▼EXPAND THIS SECTION FOR MORE RESOURCES RELATED TO THIS VIDEO▼ *Tools used in this video:* -300/600 Grit diamond hone: amzn.to/3rXS9G7 -Curved diamond file: amzn.to/3rZihk1 -Lapping fluid: amzn.to/3r9dGws -KIT with all three above: amzn.to/3uagknK *More Links promised in this video:* -Video about forstner bit tricks: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ntKeqJSiva3ekn0.html -Video about different types of forstner bits: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gstyecZ0ub6-m3U.html -More videos on our website: stumpynubs.com/ -Subscribe to our e-Magazine: stumpynubs.com/browse-and-subscribe/ -Check out our project plans: stumpynubs.com/product-category/plans/ -Instagram: instagram.com/stumpynubs/ -Twitter: twitter.com/StumpyNubs ★THIS VIDEO WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY★ Fisch Forstner and drill Bits: amzn.to/3KT440D *Please help support us by using the link above for a quick look around!* (If you use one of these affiliate links, we may receive a small commission) ★SOME OF MY FAVORITE CHEAP TOOLS★ -123 Blocks: lddy.no/vpij -Mechanical Pencils: amzn.to/2PA7bwK -Lumber pencil: amzn.to/2QtwZjv -Pocket Measuring Tape: amzn.to/2kNTlI9 -Irwin Drill Bit Gauge: amzn.to/2AwTkQg -Nut/Bolt/Screw Gauge: amzn.to/2CuvxSK -Self-Centering Punch: amzn.to/2QvbcrC -Self-Centering Bits: amzn.to/2xs71UW -Angle Cube: lddy.no/10nam -Steel Ruler: lddy.no/10mv7 -Utility knife: amzn.to/3nfhIiv -Center-Finding Ruler: lddy.no/10nak -Bit & Blade Cleaner: amzn.to/2TfvEOI -Digital depth gauge: amzn.to/3mwRf2x -Wood Glue: amzn.to/3mqek6M -Spade Bits: amzn.to/3j8XPtD ★SOME OF MY FAVORITE HAND TOOLS★ -Digital Caliper: amzn.to/384H1Or -Marking Gauge: lddy.no/10muz -Marking knife: lddy.no/10mv0 -Narex Chisels: lddy.no/sqm3 -Stanley Sweetheart Chisels: amzn.to/3y5HDOc -Mini Pull Saw: amzn.to/2UEHBz6 -Gent Saw: lddy.no/ss2x -Coping saw: amzn.to/2W7ZiUS -Shinwa Rulers: lddy.no/zl13 ★SOME OF MY FAVORITE POWER TOOLS★ -Miter Saw: amzn.to/3gqIlQ8 -Jointer: amzn.to/3yc3gfZ -Planer: amzn.to/3mn6BGF -Router: amzn.to/3grD22S -Sander: amzn.to/3DdvD0Y -Cordless drill: amzn.to/3D9ZiIm -Brad nailer: amzn.to/3gsRkjH -Mini Compressor: amzn.to/3mvrmQr -Bladerunner: amzn.to/2Wl0TtJ -Jig Saw: amzn.to/3zetTBY -Scroll Saw: amzn.to/3gq9qDc -Multi-Tool: amzn.to/3muZuMi ★SOME OF MY FAVORITE OTHER TOOLS★ -Drill Bits: amzn.to/3B8Ckzh -Forstner Bits: amzn.to/3kk3wEI -Shop Vacuum: amzn.to/2Wkqnbl -Machine Setup Blocks: amzn.to/3gq7kDh -Counter-Sink Bit: amzn.to/37ZukUo -Featherboard: amzn.to/3DeqHsq -ISOtunes Hearing Protection (Save $10): bit.ly/3BHYdH7 (If you use one of the affiliate links above, we may receive a small commission)

Having just bought my first set of forstner bits, this is a valuable lesson . I can always count on you for teaching a very senior beginning woodworker something he should have learned many years ago. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Great vid! An additional tip to improve accuracy and monitor your progress: use a large blue dry-erase felt tip marker to color the surface you're about to hone. It will provide instant feedback. Why blue? Because black is actually difficult to see on polished steel. Wipe off any excess blue when done to prevent marking your work.

Now you sold me on that card sharpener. I love hearing the theory on why the 5 strokes, which seems so simple once you hear it. That also reduces the chance I might lose count if I get distracted.

