What VIX bit are you using

[Westpacx3]

Recently my small box hinges have been been off a bit due to my center punch method of hole marking. A friend uses an older set of Vix bits that he swears by but of course the newer stuff is not as good.
In my searches I have found pricing all over to include a company wanting 45.00 for 1 bit while grizzly has a set for 40.00. Being a novice of sorts im not sure what to get. The screws are tiny so im thinking I need something that goes down to around a millimeter and a half or whatever she equivalent is. Its a one time purchase so paying is not a big issue but 45.00 each seemed a bit steep.

Any thoughts?

 

[bowman]

I have a cheap set, the biggest hangup is with ejecting the drill chaff. The spring tips get hung in the compressed state, so sometimes I spend a few extra minutes disassembling, cleaning, testing. For occasional use, they are ok, if I were building boxes non-stop, I would invest in a quality set, at least the ones for the screw sizes I used the most.

 

[Martin Roper]

I had a Snappy vix bit that I really liked. I have no idea where it is. I bought a Rockler set some years back. It's just OK. The one I use most often has the annoying habit of sticking and not springing back when I withdraw the bit.

 

[demondeacon]

I bought a cheap set on amazon for maybe $10 or so. They work fine. The only one I ever use is the smallest in diameter - 5/64? In my experience if the hinge is off a bit it is always due to the mortise not being square, rather than the screw hole. Also get some real screw wax, it makes a huge difference.

 

[Westpacx3]

Sounds like they all have the same issue sticking. Some reviews mentioned that as the main issue. Must be the nature of the beast dealing with such a small enclosed item. I wont be using it that often and maybe invest in the router plane i had talked about in a previous post to clean up the morice better. My chisel work could use some more pracrice..

 

[joec]

Mine are crap. I use them now to mark the center point and then switch to a regular drill bit of correct size and drill the holes.

 

[Westpacx3]

Seems one more seach found Lee Valley has these individual units down to just under 2 mm for 12.00. I think I'll start there and see where it goes..

 

[Westpacx3]

Mine are crap. I use them now to mark the center point and then switch to a regular drill bit of correct size and drill the holes.

What brand are they? Seems to get small sizes there are few options.

 

[Jack A.]

I have a couple of the Snappy bits that I got at Woodcraft. I got them a while ago, and I recently remembered that I had them and actually used them. They worked pretty well for centering the hole, but as Bowman noted, they get full of shavings pretty quickly. I was cleaning them out multiple times per hole.

 

[Tom from Clayton]

It's been a while since I made small boxes requiring hinges but I remember not being able to buy the size I needed. I looked all over. Everything was slightly too big. I know they have have number designations but don't remember what they are.

 

[joec]

What brand are they? Seems to get small sizes there are few options.

Not sure. I have had them for so long and seldom use them. I probably should spend some time and change out the bits.

 

[Dovetail]

You could try this, and use a regular drill. $14 from Lee Valley.

 

[Martin Roper]

Oddly enough, yesterday I found the old Snappy bit I mentioned above while I was looking for something else. It was actually kind of weird how happy I was to find something I don't really use that much.

 

[bowman]

It was actually kind of weird how happy I was to find something I don't really use that much.

It's like Christmas all over!