The Best Ship Auger Bits

Hex Shanks

• Ship augurs experience high levels of torque while operating; they are often attached to some of the most powerful drills in the marketplace as they are used to drill through 3 to 9 inches of wood in a single pass. The best augur bits, therefore, have a hex-shaped shank. The hex shape is held firmly in the drill's collet; it won't spin or slip in the drill when the bit encounters increased resistance.

Bi-Metal Construction

• Because ship augurs drill through installed wood walls and home foundations, they often encounter -- and cut off -- nails. When a sharp metal bit encounters a thick nail, it will cut the nail off, but the bit's cutting edge is often damaged in the process. As a result, the augur may not cut as well or as fast in the next holes. To fix this problem, the best ship augurs feature bi-metal construction. The cutting tip is made from a stronger alloy fused onto the tip of the augur shaft before the augur is tooled. This harder material cuts nails without sustaining a high degree of damage, making the augur bit last longer.

Hardened Cutting Edge

• The cutting flutes on the sides of the augur also encounter high degrees of torque, friction and wear. The best ship augurs feature hardened steel cutting flutes along the entire length of the bits. These hardened flutes stay sharp and continue to clean the sides of the hole as the bit pulls itself through the wood.

Coated Flutes

• The non-sharpened areas of the ship augur are also important to the tool's performance. The recessed areas of the flute carry the wood chips away from the cutting head and out of the hole. Without effective chip removal, friction builds up in the hole and prevents the bit from turning. The best ship augurs feature recessed chip removal flutes, which are coated with a silicon impregnated paint. The smooth surface decreases the friction, and increases the bit's chip ejection efficiency.