Router bit quandary....2 questions

[Mark Rios]

I received my new 5-piece Freud Round Over bit set on friday and two of the bits, 3/8 and 3/4, were loose in the neato little box that they came in. There are scuffs on the inside of the top of the box above each of those two bits and their respective sleeves are looser than the others. I checked the edges and there is a chip (not just a nick) out of one of the edges on each of them. I called Amazon and they were very kind and helpful and offered to send out another set and give me a $10 gift cert as well. BUT....because of their 30% off all Freud sale that they are having right now, they are out of stock on these (as well as lots of their other Freud stock). Shipment will happen sometime in April.

Well, I need a new 3/8" round over bit right now so I went to HD to get one and the only brand of router bits that they carry now are Porter Cable. With the rather thin amount of carbide on the edges of the PC router bits, can someone please explain why HD wants to charge between $25 and $35 for each bit? Is PC making their bits out of some super secret metal that doesn't need to be very thick and lasts forever?

Would it be appropriate to PM Charles M to see if there is another solution?

Thanks for your advice.

[Matt Tawes]

PM Charles if you like or just call Freud directly and they'll replace it for you. I've purchased bits from Amazon in the past which arrived chipped and just called Freud to return the old ones and had replacements in about a week.

[Mark Rios]

Hmmmmm.......call Freud directly....what a novel idea! (Sometimes I'm such a bonehead). Thanks Matt, of course that's what I should do. Thanks for the slap on the back of the head. I'll let you know what they said.

But I still would like to know why PC (or is it just HD) wants to charge an arm and a leg for their seemingly mediocre router bits.

[Mark Rios]

I just called Freud and they were very friendly and helpful and offered to replace the set no problem but I would have to pay for shipping it back to them (understandably since I didn't buy the set directly from them). I guess I will just wait for the set to come from Amazon since they are willing to pay for the shipping both ways. I'm just a bit bothered that I have to go buy ANOTHER bit now. HMmm...I wonder what brand of bits Lowes carries?

[Marion Rood]

My lowes carries Bosch Bits

[Julio Navarro]

I am still curious about PC's super secret metal alloy, lol

[John Lucas]

HD - purely their markup. PC bit is good but no better than Freud or CMT...and I dont know that they are that good.

[Barry O'Mahony]

Ican someone please explain why HD wants to charge between $25 and $35 for each bit?

Uh, Because they think they can maximize their total profit (profit-per-bit X number-of-bits-sold) at that price. Isn't that how every business picks what price to charge?

[Greg Tatum]

I just called Freud and they were very friendly and helpful and offered to replace the set no problem but I would have to pay for shipping it back to them (understandably since I didn't buy the set directly from them). I guess I will just wait for the set to come from Amazon since they are willing to pay for the shipping both ways. I'm just a bit bothered that I have to go buy ANOTHER bit now. HMmm...I wonder what brand of bits Lowes carries?

Hi Mark....since you are going to spend money on a new bit anyway, what's the cost to ship it to Freud? Seems like you could do overnight for the cost of a HD bit... just wondering.

Regards,
Greg

[Frank Pellow]

Uh, Because they think they can maximize their total profit (profit-per-bit X number-of-bits-sold) at that price. Isn't that how every business picks what price to charge?

Some companies yes, but I am happy to say not every company.

[Mark Rios]

Hi Mark....since you are going to spend money on a new bit anyway, what's the cost to ship it to Freud? Seems like you could do overnight for the cost of a HD bit... just wondering.

Regards,
Greg

Thanks Greg and you're quite right regarding the cost. However, the total time to get the new bits back is sometime next week and I need to get this project done this week.

Thanks again to all.

[Matt Tawes]

Hey Mark,

The time that I just did the exchange through Freud they crossshipped the new bits and when I go them I returned the damaged ones and it only cost me like $3 to mail them. I was up and running in a week.

[Anthony Anderson]

Box em up and send em out today. I think I saw that you were in CA, you should still have time. I always think that I need things sooner than I really do. So if you're anything like me, go ahead and send them out and you might have them back by the end of the week. Worst case you have to go and buy the bit on Friday, or whenever you need it. Or borrow a bit to get you by. Go Go Go, try to make it to the post office. Regards, Bill

[Jason Day]

Here is a short article about router bits. I found it a year or so ago, but it still gets the point across.
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<o>http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00045.asp</o>
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Make sure to check out the “router-bit score card” located about ½ down the page.

[John Keane]

If all else fails go to MLCSWOODWORKING.COM. You will like the shipping costs, and the bits are gang busters. If you are a little flushed buy Katana