Forstner Bit

  • Barrel stave candle holder project

    PROJECT: Whiskey Barrel Stave Candle Holder

    This barrel stave centerpiece is inviting to look at and easy to make.

  • Freud Four-piece Precision Shear Serrated Edge Forstner Bit Set

    Hardened steel, serrated-edge bits with multiple shear angles cut wood cleanly and efficiently.

  • Bigger Isn’t Always Better

    How much do you like benchtop power tools? Our field editor shares some thoughts about three of his favorites.

  • Stick with What Works

    A couple years ago, I invested in a popular loose-tenon joinery system to see how that would work for me. As a tool reviewer, I’m always anxious to try a new gizmo on for size, and this tool was getting a lot of buzz. Heck, a faster, easier way to make mortise-and-tenon joinery. Sounded good to me!

    Well, the product came, and I put it to work on my next few projects. It did the job swimmingly, chomping mortise after mortise in good time. The cuts were clean, the setup was pretty easy and those loose tenons dropped right into place. Really, there was no part of the operation I could complain about.

    But as time went on, that new tool got less use than it first did. I ended up switching back to making M&Ts the way I’ve always done them: mortising on the drill press, followed by tenon-cutting on the table saw.