Thread: Carbi tool Router Bits "Difference"

think their cheapie is an imported bit

with router bits i believe you get what you pay for, one is 60% cheaper and probably far more likely to disintegrate in the collet causing damage to the workpiece, operator and his surrounds. for light and infrequent use, yeah, use a cheapie if you must. Personally i like having 2 eyes, 10 fingers and a relatively unscarred body despite 46 years of abuse

Has anyone ever had a router bit disintergrate, or know of it happening?

had a biscuit cutter disintegrate, cat's still not talking to me 8^)

Originally Posted by martrix

Has anyone ever had a router bit disintergrate, or know of it happening?

Yep. Hit an embedded bolt. Shattered the tungsten edges, bent the shaft and gouged out the bottom plate.

It was a 1" cutter taking a 1/2" cut and hand held. The vibration and the noise was enormous from me. The router was complaining too.

Changed underwear, picked up another router, dug bolt out, filled damage section of trench, put new cutter in and finished the job.

Then had a nervous breakdown.

Yup. Many, many 1/4" single-flutes; you'd think I'd have learnt by now.

The worst was a stackable coving bit, 1/2" shank. One of the centre sections went flying in two seperate directions and the rest, suddenly being loose on the arbour, made an 'orrendous noise while they self-destructed.

Dunno what I hit, if anything, there wasn't much left of that part of the timber I was coving. Metal fatigue? Who knows... but I don't want an encore.

I've used several 'yellow' Carbitool bits without any trouble. They are 'made in Faroffistan" - I tend to think of them as 'expendable' bits to use on MDF & plywood that allegedly rip the SierraHotel1Tango out if the carbide. Still haven't managed to blunten any of the several bits I have - ranging from 1/4" shank stuff up to 1/2" shank roundover - I have most of the straight bits in 1/2" shank.

For the really large or fancy sets like drawer lock bits, stackable slotters etc I buy CMT or other reliable brands, including Carbitool Oz made bits.

Originally Posted by HarryM

Hi all,

I went to Meg 10 this morning to get a 16mm straight bit. The router bits at Mega 10 are all Carbi Tool bits, fair enough, what I saw was that they had two different "types" both in the customary yellow plastic envelope, except one bit was painted yellow?

Now the price: for a 1/2 shank (16mm straight bit) one was $30 odd, the other which was the same dimensions was under $10. They were both CTC and looked idendical except for the yellow paint job. Anyone know the difference, other than the 60% price difference?

HarryM

Carbitool have two ranges, their home grown professional range and some profiles are available in their Econocut range (cheapies).

For me

..........................Always buy quality router bits. I reckon theres nothing more dangerous than blunt power tools or using bodgey blades or cutters. The way I look at it if you go down the cheepie path do so at your own peril. I reckon the quality carbi-tool bits are the go & use them all the time!!!!

I have found if you find a good supplier & your buying bits of them fairly regularly they'll look after you. At this stage I'm getting something like 17% off. I keep going back to him ........he keeps looking after me ........an amicable arrangement.

..................Hope this helps

Regards Lou

Hit an embedded nail with a ½" up/down cut spiral bit. Little bits of carbide embeded in opposite wall & the work piece. :mad:

That would have been fun! Not!

Cheers!

Just for info, they did a review on cheap and dear router bits in the Australian wood review mag a while back, they only used the 1/2 shanks as anything less is done so at your own risk, they routed mdf so as to maintain a constant used a computer controlled router and routed 48 metres of material at a depth of 10mm per router piece. Guess what they couldnt fault any of the brands from the $7 cheapy to the dear $35 cmt piece, they said they all performed at the same level and all showed negligible signs of wear at the end of the test. Just goes to show you dont always get better quality with a dearer price, sometimes its just the packaging. Like food at your supermarket a lot of times the homebrand is the same as the premo stuff there even made on the same assembly line at the same time but get different packaging.
My 10c worth

Originally Posted by simso

they did a review on cheap and dear router bits in the Australian wood review mag a while back,

Really? and who set teh parameters for the test?

Originally Posted by simso

.....they only used the 1/2 shanks

so the real cheap and nasty ones were excluded then?

Originally Posted by simso

...they routed mdf

.

might as well have routed weet bix, all that proves is that a cheap 1/2 inch bit can do 48 metres of soft stuff, WHOOOOOPEEEEEEEE

Originally Posted by simso

.....and routed 48 metres of material at a depth of 10mm per router piece.....

A whole 48 metres - WOW - is that the entire distance i can expect from my cmt stile and rail and raised panel bits? i think i will have some issues to take up with the suppliers if thats the case. ok i know you are saying that that is the distance they were tested over, but did you stop and think why 48 metres? not 50 or 100? maybe do a real test over the brands and see which one would go the furthest while still producing a quality cut a tradesman could present to his clients? NO??? didnt think so.

Originally Posted by simso

Guess what they couldnt fault any of the brands from the $7 cheapy to the dear $35 cmt piece, they said they all performed at the same level and all showed negligible signs of wear at the end of the test...

Thats because they designed the test to be below the failure point of any bits
.

Originally Posted by simso

.... Just goes to show you dont always get better quality with a dearer price ...

Sorry simso it just goes to show you that they designed a test to show that all bits are equal under their test

Hi Doug and Simso,
I just had a read of the article to get some facts straight.

1. All of the bits were 1/2 inch shank "because they are considered a professional standard".

2. They routed melamine coated MDF and particle board.

3. It was not 48 metres but 144 metres through the MDF and 36 metres of particle board.

4. In regards to the result Phil Ashby does say "I am sure that you pay for quality and at some point the cheaper tool will begin to fall behind the others".

I think that this test was only a beginning on how you could compare router bits.
Simso, there is a big difference in router bits, and while generic food may be made on the same production line as the name brand stuff, does not go to say that the same ingredients are used. (My cousin works at Arnotts, I asked him)

Doug, Couldn't help yourself could you.