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I went down to Woodcraft today in search of a tool solution to a problem. The problem is machine marks (rings in this case) left over after facing off the end of the shank for the bit.

First try was a bottom clearing router bit. Well, it turns out that it's not flat on the bottom.

So, today I went down to Woodcraft and had a chat with a guy there that makes gun stocks. After about 15 minutes of discussion (and a bunch of pictures) we finally nailed the problem. Turns out that forstner bits, fresh out of the package, still have some ridges on the cutting surface. These end up on your stummel as raised rings. And if you don't fix the problem from the start, it never really gets better, only worse as the cutting blades get nicked.

To make the story short, I bought a new forstner bit (a real cheapie too, about 8 dollars) and a small hone. I honed the surfaces and ended up with a much cleaner cut on the end of the shank. I haven't yet fit a stem to this stummel yet, but it looks so much better than previous results that I think it'll fit much more flush.

So, keep those bits sharp!
Joel

Hi Joel,
I'm having the same problem, even though I was assured by the salesman that the bit I was buying came from Germany and that's why I was paying more. Anyhow, can you describe what you are honing it with, shape, size, grit, name of stone, so on & so forth. Thanks and all the best...Tano.

I'm using one of these: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=225 In "superfine."

I was told to start off with the face that's at the long slant and polish that to a mirror shine and then just touch up the flat. I'm still working on my expensive Boremax bit, but the cheapy touched up quick and made a nice cut.

Is there a particular brand of Forstner that you guys would recommend as being the best for facing the stummel?

I would 2nd that question. The Forstner bit I have leaves a slightly convex surface. Where is the place to pick up a high quality bit?

Josh

I bought a Freud Precision Forstner from Lowes. The salesman assured me that the bit was precision ground. It does need some honing because it leaves some rings but it is absolutely flat. I don't know if I just managed to get one that was ground well or all of the Freud Precision are good as well. But mine works great.

David

I use the Freud forstner bit also and find them well made. Of course the best bit in the world isn't going to perform well if the chuck holding it is not also high precision. A precision chuck is a must.

John

not really sure where to put this. but if you have a metal lathe not to pick on joel but congras again. you really can get a very square flush surface w/ no rings by using a couple of methods. one is the same way you square up rod stock in the taig . i use a fostner bit to give me a size of the shank i want and then turn using a standard br carbine tip cutting tool to square the shank to fit the stem. you can also to this to the top of the bowl if you wish. another way that jeff from jallen pipes and mr johnson and have seen done on paul beckers website, is to use a cut off tool and with a metal rod inserted in the mortise and the metal rod chucked up and use the cut off tool to square the shank-the second method i have not yet tried but i am looking into to try soon. as always wear safety equipment face sheild etc body armor etc when doing stuff like this and use practice pieces to learn on if anyone else has done this would love to hear from them.
jim