CNC machined or wood drill bit?
I am currently enrolled in an online workshop class and the instructor keeps talking about how great the “Fish” bits he has been using perform. When I looked up the 7-piece set he kept raving about, I quickly noticed the price was just north of $100 (USD). Yikes!
As it turns out the brand name is actually Fisch. Apparently for trademark reasons they were originally marketed in the US as Fish until around 2015 and then were labeled correctly as Fisch. Because of this, you might see both spellings floating around online.
Despite the price, I decided to order a set which showed up in a couple days. After drilling a couple holes, it was obvious the Fisch bits were nothing like your average twist drill bit or any other wood bit I had used for that matter. There was absolutely no tear out where the bit entered the wood and surprisingly very little tear out where they exited. The actual bore through the wood could not have looked better if you machined it on a CNC machine.
The Fisch HSS wood twist drill bit is manufactured with chrome steel. It has a precision center point, two main cutters, and two identical height spur cutters. The design allows it to pull down and separate the wood fibers when you start the drilling process eliminating tear out.
The bits also feature four perfectly ground spirals for a perfect bore and fast chip removal. I will warn you in advance, these bits are SHARP and you won’t be able to “flick” shavings out of the flutes as you do on a normal bit as doing so will likely remove some skin.
In my case I find the bits extremely useful when used in a hand drill. Like most people I can normally get a decent looking hole using the drill press because I can increase the speed and improve the quality. Hand drills typically don’t spin fast enough so I often end up with mediocre holes. The Fisch wood twist drill bit in a hand drill make cuts equal to those from a drill press. In addition, the bit design allows you to drill at an angle similar to a forstner bit without deviating from your intended direction.
The Fisch 7 piece set tested is part number FSF-320814 and comes in a nice wood storage case. Bit sizes for this kit are : 1/8-Inch, 3/16-Inch, 1/4-Inch, 5/16-Inch, 3/8-Inch, 7/16-Inch, and ½”.
From Fisch Tools site:
QUALITY, PRECISION AND INNOVATION SINCE 1946.
With its drill factory in West Styria, Austria and its subsidiary Fammab Eberhard France S.A. in France, Johann Eberhard Ges.m.b.H specializes in the production of high-quality drilling and milling tools.
The most important prerequisite for high-quality tools is the right selection of raw materials.
Due to the standardization of steels and the high-quality steel processing in Europe, we can say with a clear conscience that we only use the best raw materials for the processing of our tools. Cutting is performed on state-of-the-art CNC- or robot-controlled machines which ensure the highest possible processing precision. In addition to the standard products from the range of drilling and milling tools, we produce custom-made solutions on the basis of samples, drawings or joint development together with the customer. This is where the factors of long term expertise and economic requirements merge to become a “FISCH® precision tool”.
We leave nothing to chance! You can depend on our quality.
I’ve heard really good things about Fisch bits. I was always confused when looking for these bits why one was spelled Fish and the other Fisch. I was guessing that someone was trying to play the knock off game.
I’ve been wanting to try a set of their Forstner bits for about 2 years now. I was hoping that they would pop up at my local woodcraft store.