A bit of a surprise

I don’t typically do reviews here, but I do enjoy talking about tools I find surprising, unique or otherwise useful in a way I didn’t expect. And that’s the case with a set of short brad point bits I found online.

As often happens, I was looking for something else when I found these bits. There have always been short bits for use in cramped quarters – and extra-long bits, too, for extended reach – and there’s really nothing “special” about them.

But the fact that these bits were all the same length, were brad points, had 1/4" hex shanks, and came in a set of seven from 1/16" to 3/8" immediately caught my eye. I have tons of drill bits, of course, but I keep most of them together in a cabinet near my drill press, with a few common bits scattered here and there around the shop.

I rarely drill holes larger than 3/8" but find that I drill lots of holes 3/8" and smaller, so this set proved to be an easy-to-grab-what-I-need asset, especially for things like pilot holes or just any kind of quick, small hole. The fact that they’re hex-shank is even handier.

These got so much use the first week I had them that I bought five more sets, and keep them at strategic spots around the shop, plus one in my tool tote and one in the kitchen junk/tool drawer where I also keep a little 4-volt driver. That diver isn’t really a drill, especially not at 4 volts, but if I need a quick hole anywhere upstairs, I can do it in a pinch without having to go down to the shop to get a “real” drill.

There are lots of these sets available online, all by manufacturers I never heard of, and they all seem identical. (Probably from the same factory in a foreign land.) They’re not the best bits I own, but they’re not bad, either, and for their purpose I find them perfect.