---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: Jim
Crammond  Reply-To: Jim Crammond  Date: Sat,
28 Jun 2003 12:48:27 -0700 (PDT)

>
>Porchsitters,
>
>Following the advice of the SGFH, I've been accumulating hollow augers
>in the event that I someday might need one. In the interest of
>research, I thought it would be good to acquire different makes to be
>able to compare them to see which works best for
>me.  To date, there are E. C. Stearns, A. A. Woods, Cincinnati Tool and
>     Goodell-Pratt hollow augers taking up space on a shelf in the
>     shop. All are at about the same state of untuning.
>
> This upcoming fall I'll be taking a chairmaking class with Drew
> Langsner so I am looking for recommendations from anyone that has some
> experience or opinions about these beasts. Which works well and which
> don't? What's a good angle for the bevel?
>
>As always opinions do not need to be supported by any facts, experience
>or common sense.
>
>Jim Crammond in Monroe, Mi.
>
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Jim, Being a wheelwright, I use hollow augers on every spoke I put in a
wheel. The star is my favorite auger. It is the Silver & Demings patent
#143132. Requires no refinement, set for size and go. It will also work
in machinery. The Swan auger is my second choice, patent #119096. Keep
the knife sharp, you're ready to go, no adjusting. The only drawback is
you have to have a different size auger for each size tenon. You can
find Swan augers on EBay almost every week. The are about the cheapest
augers. They are the one that has 2 knives and are usually painted
green. The second Swan auger, patent #520502, is also a good choice.
Don't waste your time of Stearnss augers. They take constant adjusting,
will cut undersize and the next time will cut oversize. Spoke pointers
are required before the use of all augers but the Star and A.A.Wood
patent#690339 which is called a fore auger. The Stearns spoke pointer is
the only pointer patented #220442 and the patent is on the scale that's
on the depth stop. I have over 70 hollow augers. Jim Price is the king
of hollow augers. He has over 200, wrote the book "Patents for Bit Stock
Tools and the Machines That Made Them". wheelright@m...