Looking for input on router bits…specifically middle of the road bit mfgs. I love my Whiteside and Amana bits, but they’re pricy…especially for ‘light use’ bits.
So, what say you? Maybe post your experiences and thoughts on mfgs for: 1) everyday, high use bits… 2) light use, don’t wanna spend cash on these, bits…
Offer whatever info you want…someday, someone will find this thread in a search and your info might help them out!
And GO!
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
I've had good luck with Yonico bits from Amazon. The most used ones are the upcut spiral bits for my CNC and they have stood up to bunch of use. None of them have worn out and the only one that I broke was caused by a screw up. I forgot to remove the touch plate and the bit broke but only after plunging all the way through the 3/8" aluminum touch plate. I also have a rabbeting set, bullnose set and a couple of beading bits. They don't see much use and they are still in like new condition. No complaints about any of them. One the other hand, after hearing so many people talk about how great the Amana bits I bought one of their 1/4" spiral upcut bits (or was it a Whiteside?) and it was terrible. It was smoking so badly on my CNC that I stopped the cut because I could actually see flame. I put a Yonico bit in its place and completed the cut without any other issues.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
I have had good luck with Yonico too. I bought these three for specific jobs not really expecting them to last but so far they hold up very well. I read bad stuff about Roman Carbide a lot but the only one I’ve ever bought has held up great. It’s a 2” bottom cleaning bit that I use in my router sled for flattening slabs so it does pretty heavy duty but it doesn’t bog down and it’s all in one piece.
This is a set of Newdeli panel raising buts I bought off Amazon for my recent shadowbox project. They were okay for the money but I wouldn’t recommend them. They left a decent finish and were easy enough to get set right but the tongue was looser in the groove than I would expect from a better set but the profiles matched up good enough to get a solid glue up.
For high use bits, I buy Whiteside. Never had any Amana but I hear enough good about them that I wouldn’t hesitate to.
Bosch makes good flush edge trim bits but I don’t like their profile bits because the cut always requires sanding.
amana all we used in the cabinet shop they are excellent bits for cabinet shop but i personally do not own 1 i have a cheapy set for 1/4 shanks that does very well for me but im not that picky and i barely use them in my shop think it was a 40 piece set for 30.00 good nuff for tony i would think yonicos are one step up from my set
I have some Wood River bits, in 1/2" from Woodcraft....they were on sale and have held up well. I bought the "blood groove" bit not expecting it to stay sharp with end grain, and I have done a few with it is still going strong. I also bought every different "stone mountain" bit in 1/2" that they made from peachtree, it was a long time ago, and they had a sale for 5.00 a bit.....they are all still going strong and I have used the round overs a lot! I looked and they had a whole bunch more then than now. I have bought a fair amount of Freud too. I don't know if they still make them but I bout mostly quad cuts. But you have to mortgage your house to buy them.....but they cut the best of any bit I've ever had....just not sure they are wort that amount of money. My favorite bits are some that I bought at an auction for a whole box for 5 or 10 dollars!!! Ive bought a bunch... Actually some of them are junk, but hey you could throw all of them away except for one and and I am money ahead....but I have gotten some nice bits....I bought a box for 10.00 once and there were a bunch in there still with the protecive wax on them...do I sound like bandit?
Since I started this, I should probably comment too. I’ve got a medium sized set of crap bits I bought many years ago when I was getting started and didn’t know any better. Note: don’t buy ‘sets’. Buy what you need, when you need it. Or, start with a very small set from Whiteside or Amana or another high end mfg. it’ll hurt a bit, but usually those sets include bits you’ll actually use, and they’re high end.
That said, I’ve replaced many of my most commonly used bits over time. Usually with Whiteside, which I’m very happy with, but they can be pricey if you get into a bigger profile.
I’ve got Amana compression bits that I use in my Shaper Origin, and they do very well. But you do have to be careful of the speed or you’ll burn them up (as with any bit).
Where I’m stuck is with the ‘nice to have’ bits within the crap set I have. They’re toast after just a couple uses, but I don’t want to replace them with more crap…nor spend the $$ for high end bits that I wont use much. I’ve seen Yonico come up commonly as a bit that might fit that bill, but I don’t own any.
The other thing I think is worth mentioning is sharpening: for bits that have a flat cutter (like some profiling bits), they can be spruced up pretty easily with a diamond card. Just lightly file the flat cutting face. It works really well to keep lower quality bits cutting cleanly.
I was doing a practice build for a hidden box hinge yesterday using a 1/2” round nose bit (that’s a crappy one from the set). It wasn’t terribly dirty/gummy, but wasn’t cutting very clean. A few passes with a 300g diamond card, then 600g and it made a real difference.
Anyway, the purpose of this thread is to look at those mid-class bits and maybe post some info to help folks make choices in that class. I know the small profile bits are cheap enough to buy Whiteside or something similar, but it would be nice to have a feel for what works for those larger profile ($$) bits.
Anyone used Rockler’s bits? Know anything about them?
How about American Eagle?
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
I have (and posted about) my experience with Yonico. Mixed at best with the "bad" ones going dull very quickly and larger ones being severely out of balance. I do and will continue to buy them when I need a bit for a specific project and don't need or expect a long life or want to spend a lot of $$
Same scenario for buying Rockler bits, they are "ok". MLCS have been good as well for low $.
I only have one, but was surprised at a Wood River bit (3/4" straight cut). I know they are Chineseium and all the Wood River stuff (especially their planes) had big QC problems when they first came out, but they seemed to have clean up there mfg.
