Router bits

[dan_tom]

Hi everyone

Anyone ever had the experience of merrily routering through about 8cms of timber only to have your brand new router bit break off at the shaft? I would've expected a little more of a brand new bit - didn't even get a chance to wear the paint off it! I even bought it from a woodworking place, not Bunnings!

Grrr....

Cheers
Tom

[echnidna]

Lost a few that way, all 1/4" bits, never lost a 1/2"bit

[ozwinner]

Never ever ever buy discount router bits, these things run at 20,000 rpm.
Sh7t, imagine one of those fuchersu hiting you at that sort of speed.
Splat............

Al :eek:

[routermaniac]

enough to scare the *&^% out of you, happened to me a few months ago too, very annoying when its a sunday After 5pm and you cant get going without THAT bit :mad:

[nic]

The shaft breaking is one thing, I've had Bunnings el cheapo bits loose chunks of carbide when doing some light work !
I can't afford the CMT bits so sick with McJing or Timbecon, they seem to be fine.

nic

[echnidna]

Thanks for that - won't EVER use bunny bits

[Grunt]

I managed to route the end of a clamp. Didn't do much for the router bit or the clamp. I lost a few years off my life. Don't try this at home.

[gatiep]

Quote "Anyone ever had the experience of merrily routering through about 8cms of timber only to have your brand new router bit break off at the shaft?"


Not being a router expert but 8 cm ( 80 mm ) sounds like a very deep cut and I'm not surprised especially if it had a 1/4" shaft. How much of the shaft was still in the collet. Just curious as I've never done cuts that deep.
Good luck
:)

[dan_tom]

The routering was not 8cm deep, but I had travelled 8cms along the piece of timber!! It was a CMT bit, cost me $45. The routering was only carving off the corners, so it was a pretty poor effort. Ihad learnt my lesson with the mega pack of assorted router bits from Bunnings, a piece of metal flew off and positioned itself nicely in the timber... close call. You'd think Aussie safety standards would take them off the market.

Cheers
Tom

[nic]

The routering was not 8cm deep, but I had travelled 8cms along the piece of timber!! It was a CMT bit, cost me $45. The routering was only carving off the corners, so it was a pretty poor effort. Ihad learnt my lesson with the mega pack of assorted router bits from Bunnings, a piece of metal flew off and positioned itself nicely in the timber... close call. You'd think Aussie safety standards would take them off the market.

Cheers
Tom
A CMT bit, I'd take it back If I were to pay that much money on a bit no way it's going to break off with light effort.

nic

[John Saxton]

With CMT generally known for their quality of material used in their bits it is surprising to hear of a new bit breaking straight off so I'd take it back hopefully with the receipt if you've still got it!

I have got a lot of CMT bits and to date have had no problems with them but even the good named products can have a bad product that eludes quality control!

Good luck, hopefully the store will see you right.

cheers :)

[outback]

Really surprised to hear a CMT bit breaking. i'd reckon they'd come to the party providing there ain't no burn marks or hack marks on the collet.

CMT are my favourite brand, they keep their edge, and this is the first time i've heard of something nasty happening.

[Kris.Parker1]

I haven't had a bit break on me before, but I have had the bearings s&*t themselves.

[sailingamerican]

You can route anything with small bits. You need to take just a little off each time you make a pass. It takes longer to do the job but you will not break the bits. Too fast a feed and too big a cut will mess you up evey time. Make sure you have a slow feed rate with 1/4" shank and that you are going in the right direction with the feed. Use a feather board and you will get less kick back that will jam and break your bits. Oil the bloody berrings before use and when done take them off and soak in a solvent. This way they will not bind up and cause you to burn your work. Too slow a speed will burn your wood as well as feeding it the wrong way. Glad you are ok. I had a stack dato on my Dewalt 12" radial arm saw that threw the blades by starting up in reverse. Lucky I had the the head tilted 90 degrees and facing the back. One blade broke one of the studs in the grage. They went flying everywhere. I was standing in the only spot that was safe. Bad points on the starter. New saw and Black and Decker would not take care of the problem. Needless to say I will not buy anything owned by Black and Decker. They now own Dewalt and Delta, Porta Cable and others companies. Be safe.

[Shannon Nash]

I have had one bit break on me. It was a 1/4 shank straight bit. I sensed it vibrating a little then it went.

If you ever hear a bit begin to vibrate I encourage you to ease up/stop immediately.

I try and use 1/2 shank whenever possible. The linbide bits (from NZ) have a polished edge and cut really well. They are not far off the cmt prices however.

Cheers
Shannon

[render2017]

I find buying cheap router bits false economy. The only time I have had trouble has been with the cheapies.

And I agree the 1/2" units don't give trouble.

Did have trouble when I was using a cheap router (GMC) kept breaking bits, but was a faulty collett, another cheapie problem. Always buy quality for minimum fuss.

I have Jesada, believe Infinity are the successor, and also hear someone will be importing them soon. CMT are OK too, but a perhaps not as good value for the money.

[knucklehead]

Dan and Tom I had that happen with a brand new CMT bit. I took it back, they gave me a heap of grief about what I was using it for (cutting ply wood). Eventualy they did give me a replacement bit which has been good.

[dan_tom]

Shouldn't you router ply? :confused: Whoopsy daisy me then. Admittedly this incident with the router bit breaking off was not on a piece of ply, it was moreton fig ash, but I used another bit last weekend on a piece of ply (no problems). Any ideas out there?

Cheers
Dan

[ROB NZ]

I will speak up for the el cheapo bits (at least one of the ones in my collection anyway). I recently had to run a double weathergroove in 210 running metres of radiata pine battens for the board and batten exterior of my new workshop.

I used a V shaped bit (Chinese I think) set at about 6mm deep on my router table and did the 420 metres without any trouble (apart from the heaps of dust).

Next purchase a decent dust extract system.

Cheers

Rob

[johnc]

I would have thought that CMT would be very happy to take the bit back and exchange it. As producers of quality bits they are probably more interested in why it failed than anything else.