Thread: Forstner bit set - Carbatec or Timbecon (or other)?

Hey diakwolf,

I got a 30pc set off Amazon for about that price. I have been very satisfied with the quality

G'day mate and thanks for the idea.

At least with Amazon I can read customer reviews to get an idea on quality/satisfaction. I'll take a look!

I have the 12mm and 20mm TCT forstner bits from Timbecon and they are awesome. The 20mm was used to hog out the waste for mortises in spotted gum, performed like a champ. Running at 2800rpm, no burning and clean precise holes. They're pricey but so much better tham carbon steel bits.

if they're not TCT they're not worth using. I started out with some individual bits from carbatec worked fine in mdf, chipboard and pine then the first time i tried them in redgum or vic ash absolutely useless. went and got some cmt bits and have not regretted the expense. Sorry can't comment on the Timbecon as I haven't used them.

Hi Cheers
When you buy a 14 or 15 piece set you will have a bunch of tools that you will use a lot and a bunch which just sit there gathering dust ...much like a tap and die set ....

My advice (FWIW) is to save your money on bits you wont use and buy quality TCT bits in the sizes you really will use.

Oh ... and a diamond card and diamond file to keep them sharp .. much cheaper than buying new ones once the bits blunt.

Regards

Rob

Where I help out at a Day Centre we use a set from Carbatec, and the clients burn them on pine, etc. I wouldn't touch them if they were given to me.
A complete waste of money, even the storage box is crap.
Kryn

Carbitool for quality Aussie made, Bormac for a German quality, Colt for Austrian quality.

+ 1 for Colt bits. Cut beautifully in dry hardwood.

Horses for courses. I've been using Forstners (a lot) for more than 30 years & have a motley set (1/4" to 2 1/2") of very ordinary carbon-steel things which includes a few "good" Austrian-made bits, a few branded 'Carbatec', & sundry no-names. They do pretty well in hard woods if kept sharp (particularly the rims), & frankly, I can't tell any difference between the 'good' Austrian-made bits and those made in the big factory to the north of us. They are relatively easy to sharpen after a bit of practice.

HSS bits last longer, but are not as easy to sharpen, while TCT bits will cop a lot of abuse before they start to make smoke. Never having tried to sharpen the only TCT Forstner I own, I have no idea how difficult it would be, but I suspect it's not easy. If you drill a lot of particle board, TCT is a must, imo, carbon steel bits don't like that stuff at all! When properly sharpened & used at the correct speeds & feed-rates, they all do a good job, though be aware that the primary role of these things is to make clean, shallow, overlapping, & flat-bottomed holes, they are not suited to drilling deep holes - other bit designs are more suitable for that.

If someone were to give me a full set of TCT bits, I'd happily run off with them, but I have decided to serve out my time with what I've got. It's part inertia, partly because I'm a cheapskate, & partly because I've long since gotten used to keeping them sharp. Takes a bit of practice to get the rims right, but a scraper ground from an old file does the job for me....

All said & done, if you have the cash, or the patience to acquire a set slowly as you need them, then TCT is probably the way to go, you can be a lot more heavy-handed with them without setting fire to your shed, & I've noticed people rarely complain about good-quality tools....

Cheers,

I have had Carbatec but they don't last long in Aussie hardwoods, and don't believe the yellow coated ones are any better.

I have a full set of Colts that were not cheap (part of the old bulk buy with these forums), they are really good, but drilling long 200mm holes in our desert hardwoods does prove problematic and they too need sharpening.

I have had the TCT forsners with the small 6mm drill type mount but in long holes the shafts fail and it is a PITA to get the dam things out as before the fail they wobble and wedge in.

I still use my COLTS but these days I have the Carbitool TCT forsners with the 1/2" shafts for the primary drills I use all the time.

Originally Posted by Pat

.... Colt for Austrian quality.

??? Colt are USA with German manufacturing.

Having used the low cost forstners from Carbatec......I started buying Colt one by one as I need different sizes, and haven't looked back.

For non-TCT tools, they are the only ones worth buying if you expect to get decent use out of them. Also, very easy to sharpen when they finally need it.

I originally got mine from Timbercon when I purchased the drill press. I don't have any from Carbatec so not able to compare. I do however have a selection of Colt's which I use more often these days. I believe there is a slight difference between them as to how the shavings come off. The last thing you want is to be too ambitious and get the bit stuck in the wood so cut slowly.

For the sake of mind games, let's assume that both brands are manufactured equally. Same mediocre steel, same mediocre level of precision. We're not talking high end kit here, after all!

Now let's look at what's on offer.

The Carpatec sets are either 16 sawtooth bits or 16 forstner bits. The Timbecon set is forstner up to 25mm and sawtooth for larger.

Sawtooth is better for end-grain, forstner is better for side grain. I've found that while sawtooth does acceptable side-grain cuts, cheap forstners struggle with end grain.

So, if you want to drill both ways and given my assumption that both brands are equal, it's either buy both Carpatec sets or the Timbecon set and buy extra, individual pieces to fill out the collection as and when they're required.

IMHO you're better off buying quality from the get-go, but these sets are quick, relatively cheap way to get started. Just don't be surprised if they're not quite what you'd hoped for.

I haven't used forstner bits a great deal so my comments are not those of an expert.

I have tried Carbatec, Carbitool, Colt and Festool forstner bits. The Carbatec and Carbitool were both disappointing. I really like Carbitool router bits, but believe their forstner bits are not on the same level (one bit required me to mill the shank so that it was concentric with the cutter). The Colt cut much nicer and easier, but the Festool bits are head and shoulders above all the others IMO. They cut smoother and much easier. If you are planning on using them with cordless drills the Festool bits cut like butter whereas all the others require a lot of pressure and wiggling to drill with a cordless drill in my experience.

However, the Festool bits are very expensive. I only paid about $180- for a set of 5 buying online, however I believe they retail for about $300- here in Australia.