Sharpening trick: color the face you’re sharpening with a marker, or marking fluid. It helps seeing when your sharpening reaches the cutting edge. I use it on knives, plane irons, chisels, and drill bits all the time.

Dude, I'm not even a wordworker but an avid fan of the trades and a fiend for knowledge. The obvious takeaways from your videos are the woodworking skills, but your presentation style and seamless ability to convey complex ideas for the layman viewer is incredible. That is something awesome I am taking from your videos, and I'm grateful for each and every one of your uploads.

Fisch Forstner Drill Bit Sets made in Austria were too expensive for me recently, so I ended up purchasing a Freud FB-100 16PC Diablo Forstner Drill Bit Set also made in Austria from Amazon for $174.12 before sales tax. Both share the same wavy outer cutting design around their circumferences. This Freud FB-100 Set should last me a pretty long time. Nice to know how to touch-them-up because replacing them as need be, although necessary, is a certainly cost maintenance bummer, so I will drill slowly. Thank you for the 3-piece Sharpening Kit tip, Amazon offered 25% off the $107.99, so I saved $27.00 based on your timely recommendation.

Great timing! I just went back and rewatched this from 5 years ago when I needed to sharpen a forstner bit this week. I have the diamond file, but I think I'll pick up the card file next. That looks handy for a lot of tools.

DAMNIT STUMPY!! YOU HAVE THE BEST TIPS AND TRICKS!! LOVE YOUR VIDEOS MY BRUTHA!!

In order to reduce the variation of an additional variable, if you were to drill a shank sized hole in a piece of wood and hold it in a vise, it would keep the bit from wiggling around as you were sharpening the rims. That may be a better technique than holding the bit in your hand for that operation. As always, great job great instruction! Thanks!

Really useful tip James and this works every time for me. I have watched your previous version as well and even started doing this to my carbide router bits that have straight/flat surfaces like the edge trim bits as well. I have been able to use some of these for nearly 10 years with still good performance

Thumbs up before watching. Thanks very much for the information and the links.

Outstanding! I was wondering what to do with my Forstner bits that were not performing as they did! Now I just have to track down a few of these credit card type diamond sharpeners in NZ! Nothings ever is easy over here! Thanks very much for maintaining such an interesting and informative channel! Very much my favourite woodworking channel on line!

Great instructions. Thank you! I watched your 2016 Fast & Easy Forstner Bit Sharpening video about a year ago and purchased the Trend curved diamond file and lapping fluid. I was able to breathe new life into several Forstner bits that were no longer cutting clean holes. One or two had been damaged by overheating, so I'll probably have to replace them soon. Now that I have a drill press, overheating is less of a concern because I can control the drilling speed and the pressure of the bit against the wood far better.

You should become an audiobook narrator. Perfect voice for it :)

I really appreciate your delivery. Steady pacing, precise choice of words to make your point clear and understandable even for someone new to the subject, no wasted words, no misspeaking, and enough intonation to sound authentic and engaging. With all the instructional videos out there, especially for different interests, that rely of hype or rush through too many words in making their point, your channel really stands out as an example of good instruction. I know next to nothing about woodworking, but I'm learning very useful things from you, and not only about woodworking.

I have been using a magnifying head band and a Dremel with either a small cutoff wheel, or conical stone, or sanding drum, depending on the forstner edge that needs sharpening for about 30 years. Started with diamond hones during my first 10 years of woodworking, but life is too short. In the 30 years of grinding, I messed one up bad enough that I couldn't salvage it and had to replace it. All the others are sharp and still living. As long as it is cutting clean, it is not the end of the world if the chips come off a bit uneven...just take a bit more off the heavy flute the next time. As it is the flute taking all the cut, it will also be the first to need a tune up. There are single flute bits, after all. Clean hole is the goal. Teak will take more than 5 laps a side after about 3 holes. My advice is that if you have a dull bit, try the Dremel. You really don't have much to lose, and you may find that you can carefully (and quickly) get a sharp edge, even on a "trashed" bit and get back to quality work.

I ordered the kit, 25% off...thanks Jim

I remember my Technical Preparations course in highschool and your voice, intellect, and explanation reminds me of those tutorial videos at the beginning of each weekly station

"Fully blunt, wood smokin' piece of scrap metal" 🤣🤣🤣🤣I love your sense of humor. Thanks for the tips.

Thanks for tips, James! I just ordered my first set of forstner bits (I ordered a mid-tier set). I’ll definitely remember these tips!

