Thread: Router Bits ???.

http://www.carbatec.com.au/13-piece-...ail-set_c18500

http://www.carbatec.com.au/leigh-dov...it-sets_c21703

There's a few options from Carbatec. Or here
http://www.apworkshop.com.au/html_ro...2-gfb-dlb.html for individual prices.

Whiteside in the US do Leigh specific sets.

Avoid the El-cheapo ones or sets.

Think about it, do you really want something made at the cheapest price and materials spinning at 20000 revs at approx the height of you belly button or further South?

Do buy the tungsten carbide bits.

Not sure if Carbitool do them, but if they do I wouldn't hesitate to buy them. Got dozens of their bits at work and never had any issues, they go a long way before needing a sharpen too. Their catalog and price list are on their website.

Carbitool Router Bit Catalogue, page 13

Page 13 of the price list as well

Also, have a look at Tools Today's web site in the USA. http://www.toolstoday.com/default.aspx?

Tools Today offer very cost effective postage from the USA (US$12.00 postage to Au for three router bits, and the shipment arrived in seven working days), and their prices on good quality Amana router bits are hard to beat. One major Aussie router bit sales mob quoted AUD$20 for postage for three bits, and the prices on the bits was about double the Tools Today price for similar quality bits.

I normally like to support local Aussie businesses, but lately I've found that the range of router bits that they have available hasn't included what I needed, and when the item was available it's price was jacked up.

Good Morning Issatree

Agree with everyone above.

Heat is the enemy of router bits. Hence I recommend tungsten bits with the thickest shanks available (12 mm) as this dissapaits the heat better.

Also, cut slowly so that you do not build up too much heat.

Finally, I am at a slight variance with Elan. Suggest you get some tiny diamond sharpeners (toothbrushes) and hone your router bits after every usage. Far easier to keep them sharp than to sharpen them later. Tungsten is tuff stuff !!


Fair Winds

Graeme

Hi to you all,
I'm not after a set of bits, but a couple of this & a couple of those, but Thanks for the Info.
A very Good Friend of mine gave me to use a 16 - 20mm. Tungsten Carbide Chinese Forstner Bit, boy do they work beautifully. Dear, you say, Ha, approx. $AU 3-5 ea. They have 4 cutting edges. Had to be careful not to go in to far as they may jam.

Originally Posted by issatree

Hi All,
I'm in the market for some Router Bits for A Leigh Dovetail Jig.
Need to know what I may need, but not to many, What make I wood want. What price am I looking at.
Wood Alibaba be the way to go.

Issatree,

Sorry, I missed part of your question when I made my first answer to your question. So, here's the second try......

I use a Leigh D4R jig myself. When I first bought it, I started out using the bits supplied by Leigh Jigs.and was able to produce great joints easily. When I needed new bits (dovetail & straight) I decided that the Leigh Jigs bits were too expensive, so I hunted down Asian suppliers. Finding the correct sizes of bits as specified in the Leigh D4R manual was time consuming. Most could supply the right angle, but not the correct lengths and diameters.

One supplier had a chart that matched Leigh Jigs part numbers to his part numbers. When those bits arrived, the carbide on the bits was much smaller, and one bit threw it's carbide at my guts on first use. The remaining bits out of those bought from Asia do not cut as cleanly and are harder to get nice tight joints with. I only do through dovetail joints with the D4R - you may get different results if you're doing half blind dovetail joints, or using a different model of jig. Asian dovetail router bits for the Leigh D4R was a waste of time and money forme.

I've gone back to using Leigh Jigs branded bits, although I did recently buy one Armana brand bit from Tools Today that is an exact match for the Leigh bit, and works OK.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Heat is the enemy of router bits. Hence I recommend tungsten bits with the thickest shanks available (12 mm) as this dissapaits the heat better.

Also, cut slowly so that you do not build up too much heat.

