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• Auger bits come in a wide range of lengths. Some are meant to be power-driven, but historically they were the type of bit commonly used in a bit brace, because they take a lot of torque to keep turning.

• Gimlet Drill Bits

• Spoon bits have a very simple shape, and are among the oldest design of drill bit. They have no point, which lets you change direction as you are drilling, and drill almost to the other side of a piece of wood without poking through.

• An old forged auger bit.

• An auger bit set like this would have been a much valued possession of any woodworker over several centuries.

• This is a slightly more comfortable bung hole auger than the one on the left.

• This may look like a gimlet or auger bit, but it’s not. Notice there are no sharp cutting edges: this is a corkscrew for opening wine bottles.

• This little novelty barrel held alcohol of some sort, decades ago when my parents bought it as a souvenir. The wooden straps are beautifully crafted, and of course it has a classic tapered bung hole. (I replaced the long-lost plug for this picture.)

• Wooden bungs are hammered into bung holes to plug them up. To get them out you knock them loose with a mallet blow to the side.

• This beautiful old depth stop is designed for auger bits. It has flats on the inside that mesh with the spiral flutes of the bit so you can turn the bit to adjust the depth, then clamp it in place with the wing nuts.

• This bung hole auger is used to bore out a bung hole in the side or top of a wooden barrel. After the barrel is filled, the hole is plugged by hammering a wooden peg into it. Like gimlet drills, this auger shaves the sides of the hole progressively larger the deeper it goes.

• These plugs have handles to make them easy to get in and out.

• This auger bit comes with its own dedicated handle.

• Gimlet drills are another very old style, and unusual because they cut on the sides, not just on the bottom. Instead of making a hole the final diameter right at the tip, they slowly enlarge the hole as you go deeper.

• A bung hole (stop giggling) is a hole in the side or end of a barrel. Modern barrels have threaded bung holes, with plugs that screw in. If you have a really tight plug in your bung hole, this wrench will open it for you.

• Another old auger bit, but this was made from a solid shaft with twisted flutes that were, I think, brazed on.

• Auger bits are found in every auction lot of old tools.

Do you have a better example of this kind of tool? Let me know by leaving a comment, and include a picture of it if you can so everyone can see!