Weird thing happened when I tried to use a 3/4 inch spade bit on some old pine

I was drilling some holes for a shelf bracket in this reclaimed pine beam from a barn in Lancaster, and the bit just started smoking after about two inches. I mean, it wasn't even that hard of a wood. I pulled it out and the tip was almost blue. Learned the hard way that old wood can have hidden pitch pockets or maybe even some metal in it from way back. Anyone have a good trick for checking for that stuff before you drill?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyhall4d ago

That blue tip is a sure sign you hit something real hard. Lancaster barn wood is full of surprises, like old square nails that rust away to almost nothing inside the timber. Do you have a decent magnet you could run over the spot? Sometimes that'll find the hidden metal before your bit does.

kevinallen4d ago

Tried that magnet trick @abbyhall after I smoked a bit on some reclaimed oak. Found a nail I would have NEVER seen, it was just a dark line in the grain. Saved my planer blades for sure.

garcia.wren3d ago

Lancaster barn wood is basically nature's booby trap. My buddy's spade bit looked like it tried to fight a railroad spike. That magnet trick is the only thing standing between you and a very expensive trip to the tool store.