (Apr 6, 2009)

You're telling me a spade bit wont go through 3 2x4s?


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

I_get_shocked said:


> You're telling me a spade bit wont go through 3 2x4s?


 
It certainly will. In 2 hours.


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## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

Spade bits work great and are cheap enough to lose in the wall..
However they really don't like nails..


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## s.kelly (Mar 20, 2009)

Not a big fan of the spade bits myself, and maybe everyone else already does this, but I got in a pinch once and only had spade bits on a job and an cordless impact driver instead of a drill. Went thru much better with the impact.


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## redsox98 (Oct 16, 2009)

Lennox 1" ship auger bit. Wish they hadn't of redisigned them the are hard on my hole hawg.


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## I_get_shocked (Apr 6, 2009)

480sparky said:


> It certainly will. In 2 hours.



yea if its dead. I havent had a problem I guess I'm lucky


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## mikeg_05 (Jan 1, 2009)

1" dottie auger bit. The Lenox ones are nice too sometimes they seem grab and pull they drill.


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

I_get_shocked said:


> yea if its dead. I havent had a problem I guess I'm lucky


I guess you don't do any new work residential either.

I could wire 3 houses while your still drilling your little spade bit holes in the first house


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## Jim Port (Oct 1, 2007)

Once I started using these I doubt I will go back to ship augers unless I need the extra length.









My cordless would not drill worth a crap with an auger but works great with these.

IIRC Lenox has a similar style.


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## RePhase277 (Feb 5, 2008)

robnj772 said:


> I guess you don't do any new work residential either.
> 
> I could wire 3 houses while your still drilling your little spade bit holes in the first house


Spade bits work fine with the right technique. If you drill straight in, you will find that it doesn't work as good as an auger. But with a slight side-to-side rocking motion, they will work great. And of course, pulling the bit out and clearing the hole is key. This goes for masonry drilling as well. I can't count how many long time tradesmen I have seen ruin good bits and get frustrated when all they had to do is pull the damn bit out a couple times.


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## Grimlock (Aug 4, 2009)

For me when it comes to drilling in wood it all depends on how much drilling I need to do and also where I am doing the drilling. In residential attics in a service type project I use a spade bit, in new construction I use an auger bit. But to the OP I would say match the type of bit to the project. Over all the fastest bit to penetrate wood is an auger bit.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

I_get_shocked said:


> yea if its dead. I havent had a problem I guess I'm lucky


_What's_ dead? Your arms and back?

C'mon, dude. A spade bit only works when there's pressure behind it. So you're pushing on your drill all day long. That's a lot of wasted work, especially when you can't stand directly behind the drill, inline with the bit.

Ship augers are self-feeding. I'll I need to do is engage it nd pull the trigger. The only pressure I need on the drill itself it to keep it from turning due to counter-rotation.

Ship augers are fluted to remove the material as well. Your spade bit just has a skinny little shaft. So when you drill through 3 studs under a window, the hole fills up with wood chips. And they're packed in there, not just placed loosely, either. So now you gotta work some more just to clear the hole out. Ship augers aotomatically clear the chips out with the flutes. Once I get done drilling through, the only thing left in the hole is the bit. Without any wood chips to fight removing it, I'm drilling the next room while you're still fighting the first hole.

Unless you drill some, and pull the bit back to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole..............


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

I like Irwin nail eaters.


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## manchestersparky (Mar 25, 2007)

480sparky said:


> Unless you drill some, and pull the bit back to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole, drill some more, pull back the bit to clear the hole..............


Hummm-
Lets see thats IN then it's OUT, In then Out, in&out,In&out,in&out...
don't know about you but thats seems to remind me of something ? !:brows:

I always used greenlee nail eaters. The long ones. Have some shorter ones that I use in the cordless. My 28 volt has no trouble with a 3/4 naileater bit. I have used a spade bit once when in a pinch - didn't care for it.
Pushing on it till it went through then the dam thing broke through and drops down a little bit. Then you need to wiggle the drill around to get the bit back into the hole - No thanks, I'm with 480 on this one drill the hole move on easy and fast


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## robnj772 (Jan 15, 2008)

Jim Port said:


> Once I started using these I doubt I will go back to ship augers unless I need the extra length.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Well the OP asked about 3 2x4s. If your only going to drill one hole that may be OK but why would you beat the crap out of a cordless drill drilling holes thru multiple 2x4s with a cordless drill and a bit like you have posted here?

