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Thread: what bits should i buy
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15th October 2008, 09:14 AM #1Deceased
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what bits should i buy
i hav'nt got a router yet,but want to get a set of the cheap router bits all are talking about.i will buy a half inch router,want to buy about 10 to 12 bits.going to work in hardwood and softwood,can someone advise me what to buy please.
lloyd.
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15th October 2008 09:14 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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15th October 2008, 02:36 PM #2Awaiting Email Confirmation
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You might want to be a bit more specific on what you want make with the router, you can do so many things, all requiring different bits.
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15th October 2008, 03:12 PM #3Senior Member
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Agree with the other post, bluegum30, and this is a wonderful world. Keep in mind that a router is basically a motor that spins around extremely fast, but that's pretty much all it does. The bits are everything. Buy good ones and buy as many as you can afford is my advice. There's a mob online these days called Saws and Bits at:
http://sawandbits.com/catalog/index.php
and you can kit yourself out with a full arsenal of good quality bits for a mere song. They are good bits, too! Delivery is prompt and the guy running it, James, is diligent and trustworthy. I've bought almost everything they sell. At prices of $5.50 per bit, even my wife said, "go for your life".
I went for mine AND hers.
Essentially it comes down to straight cutters and things that deal with edges or grooves or channels. If you are buying a 1/2 inch router (definitely the go...don't bother with a 1/4 incher in my opinion) keep in mind that the large bits, such as panel raising ones and other mammoth chunks of steel and tungsten, are for use in router tables, not hand held devices.
Hope that's helpful!
Michael"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is." Yogi Berra
"Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes." Oscar Wilde
"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right." Henry Ford
My website: www.xylophile.com.au
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15th October 2008, 07:12 PM #4Originally Posted by bluegum30
If you can get an idea of what you want to do from them, fair enough - but you can see what each type of bit does from a free router bit catalogue, or by searching online - and your experience with cheap bits will be poorer than with good-quality ones.
A couple of sites for starters are here and here (click on the pictures on the sites to enlarge them). My preferred site is Wealden Tool Company in the UK, but not all of their pics show the resultant profile.
Hardwood and softwood need different approaches, mainly varying the feed rate, but hardwood will see off cheap bits quickly (resulting in burning of the workpiece) and you'll then get tear-out when using them on softwood.
I'd buy two or three really good-quality bits and get proficient with them first, then buy additional, individual bits, as and when needed. It's often the cheaper way in the long run and you'll love using the good-quality bits.
Originally Posted by cellist
Ray
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15th October 2008, 08:52 PM #5GOLD MEMBER
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[quote=rayintheuk;824182]I take a different approach, considering cheap sets of bits as "experimental" and - in quite a few cases - "throwaway." BTW, most sets include bits that you will simply never use and - to me, anyway - that's a waste.
I'd buy two or three really good-quality bits and get proficient with them first, then buy additional, individual bits, as and when needed. It's often the cheaper way in the long run and you'll love using the good-quality bits.
Must agree with Ray. I originally advised getting a box of cheap ones and I still have the one I bought. Hardly any of them have been used and when i think about it they look pretty harmful. I agree with the 1/2 in bits and the variable speed router. The good bits i have bought and seem to use continually just are not going to wear out and will certainly outlive me.
Graham
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15th October 2008, 09:05 PM #6Senior Member
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flush trim bit - they can solve alignment mistakes, duplicate and trim things flush.
Straight bits - for groves and dados get a couple the size of the sheet goods you use.
Round over bit/s - round edges are nice.
ogee bit or thumnail or roman -fancy edges can have value when showing off is required.
some form of joint forming bit/s like tounge & grove, rail and stile, vj, mitrelock, slotcutter
that should get you 8 or 10 bits which is $50 or $60 at sawandbits.
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15th October 2008, 09:09 PM #7Deceased
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Good advice
Sapling, Michael, Ray, thanks for the replies. I have decided to get some of the router bits from saw and bits. I will be buying a variable speed router like all new adventures there is a fair bit too learn. I should have realised feed rate and speed would have a bearing on the life of TCT on a router bit, same as on saw blades. I will have to learn to post picture so you all can see my shed and what gear I have.
Lloyd.
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15th October 2008, 09:25 PM #8Senior Member
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one of the big magazines did an article on the number of different things you could do with 5 router bits.
I cannot remember who or where
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15th October 2008, 09:30 PM #9
Bluegum
seeing it's your first router buy a mid sized one,
then once you know what you'll be doing with it you can decide whether you need to buy a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.
ian
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15th October 2008, 09:31 PM #10Senior Member
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18th October 2008, 01:26 AM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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