Spyder Stinger Auger Bits Punch Through Nail-Embedded Wood, Not Your Budget
When it comes to boring holes, spade bits are cheap and fast. But it’s tough to beat the smooth drilling action of an auger bit, especially if you’re in danger of hitting nails. We chucked up Spyder Stinger auger bits into one of our best cordless drills to see how they stand up against the competition.
Spyder Stinger Auger Bits
There are a ton of different auger bit lengths and diameters to match the wood you need to put a hole through. The set we reviewed includes 1/2-inch, 3/4-inch, and 1-inch diameters with 6 1/2-inch lengths.
These are helpful for smaller rough-in holes through studs along with a wide variety of reasons to put holes in 4x, fence posts, and much more.
Testing
In addition to drilling in PT and untreated 2x, we also tested the bits in glued up OSB to eliminate some of the inconsistencies in standard lumber.
Just like other auger bits, Spyder’s have threaded tips that help pull them through the wood. Just get it started and let the bit and drill do the rest.
Like we expect, the drilling action is much smoother than spade bits. However, we noticed that Spyder auger bits aren’t quite as forceful at tearout. The tip comes through the wood just fine, but you’ll need to give it a little help to push through the very end.
One of the nice things is that the tip design and cutting edges resist clogging beautifully. Even drilling serial holes without cleaning out the flutes, they drill hole after hole without needing a break.
Having a dual-flute design instead of a single certainly helps with the chip ejection and speed. In fact, it’s faster than most standard auger bits we’ve used.
They’re not the fastest we’ve used, though. With the 1-inch bit as our benchmark testing size, we had to kick our Makita XPH07 hammer drill into low gear to punch through our OSB sandwich. That’s normal, though. Most drills can’t bore through the entire range of anyone’s auger bits in its high gear.
The speed crown still belongs to Bosch’s Daredevil High-Speed Auger Bits – premium auger bits that are optimized to keep your drill in high speed.
Pricing
Those Bosch bits are fine if your budget is more generous. Where Spyder auger bits really got our attention was on the price tag. At $17.99 for the 3-piece set we’re reviewing, they’re $20 less than the 3-piece high-speed set from Bosch. That’s a really big difference.
If you’re thinking Bosch’s Daredevil Nail Strike spade bits might be the way to go, they’re $21.99 for a 3-piece set ($39.99 for a 6-piece set). Spyder’s auger bits are still less expensive.
Shop Lowe'sThe Bottom Line
When you need to bore holes in nail-embedded wood or simply don’t like the way spade bits bore, Spyder Stinger auger bits are a budget-friendly way to get the job done well.
Spyder’s website lists 14 diameters from 3/8-inch to 1 1/2-inch all available in 6 1/2 or 18-inch lengths. Currently, only the 3-piece set is available, so look for the additional sizes to roll out later.
Available Sizes (6 1/2 or 18-inch lengths)
- 3/8-inch
- 7/16-inch
- 1/2-inch
- 5/8-inch
- 11/16-inch
- 3/4-inch
- 13/16-inch
- 7/8-inch
- 15/16-inch
- 1 1/16-inch
- 1 1/8-inch
- 1 1/4-inch
- 1 3/8-inch
- 1 1/2-inch
