Back when these bits were in common use the AA battery hadn't even been invented yet, but it still worked just fine for a chore I had today. One of Dad's flashlights had a battery so corroded it wouldn't come out of the case, and as you can't take the top off the flashlight the only way to get to it was from the back. I sorted through his old auger bits until I found one just a bit smaller than the battery and long enough to reach up inside (of course it was the third out of three batteries that was corroded!) then screwed the auger into the battery JUST enough to hold it and tapped the drill chuck to pull it out. Worked just fine and after a bit of cleanup the flashlight's back in service.