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• Long Spade Bit

• This is my favorite alternative drill bit, because it’s just for fun. It’s an ice drill we use to check whether the lake is frozen thick enough for ice skating. The end has a razor-sharp steel blade that makes shaved ice as it drills down.

• Adjustable Spade Bit

• Auger bits are like self-feeding Forstner bits, but with spiral flutes to carry away the shavings.

• This is possibly the most beautiful drill bit I’ve ever seen. It’s sold with no handle as a camping auger, the idea being that you save weight by using whatever stick you find lying around. Why you would need an auger while camping is not explained in the marketing materials. Maybe it’s for making furniture in the woods?

• Long Auger Bit

• This ten inch (250mm) earth auger has an unusual spear point on the end.

• Hex Shank Auger Bit

• Spade Bits

• This older design of four-flute bit with a lead screw is meant for hand-drilling with a brace.

• If you just need to drill a few holes, say at the bottom of a wall cavity, a long spade bit is a cheap solution. Because the shank is a simple rod, you’re not paying for a lot of fancy spiral flute machining you don’t need.

• Long bits are used to drill holes where it’s hard to reach, like inside a wall. For metal they’re called aircraft bits because that’s where they were first used, and for wood they are just long bits.

• A set of any other type of drill with such large diameters would be much more expensive than these cheap, flat spade bits.

• Long Spade Bits

• This spade bit can be adjusted to a range of different widths.

• This old spade bit probably doesn’t work any better than the single-piece modern variety, it’s just more expensive to make.

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!