Bought from Woodcrafters when it was on sale. The bit is one of my favorite when I have end grain to route, wicked sharp.
I have a bunch of MLCS. They have held up pretty good. I also bought the Katana bits from MLCS. They are a decent bit. When Sears was still open. The store near me would have Craftsman bits on clearance here and there. They woukd be $2-$3 each 1/4 shank. They held up fairly well.
Also have had great luck with the Yonico bits. Specifically with anything straight, or like Nathan, upcut, downcut, compression, spirals, which I use for edging more than any others. So Plywood bits, and any of the top bearing bottom bearing or even both bearing edging bits. I haven't used any of the profile type, or bits with anything except a straight cutting edge though. For plywood I do dados enough that I do have the Whiteside set, and keep them for really good plywood BB, and Appleply, stuff like that, meant to be machined stuff. I use the Yonico's on XYZ plywood, and even exterior plywood I use for rougher stuff like shop cabinets. The glues used on the XYZ stuff is harder on good cutting tools, so I throw the cheaper bits at it.
Versus Bruce's experience, maybe they do straight well, curves not so much?
Time has had me leery of anything from Woodline, or P Tree, more bads than goods. MCLS is ~~~~~~ again seems like straight are better than curves. Found on clearance, and elsewhere I will gobble up profiles I like from Trend, but I haven't seen any in a while. Of course I have a pile of the smaller Trend routers too.
Pretty sure American Eagle is the upcharged version of MCLS. Due to less than stellar results I have had with them, I am hesitant to spend upcharged amounts for bits from A.E., but I have not used any, so it might be my loss? Some of the ones I did look at, were within pennies of Whiteside though, and if it's that much WS is always gonna win, again based on past history.
I have maybe one, or 2 bits each from Rockler, and WoodCraft, both are ok, doing what I bought them for, not enough real world experience with either to say if they are across the board are worth a look. I think for me the Yonicos have that spot. I also have not had enough good luck with CMT (orange) or Irwin, any of the off brand, but name brand stuff you see. Like Bosch, and sometime Freud to have them listed as a top tier bit, and all of them run higher than Yonico, so again I'd tilt a seldom used bit to Yonico. So Whiteside, or Yonico/
There are an entire bunch of bits, many supposed to be for CNC, most all have colorful tips, and ALL of them are heavily PIMPED by an online woodworker. I love Jonathan Katz Moses, but he'd sell skunks to his Mom if he could turn a buck, he has some bits n such or somesortashit, and he PIMPS the crap out of them, but I have yet to see anther reviewer, magazine, or anyone else pick that flag up and run with it. Stuff like that I seldom jump into unless I start seeing other notable persons or entities doing same. IOW I want redundant reviews to change my path through life. Stumpy is another who PIMPS hard, and swears them to be the best, but there are many I would think. That, as I see it is the danger of Online Gods, and Goddesses. Many sell junk, and use their name to do it.
Mike at TayTools, and JKM both are selling that CMT stuff hard, and my experience is it comes to you dull, and gets no better. Especially their drill bits. After such Underwhelming experience with the bits, I have steered clear of router bits, and saw blades. For 1/32 of what I paid for the bits they were junk. I'd sell them off, but would feel bad doing that to someone, so I plan to eat the cost, and have a lifetime of saying what I think of them. I bought a kit from Mike, and it had a single CMT router bit, just a simple straight cutter. I don't think it was a spiral, and it too was crap, so I think saying blades and bits are all in the same range. I'd review them, but even one star makes them look salvageable, they are not IMHO that either, so until they allow for negative numbers I'll just drop little F bombs like this one.
Total agreement with don't buy sets. Only what you plan to actually use, or you will have some bits like I do from 1960 with no use. If I live long enough I hope to recoup the cost of that stupid set I did buy, with just a few virgin "antique" bits. :-)
I have a few Amana and really like them. They are the small bits for small radii and other uses (Luthier sized) Work quite well and sharp, but given their cost I baby them .
I don’t do enough template work to get one of the high end compression bits, but the amana upcut compresssion bits I’ve gotten work really well.
I think I might try a couple Yonico bits for seldome-used profiles I’ve been eyeing. I did pick up a couple replacement whiteside bits because they were a small profile and cheap enough it didn’t really matter. I guess we’ll see!
I think tomorrow I’m going to work on a better storage option under the router table. To that end…any of the 3D printer guys have a file for the 1/2”->1/4” shank collars?
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
For me, I use my compression bits with my Shaper Origin. However, their application is so limited, sometimes I am too lazy to swap one in.
They way I use them is to, after roughing out but leaving 25-thou offset (10% bit diameter) and about 50-thou if uncut depth, I will then swap-in a compress bit and take off the offset and break through the skin in the same last-pass. However you have to make sure that you only descend the tip of the compression bit far enough to guarantee a through-cut, because if you go too deep into the spoilboard, you are negating the benefits of the compression bit. Which is to say, most compression bits only give you 1/4” (same as bit diameter, whatever that is) before the spiral transition.
Last but not least, in some materials like acrylic or hardwoods, you can still see a line at the transition point. However, that is not to say that the bit is not doing its job. Getting a clean — tear-out and fuzz free — edge on both faces is wonderful.
Thanks Nathan, but I’ve got a specific format I’m trying to fit. Basically I’m going to somewhat copy the thread spool storage design Ron is doing the blog on, but for my router bits. I’ve already for the right cabinet under my router for it, just need to build the inserts.
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
