Installer Bits

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Fishing bit
Installer bits, also known as bell-hanger bits or fishing bits, are a type of twist drill bit for use with a hand-portable power tool. The key distinguishing feature of an installer bit is a transverse hole drilled through the web of the bit near the tip. Once the bit has penetrated a wall, a wire can be threaded through the hole and the bit pulled back out, pulling the wire with it. The wire can then be used to pull a cable or pipe back through the wall. This is especially helpful where the wall has a large cavity, where threading a fish tape could be difficult. Some installer bits have a transverse hole drilled at the shank end as well. Once a hole has been drilled, the wire can be threaded through the shank end, the bit released from the chuck, and all pulled forward through the drilled hole. These bits are made for cement, block and brick they are not for drilling into wood. Sinclair Smith of Brooklyn, New York was issued U.S. Patent 597,750 for this invention on January 25, 1898.

Installer bits are available in various materials and styles for drilling wood, masonry and metal.

Flexible shaft ...
... bit
Another, different, bit also called an installer bit has a very long flexible shaft, typically up to 72 inches (1.8 m) long, with a small twist bit at the end. The shaft is made of spring steel instead of hardened steel, so it can be flexed while drilling without breaking. This allows the bit to be curved inside walls, for example to drill through studs from a light switch box without needing to remove any material from the wall. These bits usually come with a set of special tools to aim and flex the bit to reach the desired location and angle, although the problem of seeing where the operator is drilling still remains.

Drill bit shank

Different shapes of shank are used. Some are simply the most appropriate for the chuck used; in other cases particular combinations of shank and chuck give performance advantages, such as allowing higher torque, greater centering accuracy, or efficient hammering action.