What is Brad Point Drill Bit?

Brad point drill bit is a wood drill bit. It has a sharp point angle, and it helps to place the drill bit on the exact position on the workpiece. You do not need to use any punch or pilot hole when you use a brad point drill bit on the wood.Brad point drill bits have curved cutting lips. Hence cutting spurs will cut the surface material before the cutting lips remove them. As a result of this, brad point drilled holes are smoother than regular drill bits.

Brad point drill bits are two types

  1. Hardwood brad point drill bit
  2. Softwood brad point drill bit

Brad points drillbits are made with HSS, and its flute color is black, and edges are polished in order to reduce friction.

Where to Use Brad Point Drill Bits?

Brad points drill bits can be used on hand drills, electric drills, drill presses, and lathes.

Brad point drill bit is a wood drill bit, and also we can use it on many soft materials like plastic, fiber, PVC, and many more. Usually, the Brad point drill bit is mostly used for softwood and hardwood. According to the types of wood, brad point geometry is varied.

When we use a regular drill bit, it has an inclined cutting lip. We may need a pilot hole or center punch to place the drill bit on the exact drilling point. But when you use a brad point drill bit, you can place the drill bit easier with the help of a sharp point angle.

Obviously, we can observe regular drill bits wandering the bottom fiber layer. So you need to apply additional effort to prevent or repair it. But if you use a brad point drill bit, you can observe a clean and smooth cutting surface on the workpiece.

Softwood and hardwood brad point drill bits
Softwood and hardwood brad-point drill bits

What are the Colors and Materials of the Brad Point Drill Bit?

Normally, we can see brad point drill bits are in 2 colors.

  1. White (Polished silver)
  2. Black and White (Flutes in black and edges are in silver)

Mostly we can see black flutes with silver edges. These are made with chrome vanadium steel which is hardened and tempered for longer service life. Sometimes color can be changed according to the manufactured material and coatings.

A polished edge will reduce the friction between the drill bit and the cutting surface. Most sliver color brad point drill bits are used for drilling through thick materials such as wood, plastic, and sheet metals.  

Cutting Angle and Shank of the Brad Point Drill Bit

Brad point drill bit has a sharp point angle. It helps to keep the drill bit on the exact point of the drilling hole. But it is a tad bit difficult to center the drill bit when you need to drill through and enlarge a hole. But a tapered bit (regular drill bit) is easy to place centering on an exciting hole.

Brad point drill bit shank is two types. Circular and hex are them. The circular shank is the most commonly used one, and the hex shank drill bit is stronger and used for larger size drill bits.

Brad Point Drill Bit Sizes

We can get brad point drill bits with different sizes.

Shank size – 1/2” and 3/8”

Body size – 1/8″, 9/64″, 5/32″, 11/64″, 3/16″, 7/32″, 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″, 1/2″

Most of the brad point drill bits are available as a set. It consists of 12 pack set or 25 packs.

Brad Point Drill Bit Vs. Regular Drill Bit

brad point vs regular drill bit
Regular drill bit and brad point drill bit

Read More About What is Auger Drill Bit?

When we compare the brad point drill bit regular drill bit, there is a clear difference in performance. Both drill bits have a spiral body, and it helps to remove the chip outside. But is the brad point drill bit? It has a polished body, which can reduce the friction between the material and the drill bit.

When we consider the drilling speed of these, the brad point drill bit is higher than a regular drill bit. Due to the sharp point angle, and sharp cutting lips, it can cut and remove the material easily.

Coatings for Brad Point Drill Bits

Brad point drill bits are coated with titanium and black oxide film layers in order to reduce friction and increase the durability of the drill bit. Before sharpening the brad point drill bit, you should be aware of the coatings and materials.


Tom Mackency

Tom Mackency

Hi, I am Tom Mackency. It has been 10 years that I have been working as a professional woodworker since 2013. I am really enjoying my carrier by creating many kinds of projects in my workshop. But mostly I like for home improvement projects. Home improvement and DIY projects are the most interesting things for me. More than that, the coolest things are power tools. Those are very precious and efficient than a decade ago. So I try to introduce so many things about power tools, woodworking, DIY projects, home improvement and many more interesting topics here.