Is that thing even long enough ?

I have some 5/8 nail eaters I use in my Cordless if I am fishing a wire in an attic or crawlspace but if I am drilling thru multiple 2x4s it is more then likely new construction that is when the hole hawg and the 7/8 nail eaters are coming out.


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## Jim Port (Oct 1, 2007)

Yes that bit is just long enough to drill through a triple. That bit puts way less stress on the cordless than augers. 

I was using a cordless so I didn't need to drag a cord. A lot of the holes were thru TJIs.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Jim Port said:


> Yes that bit is just long enough to drill through a triple. That bit puts way less stress on the cordless than augers. ........


So how long does it take to get the bit back out when 2/3 of the hole is filled with wood chips?


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

I was drilling some holes in a new house today and constantly hit nails 

These modern day carpenters put 3 times as many nails using nail guns than the old timers using a hammer.


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## mikeg_05 (Jan 1, 2009)

Black4Truck said:


> I was drilling some holes in a new house today and constantly hit nails
> 
> These modern day carpenters put 3 times as many nails using nail guns than the old timers using a hammer.


yeah its a joke sometimes they get to carried away with the nail gun most of the time


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## 220/221 (Sep 25, 2007)

> you are kidding,right?????


We use spade bits all day long. A 3/4" spade bit on a 18V dewalt will drill thru 3 2x4's quicker than a hole hog/angle drill and an auger bit.

I wouldn't use them to drill out a whole house or even a whole room addition but for a few holes they are beautiful. One cable will go thru a 1/2" hole (less material to remove)

I don't mess with the extensions. The set screws suck. We just STOCK a bunch of long and short bits, 1/2' THRU 1".

And....if you hear/feel a nail....STOP DRILLING DAMMIT. Pisses me off when I hear someone trying to force a spade bit thru a nail/screw.


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## Grimlock (Aug 4, 2009)

220/221 said:


> We use spade bits all day long. A 3/4" spade bit on a 18V dewalt will drill thru 3 2x4's quicker than a hole hog/angle drill and an auger bit.
> 
> I wouldn't use them to drill out a whole house or even a whole room addition but for a few holes they are beautiful. One cable will go thru a 1/2" hole (less material to remove)
> 
> ...


They do:










Thats why they invented the quick change:










(I always have one ready to go if I'm on a residential service call)


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## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

Nothing like a holehawg when it jams and rams your hand into the stud , or spins you around the top of the latter until the cord gets ripped out..


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Toronto Sparky said:


> Nothing like a holehawg when it jams and rams your hand into the stud , or spins you around the top of the latter until the cord gets ripped out..


That's what muscles are for.


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## Toronto Sparky (Apr 12, 2009)

480sparky said:


> That's what muscles are for.


Mine are being taken away by a nasty neurological _disease_  
However besides that most guys tend to under estimate the power of a holehawg.. They can catch you off guard.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

Toronto Sparky said:


> Mine are being taken away by a nasty neurological _disease_
> However besides that most guys tend to under estimate the power of a holehawg.. They can catch you off guard.


Mine only catches when I use large hole saws. It's simple to anticipate them doing so, and putting either the handle, or a short ¾" piple nipple in one of the handy-dandy threaded holes provided for such use.

Keeping auger bits sharp prevents kickback.


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

Toronto Sparky said:


> Mine are being taken away by a nasty neurological _disease_
> However besides that most guys tend to under estimate the power of a holehawg.. They can catch you off guard.


No doubt,I saw a guy get knocked out cold with one.He lost a tooth also.


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