Step Drilling with Forstner Bits: Quick Tip
Author:
Badmin
Big Forstner bits are great for clean holes, but they tend to bog down or overheat once they get large, even in soft wood. My fix is step drilling: start with the largest bit just deep enough to establish the outer edge, then work down through progressively smaller bits before finishing with the largest bit again. It sounds like more work, but even counting the bit changes, it's actually faster than trying to hog out the whole hole with one big bit.