Excellent video and explanation of the art of sharpening Forster bits! This has always been a vague area which resulted in mixed results when I tried to sharpen some of my dull bits. Thank you for presenting a clear and precise process to follow which you also explain clearly! Well done!

This video popped up at the perfect time because my cheap saw toothed forstner bits are super dull and I have no idea how to sharpen them correctly. Thank you Stumpy!

You are brilliant in your field!

Fantastic, James! Thanks a lot! 😃 I'm definitely going to try it! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Great vid! Great info! Thanks!

Wait, what? Useful, simple, actitionable info from a utube channel? Thanks Stumpy!

I bought the Trend kit you used there after your video years ago about how you sharpen your router bits. It works really well, and is still working great after repeated uses.

Such a useful video, really helpful as ever. Thank you.

I just bought a set of Fisch bits, nearly cut myself on them, that's how sharp they were out of the box! I'm very impressed with them.

Thank-you, great advice.

Bravo! Useful video. Thank you!

This is a great sharpening lesson. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.

Brilliant video as usual, Cheers from the Uk 🇬🇧

I bought a set of Fisch bits about a year ago, based on your recommendation. It is another tool I wonder how I did my work without for all those years.

I love your quality channel.

Great lesson James, thanks.

Thanks for sharing those tips!

You have some awesome timing, James! Ordered the sharpening set from Trend. Guess I’ll do the Forstner bit sharpening after that gets here. Thanks very much for all this great information.

Ironically I just got these last week and am new to your channel. I've been going through some of your videos that are as old as 10 years and have great content

I think I was one who asked about sharpening lol n you answered, your my boy blue!

Perfectly explained! I knew the trick of counting your moves from sharpening the chainsaw.👍

Great tip.

Great information James, really appreciate your helpful hints and reminders for tool maintenance , saves around the shop. Fred.

You are a friggin wizard.

Great points i will use this method

Very informative, thank you Sir Stumpy!

Great tutorial Jim. Thanks.

Thanks for this info 👍

Another great tip video! I was thinking of using an etching pen to mark on the bit how many times it's been sharpened.

Fisch wave bits are simply amazingly good. I use a cylindrical slip stone in a drill press on on a very slow speed for the wave edges.

I have nothing to say really, but I appreciate your content, and wish to help with the yt-algorithms.

Another worthy moment to mention, in lieu of dowels fine enough to reach those tiny curved surfaces, bamboo skewers come in a fair variety of diameters and lengths, and they're both cheaply bought AND relatively strong and durable!!! In most "lapidary supply" sources (sites like Rio Grande for instance) also offer ordinary diamond grit... JUST the grit. A little know-how and some adhesive allows you to order the grit # you want, and stick it to the object, surface, or curvy material as needed... It's (again) not entirely a perfect solution to everything, but when you need a specialty utensil or one-off instrumentation for a specialty job, it can work "in a pinch" or even become a "new gold standard" for your shop with a little invested experimentation... ...AS with anything, though... It's also about "How far YOU want to take it." ;o)

Great information. I struggle to keep my forstner bits sharp.

Another good vid. Suggestion: grind an angle on the edge of the diamond card so you can get into the corners better.

Excellent, thank you Nubs.

Same as sharpening Angie any multi cutter tool. ...and this includes Chainsaw blades, which is where I learned this technique many years ago.

If you do back and forth strokes, you are rounding the surface because the pressure of your strokes is always more on the side that the direction of the stroke is. Therefore, you should stroke from the sharp side down, lift the card up and repeat. In your theory this should be 10 strokes then. I would love to hear your thoughts about this.

Thank You, I’ve been so frustrated with burning holes, that I’ve bought new bits…. That’s an expensive fix. Looking forward to using your technique tomorrow…

How can you be a woodworker and not be subbed to Stumpy? I just got a set of the Fisch wave forstners! Thanks James!

Way to go Jimmy my boy. Go Wings.

Thanks for another great video. Keep em coming

Putting some blue Dykem layout fluid on gives a good visual reference.

3:17, look at where you're pointing the card to the left of the center. That provides a negative rake angle, when you'd expect a positive rake to work better (the card should be pointed to the right of the center in the shot). But as you know, the forstner geometry is a pair of rotating plane blades, with a scoring knife around the edge, so the "teeth" don't cut like a hole saw. They're just scoring. Also, while honing in 5 strokes isn't going to hurt your bits, you're effectively sharpening bench plane blades by laying the blade flat on the stone instead of sharpening the bevel. I do agree though that hand sharpening the bevel presents issues that make it impractical.

