I don’t have to go into the spade bit business.
After my Feb. 7, 2022, post about how awful the new Irwin Speedbor bits have become, a couple readers suggested I try the WoodOwl spades. I didn’t know that WoodOwl made spade bits and had never seen them for sale.
So I purchased some from Hardwick & Sons and tested them up against my NOS (new old stock) Speedbors that were fresh from the package. And I tested them against some of the new, frustrating Irwin Speedbors – the ones missing their rim spurs.
The 5/8” WoodOwls cut just as fast as my trusty old Speedbors. They are exactly the same size (.635” diameter at the rim spurs) and weigh one-third less. Though the WoodOwl bits are made in China (not Japan), the machining is excellent, both on the bit and bit’s shaft.
So, problem solved. Don’t buy the Speedbor’s for chairmaking. Buy the WoodOwls.
The only open question is how good the steel is in the WoodOwls. I’m building a chair right now and should have that answer soon enough.
This two-bit drama reminded me of a Crucible tool I had worked on for a while and then set aside. I was trying to come up with a bit extension that didn’t wobble and held bits firmly, especially when you pull out of the hole. The Bosch bit extender is the best in the market, but it still wobbles more than I like.
So I built a prototype of a bit extender that is promising. Now designer Josh Cook and I are chewing it over to see if we can make something accurate, useful and inexpensive.
— Christopher Schwarz
Nice. I tried the 5/8 size out the other day to dowel together a chair seat. The brad point is centered on the bit really well and doesn’t travel on you. Hardwick and Sons is my new favorite hardware store. Hopefully they can keep stock of these bits. One question I have is this. I have not tried this yet but could a person take a chainsaw file on the Irwin bits and file that chamfer off to where you would come to a point on the ends? Better to give Hardwick and Sons the business but if you have some Irwins you cant return maybe something to think about.
Already sold out.
Probably not forever….
Yep, I will be patiently waiting for their return!
Also I saw at the big green big box store the other day a drill bit that fits in an electric drill and is an extender bit you can set to any size. It was Irwin brand I think. The cutting spur is the old auger style spur. Might be something to check out.
And no lead screw.
I tried the chainsaw file on a 1 1/8 new style irwin bit. The results are credible. I filed a gully down below the bottom of the little chamfer the over until I got rid of the chamfer. Just kissed the edge. I tested it in white oak. It sunk in fast and left a clean hole. It does take away some of the bulk of the cutting edge. A smaller chainsaw file will be needed to do a 5/8 or 3/4 bit. It took me about twenty minutes on this first one but I think I can get it down to ten or even five.
Growing up in Seattle Hardwick’s was my favorite hardware store. I loved to just go in there and look at all the cool stuff. I guess a few years ago they left the location near the University of WA and moved to Post Falls ID. According to a local news story from 2019 they are a 4th generation business.
I regrind spade bits constantly, usually against a belt sander but also with cutoff wheel on a Dremel and files. I give them ears instead of spurs, they don’t need to be dramatic, just make contact first.
Perfect timing, I’m getting ready to try my first chair. Thanks!
Thanks for finding these. Tried to patronize Harwick & Sons, but as Pat noted above the Schwarz effect has already kicked in. Amazon has them though – both 6″ and 16″.
Do you have a link? I haven’t been able to find them on Amazon.
Ooooooo. .Bit extenders without the wobble. Sign me up!!
+4 on the extender! Nice to attach and leave attached for common sizes where I use it.
Dumb (but serious) question here. What’s so special about a spade bit, making it essential? A couple months ago you touted the 5/8 Wood Owl auger bits. What kind of hole requires a spade bit? Thanks
For me? Not one. Spade bits are for house carpenters, IMO. Besides, they require the consumption of electrons to operate properly.
I use spade bits in furniture making quite a lot. They are inexpensive, cut cleanly, don’t clog and can be easily modified to custom diameters. There are things that augers are great for and things that spades are great for and things that Forstners are great for, and brad points and….
Sounds like a good blog post! I’d also like to know more details about your preferred bit for each application in chair making.
They are good for drilling angled holes for spindles and balusters. The edge spurs on these, and on the old style speedbor bits scribe a clean, crisp outer circumference and form a more or less flat bottomed hole…yes, like a forstner bit, but forstners are awkward to use in a hand held drill because they skitter. With the old Speedbors, and these new Wood Owls, you can center punch your starting mark and then angle the drill motor up to about 45 degrees off square.
Gotta love the “two-bit drama” comment! When I first read it I gave it a “quarter” of a laugh. LOL
Yeah, any way you spin it, the two-bit drama comment really drills the point home. Next time it needs a warning so I can brace myself.
Difference on using auger and spade bits, please. Wood Owl sells both.
I was lucky enough to live near the Hardwicks store for a summer, amazing place.
Since Irwin introduced their quick grip shanks -as distinguished from the straight faceted shanks- some years ago, I noticed they ALL wobble whether in a drill press chuck, hand drill or bit extension. I have plenty of the “older” ones, with and without rim spurs, and they work perfectly, but have thrown away the newer ones with disgust.
If they work well, great. Obviously. But there are still differences between the old Irwins and the Wood Owls, and I’m curious if it makes a difference.
The Wood Owls have a milled portion along the center spur and the cutting edge. The Irwins were milled so that the cutting edges were angled inward, appearing, at least, to allow for a cutting action, rather than scraping.
Does it make a difference?
Not in the cleanness of the holes. Or the cutting speed. But I’ll have a better feel for things after a couple chairs.
Zoro shows the Woodowl available.
https://www.zoro.com/woodowl-spade-bit-16-x-58-01607/i/G4079715/feature-product?utm_source=google&utm_medium=surfaces&utm_campaign=shopping%20feed&utm_content=free%20google%20shopping%20clicks&gclid=Cj0KCQiAjc2QBhDgARIsAMc3SqQzXNOKutil2qB6VpZ3hObY31NNeFSGJzHXV-1Itr2hZLiqepyJ7t8aAunUEALw_wcB
If you Google 5/8 x 16″ speedbor spade with cutting spurs
you will find a few sources for the old style Irwin brand.
For no wobble bit extenders try finding an old Stanley 04-312A 1/4″ hex, made in usa and two set screws to hold bits.
11/16″ x 6″ long spades are still available. The wood doesn’t care if your hole (and stick) is 1/16″ bigger. I’d wager the eye won’t either. I did that with the Lee valley tenon cutter when the size Chris recommended in ADB wasn’t available. Haven’t had any issues. If you’re reaming out the hole, you could also go smaller and get the 1/2″ x 16 that’s still available. Might mean a little more reaming to get the hole big enough. P.S. there’s a joke buried in there somewhere, but I’ll leave it to be excavated by the chair chat gurus of salt.
Two-bit drama… cracked me up.
The Wood Owls are made in China? In that case, please, please, don’t buy them. Until we all start to exercise better buying decisions, China will continue to murder, torture and oppress minorities under its power. This isn’t a political argument – it’s a humanitarian one. I have near neighbours who had to flee their homes and come to my country with elderly family members who had never been abroad, in order to escape Chinese oppression. We have to care more about what happens to other human beings than we do about getting our hands on a nice tool, when it has been steeped in blood.