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Colt Maxicut Forstner Bits

Apparently they're gone.

Maxicut Colt Forstner Bits

I wonder if anyone knows what's going on with the Maxicut Colt bits. I wanted to order a few. I used to buy mine from the Woodturners Catalogue. They have them as "no longer available" I also checked Lee Valley and they have something similar, no bits. Amazingly, Amazon only has the morse taper...
www.aawforum.org www.aawforum.org
 
The Colt Maxicut Rotostop bits are amazing compared to any other Forstner bits that I have ever used. One of the first that I bought was the boxed peppermill kit and that is where I became acquainted with the Rotostop system. Nobody makes anything even remotely comparable. As far as I can tell, the RotoStop extension shafts are sold out everywhere.

Taylor Toolworks still have some of the Maxicut Forstner bits left, but make sure that you get the Colt Maxicut Rotostop and not the EcoCut bits which are good, but not really exceptional. Fisch Forstner bits are probably the second-best, but I have been spoiled rotten by the Maxicut bits. I've been using them ever since they first appeared in the US and it is very sad to see them go out of business. The good news is that the Maxicut Forstner bits are easy to sharpen with a diamond card.

I also have most of the popular Colt pen blank twist drill sizes. I think that Taylor Toolworks may still have some of the twist drill sizes.
 
Thanks for the replies. I went to the Taylor Toolworks site and found bits listed as "Colt and Riss Maxicut Rotostop". I haven't seen them named as Colt and Riss, but the rest of the name fits the bill. Hopefully, it's what I want.
 
A friend of mine on another forum recommends Roman Carbide forstner bits. They certainly look interesting. Anyone here have any experience with these?
 
Ed Weingarden said:
Thanks for the replies. I went to the Taylor Toolworks site and found bits listed as "Colt and Riss Maxicut Rotostop". I haven't seen them named as Colt and Riss, but the rest of the name fits the bill. Hopefully, it's what I want.
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@Ed Weingarden, Colt was the brand name. They had several lines of drills and bits. MaxiCut was the trademark for their top-of-the-line Forstner bits. EcoCut was their economy line of boring bits. RotaStop was the shank design that had three slightly flattened areas spaced 120° apart (imagine a cross-section of the shank that looks like a three-lobed oval). A simple twist of the wrist would lock the bit in perfect alignment with an extension or a Morse taper shank.

Colt also had at least a couple of styles of twist drills. In the picture below I have a brad point drill, a pen drill made in Germany, a set of pen drills made in France, a Forstner bit, and a Fisch pen drill that looks a lot like the Colt pen drills




colt4.jpg
 
Mark Jundanian said:
A friend of mine on another forum recommends Roman Carbide forstner bits. They certainly look interesting. Anyone here have any experience with these?
Click to expand...
With Roman carbide; it depends where that particular forstner bit was made. I've gotten a set that was made in China, and most of the carbide was very dull and several of them had chips in them.
 
I have a set of Roman's. I've only used a few times. I would say the hole bottoms are cut cleanly, but the walls are not as smooth. I'm guessing due to the cutter design, and perhaps , due to sharpness. The look like they could be touched up and made sharper pretty easily. They are not on-par with Fisch quality for sure. Adequate for most of my needs though.
 
I have a set of Freud Diablo forstners; made in Austria. The steel is very good. I have messed up the shafts with set screws in a bit extender though. The Colts had their own extension that did not require set screws (which always slip and mess up the shafts).
 
I bought a 6 bit set of the small Freud forstners called Precision Shear. They cut very clean holes but I have not used them a lot. At the same time I bought a couple of WoodOwl auger bits that are amazing. They also make forstner bits and I plan on trying a couple of those.
 
Ed Weingarden said:
Anyone know of a source for Colt Maxicut bits? Or, are they no longer available? Thanks
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Ed, being a happy user of the Colt Maxicut bits, I've been asking a German dealer about the (lack of) availability of most sizes that we're experiencing on this side of The Pond, too.
The answer was that a new line of bits is on it's way. No info on where they are to be made, when they wil arrive or what the difference is (if any) compared to the Maxicut line. However, he did confirm that the new line will have the Rotostop shank.
Will keep you informed if you are interested.
 
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