router bits

I’m telling you up front, most of the jocks are going to recommend that you stick with the high-end bits. But I’m going to somewhat go against that advice, and I’ll tell you why.

When I got my first router a couple of years ago, I wasn’t really sure exactly how much I was going to use it, and what type of work I was going to be doing most with it. So I bought an 18-pc. Ryobi set for, I think, $89. My thinking was that once I figured out which bits I used most frequently, I would upgrade those. As it turns out, I’m still using those bits, and I’m happy with them. I’ve added a few inexpensive Woodcraft bits to my collection, and have no complaints about them either.

Now if I was going to be doing some kind of large job where I was going to be using a specific bit extensively, I would shell out for a good one. But for my projects, which are mostly small boxes and the like, I don’t know that it would be worth the money to buy high quality bits just to have them spend most of the time on the shelf. If money was no object, it would be a different story. But, like most of us, I have to make trade-offs sometimes when deciding how to spend my woddworking dollars.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I would agree with Charlie. Buy a set of cheap bits, and as you find out which ones you use and replace them
with better quality ones.

Some might say that the cheap ones might be dangerous in that they might break. I have never found that the case. If anything the carbide chips. The cheaper ones usually have lower quality carbide, and it’s thinner.

Most of the bits I have are cheap ones.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I’m with Charlie M – you don’t have to buy the very best to get really good results. I buy a lot of Woodline bits (I have about 150), and I have been very happy with them 98% of the time. The couple of times there has been something wrong with a bit, I call them and they send a replacement out right away.

I used to only buy Whitesides, which are supposed to be top-of-the-line (and are priced top-of-the-line). I got a bad bit and called them and they insisted that there was no possible way one of their bits could have anything wrong with it. They refused to replace it, so I refuse to do business with them anymore.

I’d stay away from the bits Harbor Freight carries, though. They sell them for scrap metal prices, so I can’t imagine how they’d be of any quality.

-- Coffee is best with a fine layer of sawdust on top. -- http://www.north40custom.com

I bought “good” for raised panels. Most of the rest of the bits I have are ‘ahem’ inexpensive.

-- Maplewood, MN

at an earlier discussion about this someone pointed out: do you want flying pieces of metal attacking you from a cheap bit that flies apart?

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Thanks for your input everyone.

I must admit, this is the thought process I was taking. Buy a lesser priced set and see from there. However I am concerned about bits falling apart in use. So I guess the real question should be, How do you tell a good bit from bad?.. price excluded.
Lower quallity carbide, thinner?

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

I got to tell you I’ve found it’s really depends on the type of cuts you are making and the wood you are using. Most of the time I don’t see a difference, but every once in a while it can. And they keep coming up with new styles, for example the new freud bits with up and down cut. Haven’t seen or used one yet, but been times I think it would have saved me some work sanding and fixing things. I always wait until the “NEW” comes off the product before I buy, and the price settles down. Cuts with wood like Sapale where the grain swirls a better bit seems to cut better, but like I said most of the time it doesn’t matter. Even with harbor freight bits (no I didn’t buy them they were a gift LOL). But then I’m not like a lot of folks and use them everyday. I found keeping them very clean and lubricated helps all bits a plenty and I get pretty good cuts even from the cheap ones.

-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA

Toyguy, I know who you are and where you live. :^)
My 2 cents, follow the consensus here, buy a small cheap set and see where you go with the new router.
If by cheap you mean a set on sale from CTC. If you mean Princess Auto or the flea market, don’t.
There are many different grades of carbide and different thicknesses and many different ways of soldering – gluing the carbide to the steel body. There are different grades of steel for the bodies as well.
I have broken a straight cutting bit from CTC, but I was abusing it and just damaged the project not me.
We’ll get together soon and discuss it.

-- If we learn from our mistakes, I'm getting a fantastic education.

