Spade drill bit problem

[Charles Packer]

I haven't had to drill a hole larger than an inch for
a long time, so I wasn't surprised when my 1-1/4-inch
spade bit made it to a depth of about 1/8 inch and then
spun and soon smoked. Maybe time to buy a new one.
From Home Depot I got a shiny new Irwin Speedbor for
$5.31 that...spun and smoked. And we're not talking
mahogany here; I was working with a pine board.
Who ever heard of a defective drill bit? Might I have
been doing something wrong?

--
Charles Packer
http://cpacker.org/whatnews
mailboxATcpacker.org

[Mike Paulsen]

Charles Packer wrote:
> I haven't had to drill a hole larger than an inch for
> a long time, so I wasn't surprised when my 1-1/4-inch
> spade bit made it to a depth of about 1/8 inch and then
> spun and soon smoked. Maybe time to buy a new one.
> From Home Depot I got a shiny new Irwin Speedbor for
> $5.31 that...spun and smoked. And we're not talking
> mahogany here; I was working with a pine board.

A pine board with a knot or nail where you're boring? Any luck with the
same bit in another piece of wood?

> Who ever heard of a defective drill bit?

Yes. Not likely to be the problem, though.

> Might I have
> been doing something wrong?

Yes. The drill is in reverse. Turn the board over and it should work
fine. :)

[professorpaul]

"spun" suggests that it wasn't attached to the chuck, etc. My spade
bits have a hexagonal cross section on the shaft which locks them
quite firmly into the chuck, but I need to tighten it up pretty good
as well.

"smoke" suggests you are trying to feed it too fast, or the bit need
sharpening.

For large holes, a hole saw is often a better approach.

[Charles Packer]

By "spun" I meant that it cut _exceedingly_
slowly, generating fine dust instead of chips. The
drill was tight in the chuck. Yes, it smoked when
I pressed harder. But it was a brand new bit. That's the
mystery. The only time I've ever used a bit larger
than an inch until now is for the occasional installing
of a door lock, like about once every ten years or so.
Maybe I've just forgotten the rate at which a wide bit
is supposed to cut. Anyway, in the meantime I've
changed the design of my project so that I'll need only
one-inch holes.

[Bill]

You sure you didn't have it in reverse?

"Charles Packer" <mai...@cpacker.org> wrote in message
news:31d7a60c-4f8f-4c4b...@k30g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

[krw]

In article <ff23c843-1778-4168-874f-db5f18fe093a@
79g2000hsk.googlegroups.com>, mai...@cpacker.org says...

Drill reversed?

--
Keith

[aemeijers]

How old and dried out was the wood? In this 1960 house, made with
whatever species framing lumber in Michigan was that year, I tried to
drill some holes in the joists and wall plates to run some romex, and
not only smoked a bit, I smoked the drill itself. Installing blocking to
patch a hole where a wall furnace used to be, I had to use screws- 16d
nails just bent after the first quarter inch. The stuff is hard as a rock.
--
aem sends...

[Charles Packer]

On Jul 9, 6:57 pm, "Bill" <barg...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> You sure you didn't have it in reverse?

How embarrassing...yes, it's time to tape down that
damn lever on the underside of the drill. (My other
drill -- that I use almost all the time because
it weighs less, doesn't have that reverse feature.)

[Bill]

You are not the first person to do that, and probably not the last.

At least you have a collection of bits to drill with.

"Charles Packer" <mai...@cpacker.org> wrote in message

news:a921228e-806b-448d...@34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...

[webs...@cox.net]

I did that once. The drill put the chips back in the hole.