Holdfasts

I have just received these wonderful holdfasts, tenderly hand crafted by Richard T of UKWorkshop fame (who says they don't make anything in the Midlands any more eh!)

So the next thing I needed was a 3/4" Forstner bit to make the holes for them, but believe it or not, between my collection, the collection I inherited from my Dad, the odds and ends box and the stock in the shop there was not one 3/4 inch bit to be found!

Not to worry, a quick purchase order to the nice people at FAMAG and a big box of goodies arrives. I plumped for 19mm (3/4 inch = 19.049mm) so they are only half a gnats undersize and will slot neatly into our existing product range. If anyone ever needs imperial bits, we can get them in in about a week - just drop us a message on our contact us page.

I suspect there may be others in a similar predicament so I have taken the libery of ordering a few more, listing them on the site and putting them on special offer.

Now comes the next question. My benchtop is about 50mm thick, and I've got a sheet of 12mm MDF and a sheet of 9mm ply winking at me and suggesting that they would love to be glued and screwed to the underside in a double sandwich taking it up to 82mm - nearly the full depth of the apron. The forstner will happily do 60mm on its own or up to 410mm with an extension, so either way putting the holes in is no problem.

Will the extra mass be worth it?

Will the holdfast holes wear better if they are in thicker material?

Have I got the time to do it, or will it become just another job on the list?

Whatever happens, I'll keep you posted.

And the FAMAG quiz winner is...

Many thanks to all who took part in our FAMAG quiz, the response was fantastic and the standard of entries very high so we did end up having to draw a name out of a hat.

Before we announce the lucky winner here are the correct answers:

1. Who invented the Forstner Bit and when? Benjamin Forstner - 1874.


2. What are the smallest and largest diameters of bits in the 3500 series? 3mm and 30mm.


3. What do the letters F, A and M stand for in FAMAG? Friedrich August Mühlhoff.


4. Should a plug cutter ideally be used in the middle of a board or close to an edge? Close to the edge.


5. I want to bore through timber, thin metal and brickwork in a single pass, which series of FAMAG bits should I use? FAMAG 2183 Multi-purpose bits.


6. What range of bit sizes will a 2202.000 Vario countersink fit?3mm and 8mm.





7. The photo above shows a set of hollow Bormax forstner bits that allow the centre pin to be replaced with a standard drill bit. In what situation would this be useful?Drilling a hole at an angle.


8. Bormax3 are the only carbide tipped forstners in the world that can be used safely in which type of drill? Freehand.


9. I want to drill a hole in some Lignum Vitae, should I use CV or HSS-G bits? HSS-G.


10. In which German town have FAMAG been continuously producing drill tooling since 1865? Remscheid.

And so, without further ado...

The winner of the Workshop Heaven FAMAG Quiz is... Alastair Hislop!

Congratulations Alastair and well done to all who entered.

FAMAG Quiz!

Welcome to the Workshop Heaven FAMAG Quiz. Answer the following ten questions to win a bottle of bubbly and a selection of FAMAG goodies! The marks are shown after each question. In the event of a tie, names will be drawn from a hat by our new Sales Manager, Chris, when the competition closes on the 30th of June. The winner will be reported here and informed by email.

Questions:

1) Who invented the Forstner Bit and when? (2 marks)

2) What are the smallest and largest diameters of bits in the 3500 series? (2 marks)

3) What do the letters F, A and M stand for in FAMAG? (3 marks)

4) Should a plug cutter ideally be used in the middle of a board or close to an edge? (1 mark)

5) I want to bore through timber, thin metal and brickwork in a single pass, which series of FAMAG bits should I use? (1 mark)

6) What range of bit sizes will a 2202.000 Vario countersink fit? (1 mark)

7) The photo above shows a set of hollow Bormax forstner bits that allow the centre pin to be replaced with a standard drill bit. In what situation would this be useful? (1 mark)

8) Bormax3 are the only carbide tipped forstners in the world that can be used safely in which type of drill? (1 mark)

9) I want to drill a hole in some Lignum Vitae, should I use CV or HSS-G bits? (1 mark)

10) In which German town have FAMAG been continuously producing drill tooling since 1865? (1 mark)

To submit your answers, please use the contact message form at Workshop Heaven.

A Bit Different!

We have stocked FAMAG Bormax 3 carbide tipped Forstners for a while now, on the basis that no-one else was carrying them and they were just too good not to be available in the UK.

Recently I tried out one of their 1594 series HSS-G lip & spur bits and was quite astonished at how cleanly and quickly it cut. No picking out curls of compressed timber from the flutes here! In fact quite the opposite, a plume of chips erupt from the hole as you drill and the bit comes out as clean as a whistle - even in hard oily exotics.

The difference is that the flutes are not U-shaped as they would be normally, instead they are relieved behind the cutting edge - adding nearly 50% more space for the waste to clear, they are also very finely ground. Because the flutes are functioning correctly the chips clear properly and the bit stays cooler...which also helps with edge retention...which was already excellent because they are made from a material normally only used for metalworking bits. Percentage wise they are more expensive than most of the cheap imports on the market, but in real terms it's not a huge amount of money, the difference in performance however is phenomenal!

Anyhow, the net result was a little spending spree and the next thing I know we have the largest selection of FAMAG products in the UK. We have ended up re-organising the warehouse and installing new walling and shelving to fit everything in! Isn't it amazing how a little drill bit can change your life?

The impact on your life may not be quite as pronounced, but I hope you will give them a try. We have put several lines on special offer and are even offering some bits at below cost, because I believe there is no better advertisement for them than having one in your workshop and trying it for yourself.

It's all coming together!

I absolutely love this time of year, there is so much going on. It's like the point in a run where you have just broken through 'the wall' and seem to be pulled along by a wave of momentum.

Christmas is a real make-or-break time for us and the work that began at the end of August is now coming close to fruition. Thankfully this year we have had a very strong third quarter, so cashflow for Christmas stock is much less of a concern than usual.

Around now we start receiving stock deliveries from our suppliers. All the new products have to be photographed and listed, the magazines need artwork for the Chistmas advertising campaign and in the warehouse there is lots of work to do pre-packaging kits and making room for new lines (including selling off all the odds and ends on the Workshop Heaven ebay shop).

The C.I. Fall bevelled firmers are already up on the website and the first of the morticers will follow shortly. The new Famag carbide tipped augers and Forstner bits are up as well and we have just added new website sections for Christmas gift ideas and stocking stuffers.

A huge box arrived this afternoon from Mora of Sweden with lots of new knife blades and assorted goodies and we are eagerly awaiting a pallet of planes from Quangsheng Tools in China (don't worry we won't be trying to fob anyone off that they are American!). They have however been developed in close conjunction with Woodcraft, who are American, and are tipped to be reasonably good copies of early Stanleys made in cast steel, bronze and brass. Combined with a selection of optional upgrade plane blades by Ray Iles I think they could prove quite popular.

At the same time there are family traditions to keep up with as well - last weekend we got together with some mates and pressed a batch of cider for Christmas 2010, I reckon 80 gallons should be about enough to slake our thirst from next year's Christmas campaign!!!