I’ve enjoyed my Craftsman (crapsman for most y’all?) bits – I got a roundover set on sale. If you don’t buy a big ol’ set, I’d say get a coupla roundovers and a couple straight bits. They work wonders for most projects, and until you’re building the fancy-schmacy stuff, I don’t see a need for many of the other bits.

I would get a half-inch shank though if you can.

Carbide. Whatever the make…get carbide. Router bits tend to burn up at high speeds and fast wood feeds, or when used on those real hardwoods. Carbide will hold it’s edge longer…just don’t drop them.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Stay away from HSS bits and go for the carbide. That said, I love http://mlcswoodworking.com/ bits. They ship for free, cut great and are moderately priced. Their “set” prices can give you a super discount. For instance:

http://mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/setcvro.htm#roundoverset_anchor

Their customer support is great as well. I started out buying Freud bits one at a time, but after a chunk of one went flying across the room, I realized that pricier isn’t always better.

-- Log...log...it's big, it's heavy, it's wood!

Acually the MLCS is one of the places have have been looking at for a cheap starter set…... Thanks all for your suport, and Mr Woody, I already know your thoughts on the subject, but I’ll stop by one day soon to pick your brain….

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

a cheap set is good. also try pricecutter… They are the same company as Eagle american who you see on this site.

I buy whiteside for specialty or bits that I will use more often. When it comes to panel raising and the like, cheap bits have left me cheap results.

-- making sawdust....

Hi everybody, first post here. I’m not an expert on the subject but I just bought a new PC 890 router and was searching for decent quality bits at a reasonable price and I found this.
http://www.elitetools.ca/
Made in Canada and sold at a decent price.
They have an ebay store where you can get better prices than the web site.
http://stores.ebay.com/Elite-Tools_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZQ2d33QQftidZ2QQtZkm
I didnt figure that out until after I bought the 24 bit 1/2 in. set. I could have had the 35 bit set for only $5.00 more at the time.
The bits seem to cut good (but I may be stupid) and there is a warranty and return policy.
Hope this helps someone.

Thanks for the link, I’ll have a look at this site.. Being a Canadian myself, I like buying Canadian.

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

I buy most of my router bits at MLCS Woodworking – good bits at low-medium price range and free shipping (www.mlcswoodworking.com). I have been very happy with the MLCS bits and especially with the prices. I’m not doing production routing, so don’t necessarily need top-of-the-line bits and these work as well as I could ask for what I am doing. I did buy one of their Katana bits and they are a level better than they standard bits. Also seem to recall that the MLCS router bits rated very high (top 5) in a magazine’s review of router bits (I took this review with a grain of salt when I saw that they rated CMT nearly at the bottom!).

I got lucky a week ago, though. Was in a local surplus/salvage store and they had Amana Tools router bits, at about 1/2 the street prices. Got a 1/2” straight, 1/4” straight, what was supposed to be a 3/4” straight but ended up being a 1” straight in a 3/4” package (all 1/2” shaft), and a rabbeting bit set with 1/4” shaft (only because they didn’t have one with the 1/2” shaft) for under $40.

I would recommend MLCS bits also. I use them almost exclusively. They have a line of 3 flute bits that I use a lot. I’ve never had any problem with them and I’ve found that the Whiteside bits get dull just as quick.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Toyguy,

Looks like I’m gonna be the naysayer in the group. My opinion is do NOT buy cheap router bits and do NOT buy “sets”.

The sets sound seductive, you get so many bits for so little money. It’s like you could have new bit for each day of the week. It would be router bit heaven.

My reality is that it is the sets that sit on the shelf being a waste of money. I own multiple sets, some small and some larger.

The truth is for me that I use a small handful of bits, a couple straights, a couple round overs, and a couple dovetail. The rest just collect dust.

But I guess I could use them if I wanted to. Only actually I really couldn’t use them if I wanted to, because bits are expensive, and sets of bits are even more expensive, so to afford a set of bits you have to buy cheap bits. And cheap bits suck, to put it politely. They dull quickly, the carbide is poor quality and chips out. The quality of cut is poor, to say the least, when compared to a high quality bit. So even though I could use them I wont.

