Customer Reviews

Milwaukee 48-25-3621 3-5/8-Inch Bit with 7/16-Inch Shank Selfeed Bit

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

An HVAC friend of mine recommended Milwaukee's series of big selfeed bits for the do-it-myself job of retrofitting a radiant, underfloor heating system in our 112-year-old one-room schoolhouse. I like to learn how the pros do things, and as every professional electrician and plumber must know already, these bits work great, but with at least one limitation. Running the tubing for our underfloor radiant heat requires drilling many holes through old 2 1/2" joists and the blocking between them. I began the job yesterday and, I'm afraid, got a little carried away. With a powerful right-angle drill, the bit seemed to stop at nothing and the work went fast. The selfeed tip pulled my 1 1/2" cutter through effortlessly, and to finish off a hole (once the tip punched through and lost its grip) all that was needed was a little pressure from me. The holes were clean, and the chips were everywhere! Nothing would stop this bit, I thought. Little did I know that old-fashioned cut nails had been used to nail down a 1950's plywood subfloor. I soon found one of those nails with my bit, and thinking this thing would go through anything, I waited patiently for it to chew up the nail and spit it out with the chips. Soon I found myself wrestling with the drill, pushing harder and harder, going in from the other side for a counterattack, giving up, trying again, and then finally admitting to myself that the "threads" had been destroyed on the selfeed tip. The nail sat square in the middle of the hole, unbent and barely scratched. Milwaukee sells their bits with an extra tip so when this kind of thing happens work may go on. But being who I am, I soon had the second tip ruined and the job only 40% done. And there's no drilling without that tip. I tried. No go. Back at the store they set me straight: these bits are not meant to handle nails, especially the hard metal of old cut nails. Hit a nail? Back off immediately and start a new hole where hopefully there is no nail. I like to learn how the pros do things, and as every professional electrician and plumber must know already, these bits work great, but they're not meant for nails.

we have been using this brand of bits for the past 8 years. the bits that i have purchased in the past 7 months have not met our expectations. they wear out after drilling ten holes. In the past they have lasted atleast 3 hundred holes. the set screws are wearing out a lot faster as well. They have lost their durability. I would like to continue using these bits, but we need the quality that milwaukee used to have.

If you plan on running drain pipe through studs, you are going to have to make some holes. Augers and spade bits only go up to inch and a half- thats the size of the pipe, so they're out. You need to make holes at least 2 inches, so that leaves you with self feeds or holesaws.

Holesaws are cheaper, but they are also slower. You have to stop after each hole and wrestle the spent plug of wood out of the holesaw body. Very time consuming. If you hit a nail with the holesaw, it's game over. Self feeds can be resharpened with a file.

On the other hand, with this self feed bit, ther is no stoping to get plugs out- there are no plugs-Just a nice pile of wood shavings. The self feed bit has a lead screw that pulls it through the workpiece. All in all a sweet and smooth operation.

I used this bit when I added a laundry sink to my laundry room. Runing the vent drains were no problem with this bit making adequate sized holes for me.

The only downside to this bit is it requires a 1/2 inch drill to operate. (But so would most larger holesaws) The 7/16 shank also mandates a 1/2 inch chuck. Self feed bits generally also require a drill that has some power. My Milwaukees had no problem spining it, nor did my 14.4 Makitas, My Ridgid hammer drill, or my Metabo angle drill.

This is a pretty serious bit that normally costs a decent amount of money, (close to 30 dollars) so I tend to treat it with more care than other bits that costs less. I avoid running into nails whenever possible.

I use the side handle on the drill I am using it with to avoid getting hurt in the event that the bit stalls in the wood while the drill keeps going.

This is an expensive way to drill a hole, but it works great. It cuts fast and really is self feeding once it digs in. Plus it can be resharpened. If you have a lot of holes to drill use one of these paired with a high torque drill-much better than spade bits, which quickly wear out or hole saws, which can bottom out after a couple of inches. I like the Dewalt self-feed bits slightly more because they have two cutters and seem to work a little faster with less effort.

Regarding the other review - as a plumber in the Virgin islands, I know full well that not only will these bits not eat nails, they are wrecked by them. Cut nails are a much harder and less maliable steel than a regular nail, and also a much harder steel than these bits, which are not carbide. I try to take care not to hit nails when using them. It ruins their cutting edge in seconds. Fortunatle they can be resharpened with a Dremel quickly and I always keep one handy in my truck.

If I cannot avoid a nail, I switch to a bimetal hole saw. While the Selfeed is really a Forstner and planes out the whole hole, a hole saw makes it a lot easier to cut around the nail, and these bits are rated for metal as well (although cut nails will probably rip their teeth off). The downside of the hole saw is that most only drill to two inches, and they are much, much slower than Selfeeds. Also, it's tedious to extract the wood core after each hole. A pro keeps both and keeps his eyes open.

We use alot of the Milwaukee self feed bits and they are reliable. They are strong and durable. I would recommend these style bits.

We ordered this to help drill holes in the side of walls so we could insulate the house. It worked great.

At times I still grab one of these self-feed hole cutters when I need to make a large hole through a thick timber, to big a hole for a auger bit and too deep for a TCT hole cutter. Nails will kill the edge which is tool steel and the screw that makes for the self-feed action is OK for soft woods but on any hard wood like I run into with old houses and the screw pulls the hole cutter in faster than the blades can cut and the hole cutter will jam and wrench the drill. Recommend using the least powerful drill you can get away with so when it does jam you are less likely to get hurt. MDF and OSB will dull the blades quickly but you can use a fine Arkansas hone to dress them and keep and edge on them. Speed wise they are midway between a bi-metal hole saw and a TCT hole cutter.

Had a tough job of 25 holes in a difficult location overhead. The Milwaukee 2 inch self feeding bit easily bored though fir 2 x 4s and was still in new condition when the job was done: Didn't hit any nails. Always get the right tool for the job.

I'm a remodeling contractor. This is the best bit I've found for boring through studs or joists when doing plumbing rough-in work. The bit basically pulls itself through the wood and chews up everything on the way through.

I use my DeWalt DW120K right angle drill but you could use a hole hawg etc. Use a heavy duty 1/2" drill, preferably one that you can hold with 2 hands because if this gets stuck on a nail etc. while drilling the torque of the drill can really painfully wrench your arm.

One great thing is that can send the bits out for resharpening although will they last a long time before you have to. Get a 2 9/16ths bit for running your 2" pipe and a 12" hex bit extender because the shank is only about 3" long.