Which Step Drill Bits Brand Wins?
We compared 13 step drill bits options head to head. DeWalt came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
DeWalt
Price shown in test: $42.99
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Temo
Price shown in test: $29.99
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Temo
Price shown in test: $29.99
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Mild steel (1/4 inch) drilling time | Medium hardness steel (1/8 inch) first step break through time | Medium hardness steel (1/8 inch) full 7/8 inch bore time | AR400 armor plating drilling time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1DeWalt$42.99 | 8 seconds, fastest overall including its own twist drill baseline | 8 seconds, fastest of all seven finalists | 15 seconds, fastest of the three brands that completed the full bore | 20 seconds on the first pass, fastest of all; retested a second time right next to the Milwaukee at 21 to 22 seconds, confirming the performance |
| 2Temo$29.99 | 11 seconds, nearly matching the DeWalt twist drill baseline | 13 seconds, tied with Bosch Turbo | 23 seconds | 26 seconds, a close second to DeWalt, only minor abrasions on the chisel and leading edge |
| 3Bosch Turbo$35.99 | 14 seconds | 13 seconds, tied with Temo | 25 seconds | 41 seconds |
| 4Hercules$19.99 | 17 seconds | 18 seconds, stalled at 7/16 inch and did not complete the full 7/8 inch bore | not tested | 44 seconds, slowest of the four brands that completed the armor plating test; caused notable wear, flattening the chisel and dulling the leading edge |
| 5Makita$35.59 | 10 seconds, tied with Milwaukee for second fastest | 17 seconds, bogged down at 11/16 inch and did not complete the full 7/8 inch bore | not tested | did not drill through, narrator calls the geometry an unfair test for this bit but notes it almost made it through with very little wear to the leading edge and flutes |
| 6Milwaukee Shockwave$54.97 | 10 seconds, tied with Makita | 23 seconds, got hung up at 26 seconds and did not complete the full 7/8 inch bore despite several release attempts | not tested | did not drill through; heavy wear to the chisel but the leading edge and flutes remained in good condition |
| 7Lennox VB8$44.19 | 14 seconds | 34 seconds, slowest of the seven finalists, stalled at 1/2 inch and did not complete the full 7/8 inch bore | not tested | too hard for this bit, did not drill through; chisel completely destroyed |
| 8Irwin Unibit$34.16 | 30 seconds, single flute design held it back | did not penetrate, eliminated before the armor plating round | not tested | not tested |
| 9Diablo$35.99 | 18 seconds | stalled out, did not penetrate, eliminated before the armor plating round | not tested | not tested |
| 10Klein$18.95 | 34 seconds, best of the first four brands tested chronologically at that point | did not penetrate, eliminated before the armor plating round | not tested | not tested |
| 11Bauer$14.99 | no exact time given; described as more than twice as long as the Harbor Freight Drill Master's 51 seconds, and separately described in a recap as roughly 10 times longer than the fastest brand's time. These two approximations do not fully agree with each other and the transcript never states an exact figure, so both are recorded rather than one being guessed. | did not penetrate, eliminated before the armor plating round | not tested | not tested |
| 12Neiko$8.85 | 62 seconds, slower than the cheaper Harbor Freight Drill Master despite a smaller 3/16 inch size advantage | did not penetrate, eliminated before the armor plating round | not tested | not tested |
| 13Harbor Freight Drill Master$6.49 | 51 seconds | did not penetrate, eliminated before the armor plating round | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- mild steel (1/4 inch) drilling time versus a DeWalt twist drill baseline
- medium hardness steel (1/8 inch) first step break through time
- medium hardness steel (1/8 inch) full 7/8 inch bore time for brands that advanced
- AR400 armor plating drilling time for the top 7 surviving brands, versus a Bosch 7/32 twist drill baseline
“DeWalt is definitely the best bit we've tested in my opinion.”
Data notes and caveats
Thirteen step drill bits tested across three escalating tests (mild steel, medium hardness bed frame steel, AR400 armor plating), with only 7 brands (Hercules, Temo, Makita, Bosch Turbo, DeWalt, Lennox, Milwaukee) advancing to the armor plating round; the other 6 (Harbor Freight Drill Master, Neiko, Bauer, Klein, Irwin, Diablo) were eliminated for failing to fully penetrate the medium hardness steel. The transcript spells Temo as Teemo throughout; resolved to Temo per the description. The DeWalt's medium hardness steel numbers were reconciled using the video's own closing recap sentences: an early mention of DeWalt breaking through in 15 seconds actually matches the later recap's full 7/8 inch bore time (15 seconds), while the true first step break through time is 8 seconds per a separate recap sentence that lists all seven finalists' first step times together (DeWalt 8, Temo and Bosch tied at 13, Makita 17, Hercules 18, Milwaukee 23, Lennox 34). Bauer's mild steel time is never stated exactly; two different approximations are given in the transcript (more than twice the Drill Master's 51 seconds, and separately about 10 times the fastest brand's time) and both are preserved rather than resolving to one number. Narrator declares DeWalt the winner outright and frames Temo as a close, cheaper runner up, which doubles as the closest thing to a budget or value pick in this video.