My experience is that the high quality bits, I particularly like whiteside, cut better, faster, cleaner, longer, with less chip out (I think because they start sharper and stay sharper). I’m to the point I wont use a cheap bit unless I just dont have a good bit that shape or size or if I’m roughing out an idea and dont care about chewing up a junky bit.

High quality bits just do a better job and leave cleaner crisper joints with less work for me to clean up after them.

If you’ve already got a set, find the bit you use the most and buy a high quality bit that same shape. See if there’s a difference. If you decide the high quality bit doesnt cut any better than the cheap bit then you’re only out the cost of one bit and now you have two of the bit you use most. If you decide you do like the high end bit well now you have a good bit that is the one you use the most so at least most of your cuts will be better.

I believe there is a difference.

Here’s a couple threads talking about bits.

What's your 2 bits on router bits?

Dovetail Joints

While cheap bits are not very good, they are better than nothing. The strategy I used was to buy the 60 piece sets for 60$ from ebay to have a huge variety of router bits around for essentially two good bits. When I started using the router bits I slowly bought good bits for the most used shapes. The fact of the matter, though, is that for occasional use the ebay router bits are not that bad. What I hate is putting a project on hold when I do not find the right router bit. More than one time I was glad I purchased the cheap set. For a cheap set to make sense, though, it must have a large number of bits. The 18 bit set Charlie bought is not big enough to qualify.

When it comes to expensive bits, never buy them in sets (not more than sets of 4 anyway).

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

I would like to second what ColoradoClimber posted. I did not know what a good bit could do for many years, until I bought some. The difference is amazing. Just like bandsaw and tablesaw blades.

Try a Whiteside, see if you agree.

Steve

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

ColoradoClimber/Steve – How do you know which ones you will actually use more than once? You might end up spending a lot of money buying a bit that you never use again.

I certainly agree that high quality bits most times work better and will for sure last longer.

An analogy would be going to a winery to taste all the different wines to decide which ones you would
actually like to drink. It doesn’t cost much, just time and gas for your car.

If you buy a whole bottle without trying it first you might end up not drinking any more after the first glass.

Buying a set of 20-30+ bits will cost about the same about the same amount a 2-3 high quiaity bits.

The analogy isn’t perfect but I think you get the point. Buying a set of inexpensive bits is a cheap way to
test the waters, to see what you will actually use. You don’t waste your money since you still have the use
of that bit until it wears out.

You will end up with absolute empirical knowledge of exactly which bits you should sink your money into.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Gary, I agree. My only reason for posting was that I did not realize that it made a difference with good quality bits. Same goes with bandsaw blades. I had no idea. I found out that to me, a good bit was really different. I have used a lot of cheap/medium quality bits and they worked. I just wanted to say that I did infact find a differance. Having a set of medium/cheap quality bits is fun and I would encourage that also.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

I use only MLCS bits. Reason is there service and price. A few month ago I had a pattern bit blow the bearing apart, well I called them and cuaght them just as they where closeing. The guy( forgot his name) sat there and asked my home address and told me a bearing would be at my house first thing in the morning. It arrived around 10:30a.m. . This nice that there was no argument from them over how it happened. There bits seem to cut just as good upper priced bits.

Just to let you all know…. I did buy a few mid range bits in a set that I think will be the most used shapes. I do already see the need for others. As time goes on, I plan on buying singles of better quality, as soon as I can figure out just what I will want.
Now…....Just what is the best bits out there? Obvious Whitside has a faithful following, What about the single bits from Lee Valley?

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

i just wanted to say like everyone else go Carbite they are so much better. and i recommend buying 1/2” shank whenever possible. i just got a craftsman 3/4” bit and it had a 1/4” shank and i was not happy, especially on big bits like a 3/4” you want a 1/2” not a flimsy 1/4” but that’s all sears had and i needed it ASAP so i got it. just a warning when buying 1/4” shanks go slow. the 1/2” can be pushed more and therefore are better for larger bits and more stable.

