Slugger drill bits are also known as annular cutters, but many people use the term slugger drill bits for these specialized tools.
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See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
More About Slugger Drill Bits
When you hear someone mention slugger drill bits you might be wondering what they are talking about.
Most people have not used or in many cases not even heard of these types of bits at all.
It does sound like a strange name for a tool for sure.
Baseball?
Some people may think about baseball, since the term slugger is pretty well known to mean a batter that hits the ball very hard.
Boxing?
Slugger has also been a common term used in the sport of boxing too.
Similar to the baseball meaning, when used in the context of the sport of boxing then slugger means to hit hard as well, only now it refers to hitting your boxing opponent instead of a baseball.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
Actual Meaning
So when you hear someone mention slugger drill bits what are they really talking about?
What they are referring to is a special drill bit that it normally used in magnetic drill presses such as the Hougen HMD904.
These drill bits are more commonly known by the term mag drill bits.
Where it Comes From
The mag drill bit term comes from the fact that these drill bits are normally used in magnetic drill presses.
When you think if drill bits you probably think of the common type that is referred to as twist drill bits.
These are likely the type of drill bits you have used and have in your tool box.
Twist Drill Bits vs Slugger Bits
Twist drill bits are designed to cut out the entire center of the hole being drilled from the material.
These types of bit produce a lot of small metal shavings during the cutting process.
In contrast slugger drill bit only cut the outside perimeter of the material.
If you are familiar with a hole saw used to cut larger holes in wood then the concept is basically the same as slugger drill bits.
The intact center material cut out by a slugger drill bit is called a slug, so this is where slugger drill bits get their interesting name from.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
Technical Name
The more technical term used to describe slugger drill bits is annular cutter, but that does not really sound as cool as slugger drill bit.
This term is used because of the way the bits only cut the outside edge of the hole, creating a ring instead of cutting out the entire area of the hole.
Annular means shaped like or forming a ring, so you can see why this term is used to describe slugger drill bits.
Benefits
Since slugger drill bits only cut material from the outside edge and leave the center material to make a hole they have several important advantages over traditional twist type drill bits.
Saves Time
Less material removed means that slugger drill bits are able to save time by drilling holes more quickly.
On average a slugger drill bit can cut a hole 3 to 4 times faster than the same size conventional twist type drill bit.
In commercial and industrial settings, where slugger drill bits are more commonly used, saving time equals saving money due to being able to get more work done in the same amount of time.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
Uses Less Energy
Drills equipped with slugger drill bits use less energy since they need to do less work to drill the same size hole as conventional twist style drill bits.
Using less energy also means that less powerful drill motors can be used to power drills using slugger drill bits.
This also saves money since these drills can be produced less expensively.
There are some magnetic drills that use batteries as their power source.
Slugger drill bits, since they use less energy, have the advantage of allowing these battery powered magnetic drills to drill more holes per battery charge.
Wide Range of Sizes
The efficiency of slugger drill bits allows them to effectively cut holes in a wide range of sizes.
You will find slugger drill bits sizes that range from a diameter of around 1/2″ (~12mm) to around 6″ (150mm) or even larger in some cases.
We can’t even imagine a twist type drill bit in a size of 6″ or larger in diameter, that would be something to see.
Ability to Resharpen
Slugger drill bits made of high speed steel (HHS) can be resharpened when they get dull and reused to drill more holes.
Other types of bits, such as carbide tipped ones, can not be sharpened in the same way as the high speed steel bits can.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
Less Mess and Easier Recycling
Another benefit is the slug cut out is easier to collect and recycle compared to the metal shavings that a standard twist type drill bit creates when drilling a hole.
In addition to being easier to recycle, the larger slug produced by slugger drill bits usually is worth more money when selling the waste to scrap metal buyers.
These are some huge advantages, especially on larger projects which will have a lot of slugs to recycle.
Efficient Cooling and Lubrication
Slugger drill bits have built-in provisions for cutting fluid, which lubricates or cools the bit, to be delivered to the tool.
The delivery of this cutting fluid is usually delivered by a pin in the center of the slugger drill bit.
This pin is normally called a pilot pin.
Many slugger drill bit set (annular cutter sets) come with one or more of these pilot pins included when you purchase them.
It is very important to provide cutting fluid to slugger drill bits as they are cutting which is why there is a provision designed into the bits.
