1. Irwin Marples 8-Piece — the set most workshops want
This is the set we’d steer most home woodworkers toward. Its eight bits are carbon steel, with the centre point every Forstner bit uses to stop it skating before the rim catches. The sizes climb from 1/4 inch to 1-3/8 inch, roughly 6 to just under 35 mm, which is enough for dowels, plugs, shelf pins and most hinge and recess work out of one box. The rim can be brought back with a slipstone worked on its inside face, which is fiddly but means a set like this lasts years of weekend use.
One thing to know before you buy: the sizes are imperial fractions, and the biggest bit measures 1-3/8 inch, or 34.9 mm. That falls a hair under the true 35 mm a European concealed hinge cup wants, so if hinges are your main job the metric sets below give you the exact size. For everything else the fractional sizing is fine. Matt rates it the buy for most people: a known brand, sharp bits, a sensible spread. The reduced shank fits 3/8-inch and larger chucks, so it runs in most drills and in a drill press; our drill or impact driver guide covers which tool to reach for.
2. Bosch Expert Wood 5-Piece — the precise metric pick
If you’re fitting concealed hinges or working hardwood often, this is the set that earns its dearer price. It’s five metric bits — 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 mm — so it includes a true 35 mm for hinge cups, the size flat-pack and cabinet work is built around. The cutting rim is wavy rather than a plain edge — Bosch’s own design to shear a cleaner hole with less heat build-up in dense timber — and a centring tip starts the hole exactly where you mark it. Bosch rates the Expert bits to last up to three times longer than its standard Forstner bits, which is where the extra outlay goes. Bosch lists 8 mm shanks on the four smaller bits and 10 mm on the 35 mm, so check your chuck takes 10 mm before you buy it for hinge work.
The trade-off is range and price. Five sizes cover the common cabinet jobs but leave gaps a full set fills, and it’s the dearest here per bit. Matt’s happy to pay for the wavy rim and the exact metric sizing; Joel points out that a home user drilling the odd hole won’t wear out a cheaper set, so the premium is only worth it if you’re doing this work regularly. For clean holes in hardwood and dead-on 35 mm cups, though, it’s the precise tool.
3. Vearter 8-Piece HCS — the budget way in
For a first set, or one you’ll keep in a drawer and pull out rarely, this covers the job for a fraction of the Irwin’s price. Eight metric bits run 6 to 35 mm, so you get a true 35 mm for hinges and a full spread of smaller sizes cheaply. For softwood, pine shelving and the occasional hole, it’s made to bore a clean flat bottom and does what a Forstner bit is for.
Where it gives ground is edge life. The seller lists the steel as high-carbon and stops there, with no hardness figure and no heat-treat detail, which is the usual gap at this price. Joel’s take is that for a beginner or a once-a-year job that’s a fair deal. What you don’t get is a published spec: Vearter names no steel grade and no hardness, so the heat-treat is the part you’re taking on trust.
Getting clean holes from a Forstner bit
The edge is everything on a Forstner bit, and what protects it is the geometry and how you drive it. Bosch grinds a wavy cutting rim on the Expert bits, which it says shears a cleaner hole with less heat build-up, and rates them to last up to three times longer than its standard Forstner bits. A plain rim cuts pine happily and goes blunt sooner in dense timber. So buy for the timber you work most. If it’s mostly softwood and the odd job, a budget kit will see you right; once hardwood and hinges become a weekly thing, the longer-rated bits earn back the cost.
A couple of things catch people out. One is metric versus imperial. A European cabinet hinge drops into a 35 mm cup, so when hinges are the reason you’re buying, make sure the set gives you a true 35 mm and not an imperial 1-3/8 inch that lands a fraction short. The other is speed. These bits shift a lot of timber with every turn, so they want low revs and gentle, even pressure; wind them up fast and you’ll scorch the wood and cook the edge. A drill press holds the bit dead square and is the nicer way to run them, though a careful hand on a cordless drill manages. If a bit turns up faulty or fails on the first easy hole, that’s a defect rather than wear: your consumer guarantees under Australian law may back a refund, repair or replacement, so keep the receipt.
The verdict
You want one set for general woodworking: the Irwin Marples 8-piece. Sharp carbon-steel bits from a known brand with a sensible eight-size spread — the pick for dowels, plugs, shelf pins and most hinge work, as long as you’re fine with imperial sizes topping out at 34.9 mm.
You fit hinges or work hardwood often: the Bosch Expert 5-piece. It costs the most and covers only five sizes, but the wavy rim, longer bit life and true 35 mm cups are built for clean, repeatable holes in dense timber.
You want a cheap first set: the Vearter 8-piece. Eight metric sizes to 35 mm for around half the Irwin’s price — edges that dull sooner, but plenty for softwood and the occasional job.
