Thread: 45deg lock mitre router bits

I have the mitre lock bit and because precision is required for a good fit I wouldn't recommend cheap bits.

+1 for what Mature one has said.

Also bear in mind that router bits handheld or in a table are spinning at anywhere up to 20000 revs, should any chip of tungsten etc come adrift some part of you is in the firing line. Buy the best you can afford from a reputable company, quality, unfortunately does not always come cheap. I always only try to buy once rather than have a drawer full of cheapies that don’t do the job properly.

My experience with these both cheap and expensive has been less than encouraging... I can get the setup right quite quickly now, but I'm finding the edges on them get dull, as in burn wood dull, after just a couple of uses...

Using old jarrah or new Sheoak makes no diff...and cannot convince myself I'm doing anything wrong...

Originally Posted by david.elliott

My experience with these both cheap and expensive has been less than encouraging... I can get the setup right quite quickly now, but I'm finding the edges on them get dull, as in burn wood dull, after just a couple of uses...

Using old jarrah or new Sheoak makes no diff...and cannot convince myself I'm doing anything wrong...

Sounds like you might be feeding too slowly

Originally Posted by david.elliott

My experience with these both cheap and expensive has been less than encouraging... I can get the setup right quite quickly now, but I'm finding the edges on them get dull, as in burn wood dull, after just a couple of uses...

Using old jarrah or new Sheoak makes no diff...and cannot convince myself I'm doing anything wrong...

Do you try and “hog” off the whole section?

I have found that they work much better and last longer if I mark out the actual mitre and remove “most” of the waste so that the cutter and machine don’t need to work so hard. The easiest way is to mark and cut a template from the cutter either out of thin ply, mdf or even aluminium, whatever you have that is handy, leave the outline proud of the actual size and this then becomes the marker for setting out.

Hope it helps you out.

Originally Posted by wgptaxi

I am looking at buying a set of lock mitre router bits, they range in price from $20 to about $200. You can get them cheap out of China, but are they any good?

With anything coming out of China,moreover if it entails a router bit I certainly would question the quality of it with respect to my health.Quality control is circumspect until good reviews prove otherwise.On the face of it ,it might look like an attractive option buying a set but the tungsten needs to be of a processed state that would factor in with the Australian hardwoods or processed board material.
Personally I have gone for the known brands that encounter our hardwoods here like the local Carbi-tool to mention one.

If you want the best quality bit out of China look for 'Arden'. They're a bit more expensive, but they're as good as anything I've used.
I've bought from both these guys and found them fine to deal with, but be aware that they both sell a range of quality. The Arden branded ones are the best with Huhao the next best, I wouldn't bother with any of the other brands they sell.
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...620006513.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/fresas-para-router-Woodworking-Tool-45-Deg-Tenon-Arden-Router-Bits-1-2-1-1-2/726290_32695453497.html

A limited range of Arden bits are made in Taiwan, but most of them are made in China. I'm pretty sure the Chinese ones are made by Tideway, they also make Huhao and some lower quality brands. You really do get what you pay for.

Agree with Aldav. I've a few Arden bits and they have performed very well.

I have found lock mitre bits to be THE most hair-pulling frustrating bits you could possibly imagine. I've a full Incra setup (0.05mm adjustments) including a dedicated lifter (Incra with 0.05mm height adjustment) and it's still a major PITA. You will find millions of these bits unused in dusty drawers in every workshop in the world.

If I were to buy another, I'd likely buy one of these setup jigs: https://www.timbecon.com.au/routing/...tre-setup-jigs

Originally Posted by wgptaxi

I am looking at buying a set of lock mitre router bits, they range in price from $20 to about $200. You can get them cheap out of China, but are they any good?

Mine is a Huhao bit from China (No Affiliation) and I was skeptical about the quality, when I got it, it looked well made, I tried running it by turning on the router table from a distance and nothing bad happened, it cuts well and is really sharp. Not saying it's as good as a Freud or Amana etc but I doubt I could tell the difference. YMMV.

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Agree with Aldav. I've a few Arden bits and they have performed very well.

I have found lock mitre bits to be THE most hair-pulling frustrating bits you could possibly imagine. I've a full Incra setup (0.05mm adjustments) including a dedicated lifter (Incra with 0.05mm height adjustment) and it's still a major PITA. You will find millions of these bits unused in dusty drawers in every workshop in the world.

If I were to buy another, I'd likely buy one of these setup jigs: https://www.timbecon.com.au/routing/...tre-setup-jigs

I watched this video and the guy is right if you set the height first then worry about the depth of the fence it's a whole lot easier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgMRSB0tDxc

So make a horizontal test cut with two pieces with the bit about the right height, then if the flipped over piece is higher than the other piece then you need to raise the bit and vice verse.

Only then worry about the depth of the fence and doing the vertical cut piece.

This is my first attempt at doing one and it turned out pretty good.

Originally Posted by HypnoToad

Mine is a Huhao bit from China (No Affiliation) and I was skeptical about the quality, when I got it, it looked well made, I tried running it by turning on the router table from a distance and nothing bad happened, it cuts well and is really sharp. Not saying it's as good as a Freud or Amana etc but I doubt I could tell the difference. YMMV.

How much did you pay, and do you have a link for the Huhao bit?

Originally Posted by cava

How much did you pay, and do you have a link for the Huhao bit?

My Bosch POF-1200 only goes up to 8mm shank which is what I got, it cuts up to 19.05 mm there are bigger and smaller ones, and you can get the 1/2" shank ones which cost a little more and a tip is to pay the extra couple of dollars for E-Packet shipping, it has tracking and you get it in around a week as opposed to 3 - 4 weeks with their regular shipping. The Huhao / Arden ones are supposed to be even better quality and have Arden etched into the shank, I just got the regular Yellow Huhao in the first link (ignore their measured dimensions in the photo).


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1PC-8mm-Shank-Medium-Lock-Miter-Router-Bit-45-Degree-3-4-Stock-Woodworking-Milling-Cutter/32842371099.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.22.74321c4cC8DKvD&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3_10152_10065_10151_10344_10068_10130_5722815_10342_10547_10343_10340_10341_10548_5722915_10698_10697_5722615_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_10131_5722715_10132_10133_5711215_10059_308_100031_10103_441_10624_10623_10622_5711315_5722515_10621_10620-10621,searchweb201603_25,ppcSwitch_2&algo_expid=7f4a2143-4c4a-441f-accf-2b44387bf68a-2&algo_pvid=7f4a2143-4c4a-441f-accf-2b44387bf68a&priceBeautifyAB=0

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/45-D...ceBeautifyAB=0

Arden are the 'professional' quality, Huhao the 'industrial' quality and then 'the rest'.

Originally Posted by aldav

Arden are the 'professional' quality, Huhao the 'industrial' quality and then 'the rest'.

So should we be buying 'Industrial' quality for the longer life span of the product, or is it the reverse and the 'Professional' is the better option?

I'm curious - if you did some test cuts to get the perfect bit height and fence position, and put in some kind of hard stop so you can go back to that exact fence position repeatably, could you then take multiple shallow cuts moving the fence each time to creep up on the full cut (when fence hits the hard stop)?

Also, is there a size of these bits that would be suitable for tabletop thickness timber (30mm plus), and is this a good joint for making up large tabletops from several boards?

Cheers