You are like the Gil Grissom of tools

Nice Tutorial👍

Hey stumpy you should have a podcast

Suggestion You could first mark the surface to be sharpened with a marker pen This would then allow you to observe where you had sharpened

My instincts tell me that more strokes = larger sample size = less variation in total. Interesting that you recommend a little of the opposite (only 5 strokes)

When hand sharpening something like these forstner bits by hand, I like to use bluing on the surface being ground so I can see where my diamond is making contact. Since I don’t have bluing at home, I use a magic marker.

The link lead to Freud bits on top of the list.

What side are you using? When showing the "lay flat" technique, you seem to be sanding on the 600 side of the card. When doing the alternative "bevel only" chipper, you're using the 300 side. Is there a reason for this?

The diamond card, diamond file, and lapping fluid cost less bought separately than in the kit package!

I found average to cheap bits can all do with a sharpen out of the box. Saves more hassles later and gets half decent cuts.

I always go for carbide tipped forstner bits. way better

I liked that set. Could you tell me how much it costs in Canadian dollars and how can I order them? Thanks. Julio from Canadá

Thanks for saving me some money. Luckily I haven’t thrown away some of my dull bits.

For me, using a Sharpie to mark the cutting edge makes it easier to see where the metal is being removed. Am I getting the cutting edge, or do I have to change the angle a bit?

Off topic, where do you buy your sandpaper/ sanding disc from? Looking for some higher grits. Thx.

Is this trick suitable for carbide tipped bits ?

So 5 seems to be the magic number, eh? Will it probably apply to chainsaw hand sharpening as well?

I have to admit that Fisch Wave forstner and premium wood drill bits are the best ones I have ever tried. I'm not sponsored by them and I bought them with my own money! Top product at a great price! On that note economy Fisch drill bits are not worth the price.

Wrap that fine grit sandpaper around the tapered end of a chopstick

Thanks for another great tutorial. Could you please tell me the name of the lubricant you use. I couldn’t quite catch it in the video.

I'm thinking of getting the trend card file, and notice they make a similar product called a double sided machinist file for just a few bucks more. It seems to do the same thing as the card file, but has a handle which may make it a little easier to hold. Anyone have experience with this or comparison?

I just watched your video of random orbit sanders. I wanted to ask what kind of random orbit sander should I buy for a shop that only makes cabinet doors, and sometimes do 40 to 50 panales without break. I was also wondering what kind sand paper i should use. I fell like I'm wasting money throwing away sanding paper after 20 o so panales. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Is there a brand of Forester bits you would recommend? Thanks.

Have you ever made a bit unbalanced from sharping? Foerster bits may not be as noticeable due the lower speeds but I've done about 2000 passes on 2in router flattening bit and this was just to see if I could flatten the cutters on my cheap China bit and well I didn't but I got most of it and the most important parts but I didn't have any issues but the balancing seemed fine or the same as before I wasted 30 mins. I've always heard not to do to many passes for that reason. But didn't seem to effect anything

Fisch offers a sharpening tool for forstner bits.

I had a guy put a knife edge on a planer bit, once, and then he couldn't figure out why it wouldn't cut.

Really surprised they don't have Milwaukee switchblade style replaceable cutting blades

How ironic. I just watched your other forstner bit sharpening video not two days ago. The strange thing is I went to like seven different videos that day, all on sharpening forstner bits, and every single one of them told something different than the last. There wasn't a bit of consistency between any of the people I watched sharpen their forstner bits. I think I'm going to stick with the Stumpy technique.

"fully blunt wood smoking piece of scrap metal", excuse me sir...how dare you break into my garage and test my tools without my knowledge.

I just realized you never do an woodworking on this channel.

💚🇬🇧🌱

Perfect! Another $110 well spent (though Mrs Woodprobie most likely would disagree). Question: when (or should) I become concerned when these 70 year old shakey hands and fingers make this a futile attempt? Thanks again.

I bought one of the Fisch wave forstner bits on your recommendation...what a WASTE of £40, its already dull after drilling only 10 holes in the end grain of some 4x4 soft timber. A cheaper (£20) one from a local DIY store, done nearly 400 holes before it started to dull. I'll be taking your recommendations with a pinch of salt from now on. Not impressed at all.

... wood smoking piece of scrap metal...😂

First yo

I really have to stop watching your videos!!!! I’m going broke buying all this stuff.