Irwin 10502405 HSS Pro Drill Bit with Reduced Shank

Really good quality HSS reduced shank drill bit for the money. Of course like any HSS drill bit you have to be careful with drill speeds and the material because you will render it DOA on stainless within seconds.With mild steel I found this to be fine with a slower speed to keep the surface cutting speed down combined with a bit of cutting fluid. To those not familiar with this kind of thing, best used in a pillar drill with the item firmly held in place. Larger diameter twist drills have a nasty habit of grabbing the material......Overall, good value drill bit that will fit into a standard 13mm chuck. Just remember that there is an increased torque effect because of the drill diameter.

I do not usually need such a large diameter drill bit for steel, but bought it for a specific project where I needed to drill four 14mm holes. The bit worked well, but I did start with a pilot hole that I enlarged with progressively larger bits. The reduced shank fitted securely in the 10mm chuck of my electric drill.The bit remained sharp and will be available if I have a similar job in future.

Good drill bit