Looking for a good source for Auger Bits. Need a 3/4, 1, and 2", long enough to boar through 8x8 timbers. Where do you guys get yours?
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,50674.0.html
Jim and his partner have some great bits and they are sharp!! I highly recommend them!
Rich Miller
Long (18") solid center auger bits with double spurs are hard to find, these days. But I found new Irwin ones available ($16-18) from Hardwick Hardware in Seattle. They will mail order.
Great store is you ever get to Seattle, in the U-District; lots of antique and hard-to-find tools.
Irwin, for some reason, no longer lists the long solid-center bits on their website, only ships augers.
For large 2 inch bits, vintage is the more likely source, however the common double twist bits will sometimes snap if used in a powered drill. I have had good results with single spur auger bits, they are getting harder to find, check with industrial supply houses. Avoid common unspurred auger bits or so called nail eaters, they will not bore clean holes. Get an auger file and a set of carvers india stone files.
I've been very pleased with the auger bits, and other tools Jim has provided.
Old time quality and totally functional and ready to work.
The unanswered question is, do you need ships auger bits for an antique boring machine, a Milwaukee holehawg drill, or for something else. For a large drill, bits are available with a hex shank from a number of sources -Irwin, Bosch, etc.
For shorter bits for mortises, wood owl makes good bits(they make long ones too).
For an antique boring machine, I prefer the antique bits. As others have said, Jim Rogers is a good source. The old bits in proper condition and sharpened are great.
If you are doing peg holes all the way through a timber, I'd want something to keep you perpendicular to the timber. Boring machine does that well. Fixtures for drill work too. Some guys do it by eye too though.