Electrician Talk banner

Sharpening auger bits

27K views 75 replies 39 participants last post by  captkirk 
#1 ·
Anyone have a good description or know of a tutorial on the proper way of sharpening auger bits?
 
#12 ·
480sparky said:
Who the F uses paddle bits? If you think Carlon blue boxes are hack, using paddle bits is three notches below that. Paddle bits are what HOs use to fool themselves into thinking they're real pros.
What's wrong with paddle bits?? Many uses for paddle bits that wouldn't be suitable for auger bits. That's kind of an idiotic statement IMO.......
 
#13 ·
Sharpening any bit is pretty easy.
Just remember that after your done sharpening the bit, lightly knock the heel off the back side edge of were you sharpened.

Hard to explain, but it's kind of like after you sharpen a chisel you knock the burs off the flip side of it. Same idea.
 
#18 ·
Whenever I bump into Nestor from Northshore Plumbing, he asks me for my bits and he sharpens them for me.. Its been this way since I was a teenager, I guess old habits die hard. He sure is good at it though.
 
#20 ·
Current said:
In most situations, i don't see where a paddle bit will excel over any other bit.
Yesterday I had to cut in an outlet in a 10" deep hollow wall. Right where I began cutting for the box, I ran into a horizontal block that was set back an inch from the drywall. I used a paddle bit to notch enough of it out for the box to fit. How exactly do you notch into the edge of a 2x4 that's 1.5" deep inside a wall with an auger bit?

(I put in a blue carlon box btw....)
 
#21 ·
5/8" paddle bits are perfect for recessed doorbell buttons.

The sharpening of an auger can be a hassle. I use a triangle file-- like a rat tail file only triangular shaped-- for the side pieces and a flat one for the bottom of the cutting edge. If the feed bit is bad then just throw it out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HARRY304E
#23 ·
I just take my bits to an old Italian guy, A&A Tool Sharpening in Upper Darby, PA. People send him things that need to be sharpened from all over the US. The guy is the best, a real craftsman! I took wood chisels there and when I got them back they were like glass, you could shave with them. When you drill hole with the bits that he sharpens the hole is ultra clean, no splinters. He always tells me don't throw any bits away until he looks at them. :thumbsup:
 
#28 ·
Augers are easy to sharpen and it works good if no one else has f'd them up by sharpening them wrong. Put on some leather gloves in case you slip. File the angle that is parralel to the shaft. Don't worry if you have to grind down some other metal like those tangs on some of them. If you file cross wise on the bit you might as well pitch it.
 
#31 ·
Augers are easy to sharpen and it works good if no one else has f'd them up by sharpening them wrong.
Yeah they are pretty damned easy to sharpen. I haven't bought new auger or paddle bits in years.

I don't know how to say this without being condescending, but if a guy can't figure something as simple as sharpening something as an auger bit, WTF business does he have calling himself a journeyman?
 
#36 ·
My two cents about paddle bits- The seemingly only ones available for purchase anymore at regular outlets they might as well make them out of wood. The metal of the bit is so soft nowadays hit a knot in the wood and that bit is all finished. I wonder where they make them now? :whistling2:
 
#49 ·
Celtic said:
Sure.

Heres what you do...take a credit card and go buy a new one ya cheap bastard!
:laughing:
Are you talking to me or my boss??? :laughing:
My big long augers are very expensive for a humble worker bee, seems a shame to throw them away when theres still alot of life in the feed screw.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top