Gary,

Excellent point. Indeed I did start off with sets, cheap sets, and more than one. And that’s how I figured out which ones I liked and used. And then I got some higher end bits and they seem to actually perform better. But you are right about being able to figure out which bit shapes and sizes you like and are useful to you. So I guess I’d modify my comment, get a set, play with different bits, use them on some projects, and then if you find yourself using one or two of the bits more than others then upgrade those.

Router bits are much like table saw blades. I think there’s an unwriiten rule that you have to start cheap only so you can appreciate the better ones when when you inevitabley upgrade, and make no mistake, you will upgrade.

-- Paul

I’ve had good luck with Freud, CMT, Onsrud and Whiteside bits. I have recently gotten some Bosch bits at the Big Blue Box store and they were fine. Something of a revelation to me has been the purchase of downcut spiral straights vs. two fluted in a router table application. Much nicer cuts than the fluted equivalent. I use a Incra Jig Ultra for a lot of box joint work and there is considerably less chipout.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Whiteside are really good. A good place to buy them from is Holbren.com. They offer free shipping and good prices. The Katana brand MLCS carries has been real good for me too. I bought a couple of those and they cut great. If I needed a bit for a small project, to use just a few times, I would order from MLCS. If I where going to but the best bit I could I would buy Whiteside, Frued, then Katana, in that order.

I happen to agree with CharlieM, GaryK and PeterO….buy the cheap bits first (like I did, the 18 bit set from Ryobi) then figure out what you’re going to use the most of and then get the more expensive ones in the future so that you’ll get maximum benifit in the long run. I’ve got several Whiteside bits that are great, but I did my “learning” from the supposedly cheaper set. The spiral upcut Whitesite is truly a great product and is my favorite for that type of cut, but I feel I did the “prudent”thing” and researched what worked for me and what I was going to use it for first. Incidently the one Whiteside was $42 which is about half of what the whole Ryobi 18 piece set was listed for and I’m still using all 18 bits from the Ryobi. Now if you’re a true “professional” in this business and know what you need to get the job done, get the Whiteside (or what ever you feel makes the best setup) and go with it. I’ve got Ryobi, Whiteside, Freud, MCLS and Bosch, but I did my R&D with the old “cheapo” set of Ryobi bits. The best money I’ve spent on router bits was the 18 bit Ryobi set for 79 bucks. And that’s just my ever humble barely experienced amateur woodworking non-biased opinion. Take all this and $1.00 and you can get a cup of pretty good coffee at Dunkin Donuts.

-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC

I found another good source for brand name, but cheaply priced router bits.

I needed to get a Dewalt tool fixed and took it to the nearest repair center. They have bins and bins of new,

marked down router bits. some as much as 80 percent off retail , still in the box etc. hundreds of them.

-- ..... art for lifes sake

What ever bits you buy, do not use them untill you learn the basics. This wiil increase the life of the bit and yourself. There is a ton of information out there on how to use the router. The following is just a few that I can think of right away.
Most important: Use safety glasses and hearing protection.
Do not set the bit all the way down into the collet. Set it so that the bottom of the cutter is 1/16” to 1/8” from the top of the collet. This will make sure that the collet is griping 100% of the shank and not the curve part of the shank. I brought some 1/4” and 1/2” ID tubing and cut off 1/8” or less for each bit shank.
In most cuts do not make the cut in one pass. Take off a little at a time and keep the bit moving. This is safer, helps prevent the bit from grabing the wood, and helps prevent burning the wood, and helps prevent over heating the bit.
Do not use a router on wet/damp wood.
Do not run the wood between the bit and a fence.
Always move the router from left to right (looking from the top of the router). Only move the router from right to left if you are going against the wood grain.
Anyone else have some good tips?

