Freud PB-009: 1-1/4" (Dia.) Forstner Bit

This thing cuts like a demon! I've drilled at least 5 deep holes so far and it hasn't lost any sharpness. No wandering, which was a big problem with my first set of Forstner bits. The scores around the mouth of the hole are from me having a little trouble holding the drill because of arthritis and I was hurting pretty bad. It measures dead on 1". Stays firmly in the chuck. Does exactly as they claim. Good quality, decent price. I hope the sharpness lasts! I've only had it 2 days.

If you want clean, accurate, well cut holes then these are the bits you should buy. I needed to cut a one inch drain hole in a stiff rubber water heater drain pain that was a half an inch thick. I cut through it with my Freud Forstner bit in less than a minute leaving a perfect one inch hole. Yes, you will pay more for these bits, but they are worth every penny you spend on them. Freud bits are sharp, durable and will cut through wood and rubber with near perfect precision. I highly recommend them.

This drill set delivers smooth, accurate cuts with minimal effort. The steep angled cutting edges and serrated design make a noticeable difference, especially when drilling flat-bottom, pocket, or overlapping holes. Even in dense hardwood, the bits stay sharp and cut cleanly without burning. The 7-piece range from 1/4" to 1" is versatile and well-suited for fine woodworking. Highly recommended for anyone looking for professional-quality results.

Works as described

The edges of the holes were fairly smooth, the bottom flat. These are for use in a drill press. The center point is useless beyond 10 or 12° off vertical; beyond that the hole starts with the rim and, thus, centering on a prick punch dimple or pencil mark is difficult or impossible. While this is possible in a drill press, it can't be done with a hand-held drill where the drill will "walk" at least a bit. The tool edges are evenly ground and razor sharp, the cutting edge configurations excellent. If you want a clean cut hole, you must run them at the recommended speeds (table enclosed), which is fast. Which is, depending on drill size and hardness of the stock, 900 to 2400 RPM. Like I said, drill press.

When I need a through hole I usually don't care so much about the quality of a forstner bit and even the cheap ones usually will do ok, but when I need a good clean flat bottomed hole I still look to Freud first and I prefer these "older" style rather than the carbide bits. These are still really well ground and still made in Austria. I considered trying out the Bora forstners...photos look nice and they're Austrian as well...but stuck with tried and true. Put it to use immediately and nice clean entrance and good looking flat bottom in both baltic birch ply and solid canarywood. I wish Freud hadn't discontinued so many sizes in their forstner bits...would love to have a 30mm and know that I could still get smaller 16ths again. I don't know if it's true that the Diablo bits are the same, just a marketing shift, but the ones I've seen don't look as nicely made as the Freud label and for this size they aren't even ground in the same style. If it's for woodworking instead of utility/construction, stick with Freud or Fisch (or Fomag...$$).

Personally I find Freud forestner bits to be the best. The yield the flattest bottom and smoothing bore with minimal tear out. They also stay sharp much longer than other forestner bits Ive used in the past. For this reason I have an entire set of Freud forestner standard sized bits from 1/4 - 2 inches. The one bit I did not have is the one forestner bit I probably use the most and that is the 35mm. I had a couple 35mm forestner bits in other brands that came included with concealed hinge jigs that I purchased, but non of them bore a hold like the Freud bits. So i finally opted to buy their 35mm. I have used this bit tirelessly since I received it and its still cuts like a hot knife through butter. Freud produces 3 different versions of forestner bits. The FB which is the standard and the cheapest. The PB precision shear which offers the cleanest cut and the carbide tipped forestners which offer the longest lasting edge. I have used all of them. This is the PB precision shear version which you can tell because the cutter looks jagged. I personally wouldn't gripe over which to choose between FB and PB. Both versions cut great. PB cuts with a little less tear out but its really nothing to gripe about. I would not purchase their carbide forestner bits though. Yes they do last longer because of the carbide tipped cutter, but they also cost more and the hole they bore is very rough. To me they just arent worth the cost.

This is a precision tool! It is heavy and extremely sharp. It cut through hardwood easily.

Fonctionne très bien. Trou très propre, sans éclats.

Brilliant bits,excellent value, the precision shear must be on par with the fisch or colt, cut like a dream in oak, no burning, nice exit hole, handle carefully as they are very sharp, if you compare them to the colt and fisch bits, which will cost you an arm and a leg, precision shear.... just the arm, brilliant bits, won't let my mates anywhere near them.

Really like the quality. So cool to have the smaller sizes, which I’ve never seen before but imagine might be useful. The only problem is that they come loose. So I 3D printed a box and an insert. The stems click into grooves on the platform and there is plenty of room for the drill bit heads.

As expected from this brand, quality, works well, no wandering, well worth the money

Des mèches de très très bonne qualité, la marque FREUD est imbattable. Acheté chez Amazon Warehouse à moitié prix car l'emballage était défectueux. En effet, l'emballage était en partie cassé mais les mèches sont intactes et toutes neuves. J'ai cependant découvert que les mèches étaient en INCH ce qui n'était pas du tout mentionné dans l'annonce même pour le lot neuf; et je trouve cela pas sérieux de la part d'Amazon de ne pas mettre une information aussi importante sur un produit sur l'annonce. J'ai pensé à retourner le lot de mèches, mais j'ai décidé finalement de les garder! J'ai découvert aussi que les mêmes mèches neuves FREUD (made in Austria) vendues sur amazon.fr sont le double du prix que sur amazon.com ! Est-ce normal !!!!!!!