Cutting slowly will actually cause MORE heat to build up and reduce cutter life. A lot of heat is carried away by the waste chips; faster cutting creates larger chips which are able to take more heat away (source here: http://www.onsrud.com/files/pdf/LMT-...ting-Guide.pdf pages 7-8).

A very interesting article. A simple task of routing a piece of timber (feed timber thru cutting bit) actually comes as a very scientific and technical operation. I wonder how many think of this as we do a job. Be interesting to see what a manufacturer of router tips has to do to achieve an optimum router bit.

G'day Issatree
Two things you haven't said are the model of the jig and if you have the 8mm collet reducer that comes with the Leigh jigs. You need this to use the Leigh branded bits. I agree with AussieRoy. You can try substitution but you can't go cheap. You may as well get the Leigh bits. They are designed for the job.

Check the Leigh downloadable documentation for which bits you need according to the types of joints you want to do and the timber thicknesses.

If you have the D1600, then the Leigh® D1600 VRS Accessory Kit - VRS + 1607-8 Bit Set at $141.00 from Carbatec (with 7 Leigh bits) is on clearance and is $90 cheaper than normal. It will give you the vacuum support as well as a bit set. The bit set suits other jigs like the D4R and is 2 dollars cheaper than the "special" price for the bit set alone but won't go up when the specials end. Many of the bits are common to all the Leigh jigs. I don't think the vacuum rest is swappable to other jigs though.

Show us what you make! The Leigh jigs have a learning curve so don't use fancy timber on your first go. Good luck!

Hi,
I don't think you should skimp on router bit's either if you have a jig already the manual should have all the bit's listed for witch ever dovetail that you want to produce according to thickness of material and type so you can buy a few bit's to cover the range of work you want to do,the full sets have a number of bits you may never use. I have a set of CMT for the Leigh d4(not the full Leigh set) they are very good bit's having said that and having also looked at Carbi-tool bits the Leigh bits in the smaller sizes can be purchased with 8mm shafts as opposed to 6.5(1/4") they are a lot stiffer the most common bits for draws with 12mm sides are in the smaller range and I have found the heavier shaft to be far less prone to chatter makes it much easier to repeat multiple perfect joints.
Regards Rod.

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Cutting slowly will actually cause MORE heat to build up and reduce cutter life. A lot of heat is carried away by the waste chips; faster cutting creates larger chips which are able to take more heat away (source here: http://www.onsrud.com/files/pdf/LMT-...ting-Guide.pdf pages 7-8).

Thanks, Elan, for referring me to such an interesting paper. Must admit, it through me for a while as its apparent recommendations are contrary to my personal experience.

I have a Makita 3600BR router which is one of the heavier and more powerful commonly used models - 1,500 watts or 2 HP. If I cut too fast or I cut too deep then it does chatter and I get a rough finish, sometimes break-out and excess heat - simply a statement of what happens. My solution when cutting dovetails using my 20+ year old Vermont American jig is to rough out the trenches using either a strait cutter or a spiral cutter - this removes 85-90% of the wood. Then I change to the dovetail bit and cut out the final bit. This gives me nice tight dovetails and no burns, chatter or roughness. Commonly use hard Tas woods including blue gum - E globulus - where the burl janka can be around 12.

But I had never heard of CR Onsrud so I did a search - well reputed manufacturer of very heavy industrial CNC machines - 18 HP industrial router has a little more grunt and more ability to make chips fly than a small hand-held handimans product.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...61#post1832661
It essentially the same issue that spindle molders cut better than routers - generally they do!

Most amateurs routers do not have variable spindle speed. The only parameters that the handiman can control are depth of cut and the speed at which he pushes the router - or moves the workpiece on the table router. I still maintain that I get the best results by sneaking up on the cut.


Fair Winds

Graeme

I use the 8mm Onsrud solid carbide upcut spiral router cutter with the Leigh D4R jig. Purchased form Lee Valley. It is a very good cutter. Not that the Leigh cutters are bad - in fact they are quite good. Lee Valley also sell cutters for the Leigh jig with 1/4" and 8mm shanks.
Regards
Les