Maybe it's time to get a new Forstner bit ...

[Bill Boehme]

I was looking through online videos on making Christmas ornaments and this one seemed rather interesting, but I noticed that maybe it was time for the demonstrator to invest in a new Forstner bit (although he did admit to being a bit frugal). You might want to jump ahead to 10:00 minutes into the video where he starts the drilling. 😱

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHS2_NNQtSQ

 

[Odie]

Wow......yeah, I'd say the forstner bit was just a little bit dull! 🙄

He mentioned that the forstner bit gets really hot, and time consuming to drill the hole......that ought to be a clue! 😵

 

[Joe Greiner]

Maple, and especially end grain, aren't well suited for a Forstner bit anyway. They work best in side grain. A better choice would be a triple flute auger.

 

[john lucas]

Well it's an interesting way to turn one with the expanding mandrel. I just drill a 3/8" hole from end to end with a twist drill. open up the hole on what will be the bottom with my spindle gouge to make hollowing easier. Then turn most of the outside, hollow the inside and the as I finish turning the outside I just part it off until I cut into the 3/8" hole and it's done.
In his defense I was turning a piece yesterday and had to drill into the end grain with a forestner bit. These were fairly new bits and I was running the lathe pretty slow. I still got hot and started to smoke a little even though it was clearing chips nicely. Probably should have used an even slower speed. Mine are chinese cheapy bits which may be part of the problem.

 

[hockenbery]

I use twist bits with Morse tapers for a lot of drilling.
Forster bits work better for a few things like napkin rings.
I use bees wax the lubricate the hit smoking bits.
Thanks to James McClure a fine turner who kept bees for a while I have a lifetime supply

 

[Owen Lowe]

Didn’t anyone tell him that smoking is bad for your health! (11:20 and beyond).

I have common-sense frugality… I touch up the flat angled face with a diamond slipstone and, when needed, sharpen my forstners with a Dremel and cylindrical stones. Do I end up with non-factory angles? Absolutely, but it doesn’t seem to matter all that much as long as the cutting edge contacts before the back bevel. Shavings come off just fine with no smoke.

 

[hockenbery]

Ditto on Sharpening and cleaning resin from the bits.
Slower lathe speed helps reduce scorching too.
I have found that dry cherry is really difficult drill scorch free.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I use Colt Forstner style bits which I use to drill through peppermills and they go through end grain like butter ... certainly better than most other Forstner bits although Fisch Forstner bits are also good. The lathe needs to run much slower than he was running it and don't force a dull drill bit. I would have stopped and fixed the problem rather than burning my way through a piece of wood, although in a demo you are limited by time and resources. It appeared to me that he was OK with dull tools because his spindle gouge didn't appear to be very sharp either.

 

[robo hippy]

I think it was from the American Woodworking magazine, but 'you can tell your table saw blade is dull when it starts to set off the smoke alarm'. That writer was known for his funny quips.... I take mine to a saw shop. Maybe if I had the correct tools, I would do it myself, but the same shop gets my bandsaw blades too...

robo hippy

 

[Tom Albrecht]

I think it was from the American Woodworking magazine, but 'you can tell your table saw blade is dull when it starts to set off the smoke alarm'. That writer was known for his funny quips.... I take mine to a saw shop. Maybe if I had the correct tools, I would do it myself, but the same shop gets my bandsaw blades too...

robo hippy

You have band saw blades sharpened? What kind of blades?

 

[Mike Johnson]

If I have hard wood to drill through I usually use my Dremel and touch up the cutting edge
on the Forstner bit. A dull lathe cutting tool will also get warm trying to cut through hard wood.
Like any cutting tool the cutting edge needs to be sharpened if it is dull.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Tom, I have a Lenox bandsaw blade that has carbide tipped teeth that I have sharpened. I don't know how long it will last before it needs to be replaced, but it is too expensive to not have it sharpened. Since I started woodturning that blade hasn't seen a lot of use because it is only for cutting dry wood.