-- Ron in Osseo, Minnesota

I have to say ditto on the “Do not use a router on wet/damp wood”. Back in 1984 I bought one of Sear’s best routers and was happily ploughing into some wet wood when the bit jammed. The router was exactly eleven months, three weeks and two days old … when it exploded! Yes, somehow the innards at the commutator end shattered and the only thing that kept them from flying off was the router’s metal case.
I remember how old it was because I took it back to an amazed sales clerk who promptly handed me a brand new router, since I still had five days left on the warranty.

I would not buy the cheapest bits to begin with, because that’s a good way to ruin what could otherwise be good work but I would not buy the top of the line either, if I was just starting out. As with anything else, experience is the best teacher. I agree with HallTree: Learn the basics and go from there … and above all, have fun.

-- Nothing says "I love you" like a saw blade.

Just signed up to post my opinion on a new set of Ebay raised panel bits I’m beginning to use.

One thing I don’t see mentioned in this thread is accuracy. I bought this 3 piece set for an MDF wainscot project, not wanting to use the Freud set I already had because MDF is apparently hard on carbide. I wasn’t concerned about quality because for the $46 delivered price, I could just chuck ‘em when finished. What I didn’t expect was the poor fit of the rails and stiles, and the badly ground shape of the cove raised panel cutter. When fit together, there’s a noticeable gap on the faces caused by the tongue being too long. Not a big deal, I just run the narrow part of the stile over the jointer and it fits OK. The 3 1/4” cove cutter is a real work of art. The rounded part looks OK, but the flat section has about a 1/32” dip in the middle and a little sweep right near the pilot bearing. Again, this shouldn’t be a problem because the 5/8” MDF panel fits into a rabbet, not a groove. If this was a more important project like cabinets, I’d definitely try to send them back. The keyword here is “try”, as Ebay has clearly become the place to unload inferior products from inferior sellers.

If anyone is interested I can let you know the brand, I just don’t have it in front of me at the moment. It’s a 3 piece set, yellow, in a wood box for $39 plus shipping. You’ll want to avoid these. BTW, my Freud set fits together almost at the atomic level. NO gaps anywhere.

Router bits are much the same as people!

” You would not recognize the good ones… save for the bad” !!!

While it may prove financially sound to get a beginners set break away from them as soon as it is possible, you will enjoy the difference.

I used to shop with MLCS for years, price being my motive; but…. those days are long gone.

Both America Eagle and Lee Valley offer quality bits [ American made ] at a reasonable price.

Norm.

[ Where the heart is, there will your treasure be also. ]

What do y’all use to clean the bearings on your bits? Is there some solution that’s better than others? And, if you soak the bits/bearings in some kind of solution, what do you do to/with the bits afterwards? Let them airdry? Blow them dry? Wipe them dry?

Thanks for all your outstanding advice and comments here. It really helps to see the variety of opinions.

—Larry Anderson
———- Tupelo, MS (birthplace of Elvis)

-- Larry Anderson, Tupelo, MS -- Shopsmith owner

Here is a Whiteside set based on an article 10 Essental router bits that was in fine woodworking

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyId=20060

The article is on line here – It does require membership to view.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=26888

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I agree with Debbie, safety is an extremely important issue with router bits.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Dead horse, but I will throw my cents at it…

I am a fan of the e-bay kits. I have a 20+ piece 1/4in shank kit that I got when I purchased my first router. I think it cost me about $30 and to this day I have used only half of the shapes. I wore out 1 or 2 of them and replaced these with quality bits. Some might comment that this isn’t a good investment, but at under $3/bit I think it works well to test the waters.

When I bought my new router I picked up another 20+ piece kit in 1/2” shank for under $30 off e-bay. I used one bit so far and toasted it. Maybe it was the mdf, maybe it was bit quality. Time will tell if this is just a sub par kit.

For commonly used bits like edge followers and pattern bits I think money is well spent off the start on 1-2 sizes of quality bits. When I get around to buying spiral bits I will be picking up MLCS because they are good quality at a lower price than the Freud/whiteside bits.

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama