Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Best hinge drill bit

Updated: 23 October 2026

You want one self-centring set for the screws in a butt hinge or a lock plate, not a 35 mm cabinet cutter dressed up as the same purchase. This page names one top pick and one best value inside the pilot-hole listings we compared. The full table is the [hinge drill bit comparison](/hub/drilling-and-accessories/hinge-drill-bit). The Products Compared editorial team used the amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review themes stored on 21 October 2026. Scores add those listing facts. They are not a lab test. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You want one self-centring set for the screws in a butt hinge or a lock plate, not a 35 mm cabinet cutter dressed up as the same purchase.

Our top picks

Trend Trend QR/DBG/SET 3-piece guide

Best overall

Trend Trend QR/DBG/SET 3-piece guide
9.0/10about £15.95
View offer
Qianeffort Qianeffort 4-piece guide set

Alternative

Qianeffort Qianeffort 4-piece guide set
7.3/10about £7.98
View offer
Ancable Ancable 2.4 / 2.8 / 3.6 mm set

Best value

Ancable Ancable 2.4 / 2.8 / 3.6 mm set
8.5/10about £9.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The pick is only for pilot holes
  2. 2.Top pick: Trend QR/DBG/SET
  3. 3.Best value: the Ancable three-piece set
  4. 4.Who loses on this table

The pick is only for pilot holes

On this shortlist a hinge drill bit sits in a countersunk screw hole and drills a short pilot on that centre. Nothing here cuts a 35 mm cup. If that is the hole, use the 35 mm hinge drill bit page. Stored scores refuse a winner across that split. Trend’s guide is 85. Ancable and the WangLaoWu 35 mm jig are both 80. The jig is £6.59 and 4.2 from 534 reviews, and it does not drill the screw pilot. Axminster, from £54.98 outside this list, was not scored here.

Top pick: Trend QR/DBG/SET

The top pick is the Trend QR/DBG/SET at £15.95: No.6 at 2.4 mm, No.8 at 2.8 mm and No.10 at 3.6 mm, HSS, on a 1/4 inch hex, at 4.4 from 1,629 reviews. It is the labelled set for butt hinges and lock plates if you can live with a short sleeve. The technical table prints 1 x 2 mm and a diameter field that shows only 2.4 mm. Do not merge this set with Trend Snappy, which is 2 mm, 2.75 mm and 3.5 mm for the same gauges. This page does not call the QR set genuine or fake.
Trend Trend QR/DBG/SET 3-piece guide

Testsieger

Trend Trend QR/DBG/SET 3-piece guide
9.0/10about £15.95
View offer

Best value: the Ancable three-piece set

The best value is the Ancable set at £9.99. The bullets print 2.4 mm, 2.8 mm and 3.6 mm, the same three millimetres as the Trend QR guides, on a 1/4 inch hex. It is 4.2 from 342 reviews. Buy it as a wood pilot, and check that the hex seats. The surface field says Glass while the bullets describe hinge pilots. Reviews mention a grub screw the bullets do not describe. The angle field reads 1/4 degrees, which you should ignore. The £5.59 LYZHZHIUONGEI set prints the same sizes and has no Customer Reviews line, so the lower price is not a better best value.

Who loses on this table

Qianeffort is £7.98 and 4.4 from 18 reviews, from 5/64 inch to 11/64 inch. One text says the springs collapsed on first use, and the material line says brass high-speed steel. A high star on a thin sample is not a top pick. KAHEIGN is £9.99 and 3.8 from 306 reviews. The title says 17 pieces and the size bullet lists about eight bits plus a key. Larger noses do not seat in a standard internal-door hinge hole. Bubuny is £10.59 and 3.4 from five reviews, and the title and a bullet disagree on the piece count. HPHOPE’s 35 mm bit was never in this race.

Common questions

Which set is the top pick, and for whom?
Trend QR/DBG/SET, at £15.95, if you want No.6, No.8 and No.10 printed as 2.4 mm, 2.8 mm and 3.6 mm, backed by 1,629 reviews at 4.4. It is for butt hinges and lock plates, not a 35 mm cup. Finish a deep screw with a normal bit of the same diameter.
Is the cheaper Ancable set good enough?
Yes, when you want the same three millimetre pilots and you will clear the sleeve. At £9.99 and 4.2 from 342 reviews it is the best value in this pilot group. If the Glass line or unmarked bits bother you, buy the labelled Trend set.
Why is the £6.59 jig not best value?
WangLaoWu stores the same score, 80, as Ancable, and it has more reviews. It is a 35 mm boring guide and a cup bit. Best value on this page means a self-centring screw pilot. Reviews say the plastic fence is the weak part.
Should I buy Axminster instead?
Buy the trade set from £54.98, with 2.0 mm, 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm and 4.5 mm noses and spare bits, if you accept it sits outside this list. We did not score it against Trend. The off-centre line on its page is Axminster’s, not a study.
Does 4.4 from 18 reviews beat 4.4 from 1,629?
No. Qianeffort’s 4.4 from 18 reviews is a thin sample. Trend’s 4.4 from 1,629 reviews is large enough for the shallow-sleeve complaint to look like a pattern. Bubuny’s 3.4 from five reviews is the other end of the same problem.
What fails on the Trend set in UK reviews?
Depth. The sleeve stops before the pilot is as long as a hinge screw needs, so people follow with a twist bit. Dust clogs the windows and the sleeve seizes, and some buyers report the bit coming apart. The listing does not print a travel distance. The first hole should be in scrap.
Who should skip both and buy a 35 mm bit?
Anyone cutting a concealed cabinet hinge. Trend and Ancable drill a screw pilot of about 2.4 mm to 3.6 mm. A Blum or Hettich cup is a 35 mm recess, often 11 mm to 13 mm deep. Those pilots do not cut it.

Related pages

Hinge drill bit buying guide

Self-centring bits for door hinges

Hinge drill bit

35 mm hinge drill bit: cup depth and edge distance

How to use a hinge drill bit for centred screw pilots

Sources

Public sources from the research digest, last checked on 21 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.

  1. Trend Snappy drill bit guides (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Axminster professional hinge drills (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. Hart Wholesale, Blum CLIP top BLUMOTION 71B3550 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. Hettich Sensys 110° hinge (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. DHF and GAI code of practice, hardware for fire and escape doors (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. BWF Fire Door Alliance, fire door hardware (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. HSE, PUWER overview (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 21 October 2026)