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Permalink Reply by Korrigan on December 25, 2017 at 3:26pm

Oh man, sorry to see that. Yeah, clamping the lid to a backing board would have been the way to go. Also, Forstner and brad-point bits are a great investment if you don't have them already. Either one works much better than a spade bit.

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Permalink Reply by Titch the Clown on December 25, 2017 at 7:12pm

Sharp bits help prevent this sort of thing. A little diamond sharpening paddle is a good investment. 

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Permalink Reply by Paul Cezanne on December 26, 2017 at 1:04am

I'll be clamping all holes for sure now! And this bit was brand new, that's what's odd. Here's a photo from the web:

I got a set of these this summer for a home owner project, they work well in the bigger sizes on pressure treated when you push, but that screw just didn't want to bite and so I guess I pushed too hard.

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Permalink Reply by Titch the Clown on December 26, 2017 at 10:12am

That screw in tip will split a thin board every time. That bit reminds me of the fishing lures built to catch fishermen rather than fish. 

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Permalink Reply by Paul Cezanne on December 26, 2017 at 10:37am

Oh well, live and learn...

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Permalink Reply by Richard Dean on December 26, 2017 at 1:47pm

I've got the same design, from Bosch, I F'ing hate them, predrill everything almost the same size as the screw tip, as soon as I buy the not screw tip type, these are going bye bye

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Permalink Reply by Keith Rearick on December 26, 2017 at 10:14am

The end really doesn't look pointed on that spade bit. Also you could pre-drill with another regular small bit, and then use the spade bit to finish.then

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Permalink Reply by Paul Cezanne on December 26, 2017 at 10:38am

I'm absolutely going to doing that. And maybe getting some Forstner bits, cheap sets don't seem too expensive. I'm just leery of cheap tools, you end up paying twice, the second time when you buy the real stuff...

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Permalink Reply by Grandpa on December 26, 2017 at 2:23pm

Paul, buy a good quality forstner bit set. I had a cheaper set, and they dulled real quick. You can sharpen them with a fine file or a diamond file, and a good set should last you for years. My $.02. Plus all the other tips...back up your work, etc. Plus, older, thin would (like your awesome box) will eat it every time. Fix your box, and have a story to tell.

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Permalink Reply by Titch the Clown on December 26, 2017 at 8:16pm

The step drill bits aka Devo hat drill bits are great on thin materials 

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on December 27, 2017 at 7:23pm

Older boxes might be one piece of wood, where a lot of modern ones are ply or MDF.  Glue it back together and throw that paddle away... paddle bits are rough service tools...  I had some of the same ones... I threw them away and that is HARD for me to do... Those are good for drilling through a 2x4, not much else.  That's a beautiful antique box!

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Permalink Reply by Paul Cezanne on December 28, 2017 at 11:48am

Today is gluing day!

It's way too cold in the basement for me even with the hat and fingerless gloves. So I used our kitchen side table. Now the cool thing about the table is that it used to be my mother's father's workbench in his basement. (I told me wife that this is what we grab if the house burns down and she agreed, as long as we go back for her grandmother's rocking chair.)

So I get this great connection to the man I never met. (He died when my mom was 13...)

Now I'll never clamp like this again. The warped table and the warped lid meant it was a nasty fit. Basically I got lucky on my third attempt.

Next time I'll just use a similar sized board and clamp all four corners. I do feel a slight rise. I can't sand it down because of the lettering but I'm not to worried, as somebody said above, "It will be a good story."

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