Comparison of step drill bits in steel

[SwampNut]

I have a couple of Milwaukee bits, one of the losers, and that has made me think step bits are bad.  This is a link to the chart showing the results, Dewalt is ahead by a mile.

 

 

[IcePrick]

That guy has some pretty informative videos.  He's getting more and more "technical" as time goes by, but I like what he does.

[superhawk996]

I have a 3 piece set of HF's Drill Master and they've done pretty well.  The Dewalt is impressive, but my go-to drill motor is a Milwaukee so they're probably incompatible.

[Furbird]

While I appreciate the test and it's results, the fact is the only time I ever really used these on a regular basis was holes in firewalls for doing car stereo and we never had to drill large holes through anything of any real thickness.  If Harbor Freight had been around back then, we would have bought them by the dozen as everything was 1/2" and we used snap or rubber grommets that size.  We had a limited depth hole saw (believe it's 3/4 or 1", still have it buried in a drawer somewhere) for large gauge wire installations and roof mount antennas for the old 3 watt permanent mount cell phone antennas.  These days, the only time I use the ones I have (Harbor Freight) is to enlarge a hole that doesn't have to be accurate.  $40+ for a bit vs $7 when you're going to have to go back through it again with an accurate size drill bit anyway seems a little steep to me, especially if it's already on the drill press.

[SwampNut]

11 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

I have a 3 piece set of HF's Drill Master and they've done pretty well.  The Dewalt is impressive, but my go-to drill motor is a Milwaukee so they're probably incompatible.

 

I've been using the Milwaukee in a Dewalt, I got it all wrong.

 

I rarely need a step bit.  When I do, I really need it.