One additional thing to know when it comes to these types of bits and cutting fluid is that the function of the fluid varies with the bit material.
For high speed steel (HHS) bits, cutting fluid needs to provide lubrication to keep the bit working at peak efficiency and make sure it has the maximum possible usable life.
In contrast, when talking about carbide tipped slugger drill bits the cutting fluid needs to provide cooling to make sure the bit does not overheat.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
Drilling Positions
One thing to note when your project requires drilling overhead is that the cutting fluid can flow away from the bit and into the drill’s motor due to gravity.
This is bad and can lead to damage of the drills motor, being that drills are usually expensive this is something that you definitely want to avoid happening.
Horizontal drilling can also be an issue since the liquid will tend to flow away from the bit, but at least it will not be as likely to get into the drill’s motor in this case.
In cases where overhead or horizontal drilling is required there are special cutting pastes designed to stay in place while providing the needed cooling and/or lubrication for the drilling to be its most efficient.
Ejector (Pilot) Pin
We just mentioned the pilot pin is used to deliver cutting fluid in the previous section.
This pilot pin is also known as the ejector pin and has some additional functions in the slugger drill bit.
In addition to delivering cutting fluid the ejector (pilot) pin is also used to position the center the slugger drill bit when starting the drilling process.
The ejector (pilot) pin also is responsible for ejecting the leftover slug from the bit after the hole is drilled.
As you can imagine, the term ejector pin comes from this last use.
Accuracy and Quality
The holes drilled using slugger drills bits are of high quality and accuracy.
When we say high quality we mean that holes are smooth and need little to no clean up.
As far as accuracy, slugger drill bits are able to drill more precise holes as far as dimensions when compared to a conventional twist drill bit.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
No Pilot Hole or Step Drilling Needed
Normally when working with a standard twist type drill bit and larger holes you would need to create a small pilot hole.
One you create the pilot hole you would then drill the hole with larger and larger bits until you get to the final hole size that is desired.
The process of starting the drilling process with a small bit and then drilling with larger and larger bits until the desired hole size it reached is called step drilling.
With a slugger drill bit this step drilling process is not is not required.
You simply line up the pilot pin with the center of the hole you want to drill and then just drill one time with the proper size bit.
That’s all there is to it!
Downsides
Even though there are lots of advantages when using slugger drill bits, nothing is without its faults and these types of bits are no exception to this rule.
Now we will go over some of the disadvantages of slugger drill bits that you should be aware of and take into account before choosing this type of bit for your project.
If you are able to benefit from the advantages of slugger drill bits in your project and do not have any issues with the downsides below then slugger drill bits may be for you.
No Blind Holes
One of the top disadvantages of slugger drill bits is they are not able to drill blind holes.
A blind hole is a hole that is not drilled all the way through a workpiece.
It is drilled only part of the way through the material being drilled.
If you think about the way a slugger drill bit works this makes sense.
Only the perimeter of the hole is cut and not the center, this would mean that when drilling a blind hole there will be no way to remove the slug since the hole is not drilled all the way through the material.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
Drilling Multiple Plates
This is a niche drilling application, but it should be noted as a disadvantage of slugger drills bits.
There are some slugger drills bits with a special design that attempt to work better in this application, but while they are better suited to drilling piles of plates they are not perfect.
Higher Cost
Another disadvantage of slugger drill bits is that they cost more than more traditional types of bit such as twist drill bits.
Although they do cost more they often pay for themselves by their increased drilling speed and the fact they generally last longer than other types of bits.
One other thing that can come into play when talking about cost is the cost of the equipment that is normally used with slugger drill bits, namely magnetic drills.
Although magnetic drills as what is more commonly used with these types of bits, there are other adapters that will allow their use in other types of equipment such as drill presses.
Drilling Pipes and Tubes
One common special application for slugger drill bits and magnetic drills is drilling holes in pipes and tubes.
Drilling holes in curved surfaces such as pipes and tubes is very difficult using conventional drill bits.
Slugger drill bits can accomplish this task much more easily and with a higher quality results when compared to conventional twist type drill bits.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
Conclusion
So now you know when you hear someone mention slugger drill bits, mag drill bits, or annular cutters they are actually talking about the same type of bit.
If you application is right for slugger drill bits then they can offer some very nice advantages, so it would pay to take a look at them to see if they are right for you.
See our Top Picks for Slugger Drill Bit Sets (Annular Cutter Sets)
