What are brad point bits made of?

28th February 2020


	What are brad point bits made of?


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			As brad point bits are primarily used for boring wood, they can be made from materials that are slightly less resilient than bits that are designed for regular use with metal. In most cases, brad point bits will be made from one of the types of steel described below.

			However, while brad point bits made for sturdier materials are still made of steel in most cases, they are tipped with harder materials, such as carbide. While it is possible for brad point bits to be made entirely from carbide, such tools are both rare and expensive.

			What is the tip? The tip of the drill bit is at the opposite end to the shank. In this case, the tip refers to the brad point, spurs and lips of the bit.

			For more in-depth descriptions of each of the following materials, see: What are drill bits made of?

			Tool steel
			Tool steel is the most commonly used material for brad point drill bits, as it is hard enough to bore through wood and stay sharp after multiple uses. Tool steel brad point bits are not suitable for use with materials other than wood.

			Chrome-vanadium steel
			Chrome-vanadium steel is a strong variety of steel that is sometimes referred to by the chemical symbols for chromium and vanadium, Cr-V.

			Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. When chromium and vanadium are added to that mixture, they react with the carbon to form carbides that reinforce the molecular structure of the material, making it much stronger and more resilient.

			Additionally, a chromium layer forms during the production process, giving the metal an appealing, corrosion-resistant, shiny finish.

			The strength and aesthetic quality of chrome-vanadium steel makes it the metal of choice for replica historical swords, as well as more durable and long-lasting brad point bits.

			High speed steel
			Specifically designed to resist friction-generated heat, high speed steel is more resistant than tool steel to a loss of temper through excessive pressure or drilling through extremely hard wood species, such as lignum vitae.

			Tungsten carbide
			Tungsten carbide, often referred to simply as ‘carbide’, is an extremely hard metal that is often used for the tips of drill bits designed to bore through metal. In some industrial settings, such as drilling through aircraft bodies, it can be used to make entire bits. It is also quite often used for making cheaper alternatives to silver rings due to its hardness and resistance to wear.

			Polycrystalline diamond
			Otherwise known as heterodiamond or boron carbonitride, polycrystalline diamond (PCD) is one of the hardest known materials.

			As well as being hard enough to cut through high speed steel, it is resistant to heat, making it the ideal material for a drill tip designed to bore through resilient materials. Most PCD coatings are sintered to a steel bit (attached by a sudden burst of extreme heat). Coatings applied this way are almost completely resistant to the amount of heat you could generate through drilling in home DIY.

			Carbide brad point bits tipped with polycrystalline diamond are used for drilling through Kevlar-reinforced carbon fibre composites.