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Forstner Bit

Another example eponymous product, the Forstner bit, was named for Benjamin Forstner (1834—1897). This bit-- it forms flat-bottomed holes -- is widely used by woodworkers.

History of Forstner Bits

Forstner was born in Pennsylvania but migrated to Salem, Ore., in 1865, where he was a gunsmith until 1889. His knowledge of metallurgy, boring and rifling helped him develop the bit that was originally called the "Forstner Flange Bit" or the "Webfoot Auger." He patented his bit design in 1874.

Like Phillips (of the Phillips screw-driver), Forstner turned to the great factories in New England to take his invention into full production. The Colt Patent Fire Arms Co. of Hartford, CT, manufactured the bits with a short center point and sharp cylindrical rim. Having perfected strong bits that could provide accurate boring of gun barrels and cylinders, Colt adapted Forstner's bit for drilling wood.

The Forstner bit won a prize at the Centennial Exposition of 1876 and another at the World's Fair of 1883. His business arrangement with Colt was lucrative; Colt paid Forstner a royalty for the rest of his life, and he died a wealthy landowner.

Forstner bits operate without (1) the "lead", or center screw, or, following the anatomy of a Gimlet, the "gimlet-point" and (2) cutting spur or nicker of more conventional wood boring bits. The Forstner bit proved especially useful to gunsmiths, to cabinetmakers, and icreasingly to the wider audience of amateur woodworkers who make furniture.



Until the Plunge Router, Forstner bits were unsurpassed in drilling smooth bore holes with flat-bottoms. [It was better than the Russell Jennings spiral bits for boring at an angle and not following the grain of the wood. Benjamin Forstner eventually worked out licensing arrangements for the manufacture and sale of his Forstner bits by a number of companies. Even today, the Forstner bit continues to be manufactured, although its has changed to a split-ring design. Forstner bits still command a premium price over that of ordinary spiral bits.]

Bio: Benjamin Forstner himself had an interesting life story. He was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania in 1834, but in the early 1850s moved to Missouri where he came under the influence of communal utopian William Keil of Bethel, MO. He followed Keil to the Pacific Northwest where they founded the colony of Aurora, Oregon. Forstner later settled in Salem, Oregon where he was established as a gunsmith. He traveled East on business often, including to the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and the 1893 Columbian Exposition where his Forstner bits on highest premiums among wood working tools. Through lucrative royalty payments he became a wealthy Salem citizen and property owner. Benjamin Forstner died in 1897.

Sources: Philip Leon, "Name Brand Tools", Popular Woodworking, December 2006, page 104