Router bits...

[Phil Winn]

I am glad that I found this “Saw Mill Creek” group-great members, and good solid information. Thank you so much.

I just purchased the following:
1. PC 7518
2. PC 690LR
3. Leigh D4
4. JessEm Mast-R-Lift Excel Router Table etc
<O</O

I am planning on building the following: “first”, a router cabinet; “second”, a cabinet with drawers for my workbench; “third”, a living-room bookcase with bottom doors-frame and panel.

I do not own any router bits…:
1. Should I purchase ¼”, 8mm, ½”, or?
2. Which brand(s) should I purchase?
3. Which stores –Rockler, Woodcraft, MLCS, Sommerfedl’s, Vortex, or ?
4. What about the “Ebay” router bits?
5. Are there some router bits which everyone “should” own, if so which specific ones?
6. Are there some “sets” which one should own, specifics?
7. What else should I purchase relating to routers etc.?
8. I want to purchase tools etc which will last a long time and work well--
9. What else?

Thank you so much for your help—
Thanks,
Phil

[Jim Becker]

For your Leigh jig...go 8mm. Stronger shanks than the 1/4" cutters and a lot of stress goes on them when cutting dovetails...more than you sometimes think. If you can swing it, buy the complete Leigh set (from any manufacturer you prefer) so you can do all the joints in the manual at your leisure...they don't go bad and this is one exception to my "no big sets rule" below. IMHO, of course.

For the rest, always 1/2" shank when possible. 4 times the metal of a 1/4" shank cutter which makes for stronger tooling and less deforming under load. Buy name brands, IMHO. I personally prefer the USA-manufactured cutters, although for raised panels, Freud's 2+2 design is just peachy for clean cutting. For rail and stile bits, buy two-piece matched sets rather than one piece that you need to reconfigure. Avoid large bit sets, but a set of different sizes of the same type can sometimes be practical if you use those profiles a lot...roundovers is a good example where I bought the set.

[Kevin Arceneaux]

8mm for the Leigh High, 1/2 for the others. Try Infinity bits, decent prices and excellent service.

[Mark Stutz]

You'll get a lot of opinions on brands. Some people prefer less expensive bits and replace them more frequently, however I have learned, usually the hard way, over the years that "you get what you pay for". I use almost exclusively Whiteside bits that I purchase at my local Woodcraft. Have never had one break or be defective. Definitely 1/2 in unless the profile you want isn't available. I would purchase what you nedd for theproject at hand.
Having said that, I have the luxury of a 15 min drive to Woodcraft. If I was relying on mail order it might be different, as I have more than once made a trip during a project, though I'm sure I'm the only one that has ever done that. I probably pay a little more, but the convenience is worth it to me, and they know me by name--good customer=good service. As far as other equipment, a set of guide bushings will be very useful for handheld use, but not in a table mount.
Godd luck and welcome to the Creek.

Mark

[thomas prevost]

STAY AWAY from the ebay, Homier, and this general quality bits. Brazing may not be good and flying carbide can cost an eye.

I am a fan of Whiteside, CMT, andthe old Jesseda bits for everyday use. Though,I have a slew of Woodline and MLS bits that were purchased for speical projects of a one time or rare use.

Get a set of solid carbide spiral bits and if budget allows it, one with double top bearings. Much cleaner cuts than 2 blade straight bits. Brass bushing will get used all the time for free hand.

[Wayne Bracy]

Hello Phil,

I agree with Jim regarding the 8mm bits for your D4. (and all of the advise he has given on this forum) I have dedicated a 690 D-handle router to use with the Leigh and find the D-handle seems to give me better control of the router. I find the 13/4 HP router is fine for all of the Leigh routing work I do.

I purchased a router bit set directly from Leigh. Just felt at the time I would be using what they recommended? Most of my other router bits are Freud or Whiteside. Both companies manufacture a quality product.

The most important issue for me is to keep the bits clean and sharp. I try, but don't always do it, clean the bits after I use them and prior to putting them safely away.

I have two router tables, first one I built was a Norm Abrams type and the second one is just a table with flat top and drop in router plate. I have an Incra jig on the second table that works fine for repeatability and fine adjustments. I really like the option to pull the entire router out to change bits. Found that by using a measure blocks I can set up the router quickly.

Always unplug the router to change bits! Make sure you tighten the router after making an adjustment, keep your work area clean, and always think "SAFETY FIRST".

Regards,

Wayne

[Lloyd Robins]

I agree with the sizings mentioned. As to the bits - Whiteside!

[mike lucas]

I am of the belief that you will need router bits on just about every project. (At least in the type of woodworking I do!) There for, you need the basic bits, like
4-5 different sizes of round over, and cove,
rabbit, bits, or one bit with several bearing sizes,
a handful of edge treatment bits,
straight cutters,
panel raising bit,
set of dovetail cutting bits,
rail and stile set. and then you will have your own need of a few others.

Once you have the 35 or so essencle bits, then you can wait til a bit is needed to add to your collection. This is how I ended up with 100+ router bits. Well about 9-12 years ago, I did buy a 21 piece set from CMT that set me back nearly $700. I bought these because they looked cool. Lucky for me, I have used at least 18 of them on more then one occation.

Buy Good quality bits from a company like CMT, and always buy 1/2" shank bits when possible.

I have had maybe 5 bits break over the many years that I have done woodworking.
Out of 1 Freud bit that I owned, it broke. I had to fight for the so called free replacement.
Out of 75 or more CMT bits, I have had two break. Both were the same size 8* dovetail bit. The second one was my fault, as I tried to use a piece of knotty oak, when I knew better. Both times I had the CMT bit replaced without a single question. Very good customer service in my opinion.

The other 2 or 3 broken bits were no-name bits.

I have one Amana 1/8" straight cutter with bearing. This bit is so rusty, that I will no longer use it. I have never had anyother bit rust, not even the cheap Cascade bits that I bought when I first started buying router bits in the early 80`s. I still have a few of them.

Over all, I have bought no fewer then 150 router bits, many end up in my Brother`s shop when I upgrade to better one`s.
My Brother has had several bits break, all Cascade. I can't say how he treats them. So it could be that is maybe hard on them, or that I got rid of them just in time.

[Charlie Plesums]

I do like the good quality bits, but I have no regrets that I bought a fairly large set of cheap bits a few years ago... They allowed me to play with various profiles, and then replace the bits that I use with good ones.

The reviews generally find that the name-brand cheap bits are safe, but don't stay sharp as long, and cannot be resharpened as well. If they only last for 25 feet of good cutting, it still may be a bargain for a special project or a learning experience.

[Bill Arnold]

Phil,

Most of my bits come from MLCS. I've had good luck with them, they're inexpensive and customer service is good. As to shank size, I generally get 1/4" for smaller bits that I could use either in my table or on a hand-held trim router; i.e., roundovers up to 1/2", straight cutting bits up to 1/4", chamfer, small ogee, etc. Some people don't like sets of bits, but when you look at the cost-per-bit, they really can be worth it. As someone else said, if you have a selection of bits (as in a set), you can experiment with individual bits or combinations of bits to get a profile. As an example, I'm completing a side table on which I used a v-bit, 1/2" cove bit and 3/16" roundover bit to shape the legs.

Good luck!