Fisch Forstner Bits.

[Chet]

I had put the Fisch 7 Piece bit set (1/8 thru 1") on my Christmas list.  My wife ordered them through Highland Woodworking on November 29th and at that time they were supposed to be back in stock by the 20th of December so even knowing that they probably wouldn't be here by Christmas she left the order stand.  They never did ship.  She contacted them last week and they said that it now looked like late March, so she asked if that had any other sets from the same company.  The only other one they had was a 16 bit set, so she completely surprised me with that set.

I did a lot of looking and research and the Fisch had some pretty good reviews.  In fact most of the negative reviews didn't have anything to do with the bits,  I will never understand people that give a product one star because the outside box was tattered or it arrived a day late.

Fisch has this design called Wave Cutter Evolution.  The inside edge of the bit reminds me of a serrated knife edge.  It is supposed to give a real smooth cut to the hole.  After trying a few different sizes I am really impressed.  I used a piece of Hard Maple.  It cut with ease and the edge actually felt like it had been sanded to 180 or more.  They come in a nice storage box. 

 

Inside edge of the bit.

 

I don't know if you can really tell the quality from a photo but it is really top notch.

 

[Woodenskye (Bryan)]

I have heard that these are the best you can buy.  Wife’s a keeper!

[Coop]

That IS nice. Chet, just for the heck of it when you get a chance, drill into a decent piece of scrap ply and see what kind of results you get, please. Thanks

[Chet]

1 hour ago, Woodenskye (Bryan) said:

 Wife’s a keeper!

This is true, but she was way before this.  She became a keeper in 1972.?

[Coop]

Hey Honey, look what I just posted! You Rascal you! ?

[Jamie]

That’s awesome! She needs to talk with my wife about tool purchases 

[Chet]

Here you go Coop.  I did a test drive on a piece of baltic birch.  It was a little hard going compared to the solid wood but I think that is the norm with plywood.  I have always attributed this to the glues in the ply, but I don't know.   I didn't go as deep in the ply test but the finished edge was just a nice as the ones in the maple I did yesterday.  There was no splintering at the start of the hole which is something that has happened sometimes in the past with the old bits, but this could have been the bits. themselves too.

 

[pkinneb]

Hmm getting me back for the miter gauge huh LOL

I was eying that set and then they put it on sale, I almost pulled the trigger but thought I would think about it, that was yesterday, and now this ?

[Coop]

Thanks Chet. The reason for asking is that I used my set to recess the screw heads on the sac fence of my new miter gauge and it left a lot to be desired. In my case, it is shop stuff and was not BB ply but I’m impressed.