Big Holes - 2-11/16" Forstner Bit by Dimar Woodpecker

For some odd reason, my Photography hobby leads to extraordinary needs in tooling.

The other morning I woke up and decided that I 
needed to drill a four inch deep 2-3/4 inch hole!

Desiring a carbide Forstner bit for the job, I found this Woodpecker branded joy, produced by Dimar Canada LTD.

The product number is WPF-68 and I bought mine, online,  from WorkshopSupply.com

Though my tooling and craft experience does not allow me to critically judge such a product, I will say the following:

Carbide, 7/16" Hex shank, 6 1/4 inch length, did I mention carbide?  I bought, this bit 1/16th under to compensate for possible run-out of the bit, added to that of my 1995 Craftsman 17" Drill Press.  To my surprise, I ended up with a hole just a hair under (wait for it......) 2-11/16 inches....Wow!  So perfect, I am ordering the 2-3/4 tomorrow. 

So here are the results, fresh off the drill press table, with no sanding.

I ran this beauty at 200 RPM in a drill press and would suggest the same.  My feed was faster than normal (for me.) No lubrication was used and after the cut, the tool was barely warm to the touch.  Though the shavings are long and lovely, "don't forget to watch your eyes!"

So there it is, the Dimar Forstner, WPF-68...