Thread: Router bit quality testing

Thanks Mike, thats an interesting article.

Unfortunately, in Oz, we don't actually see a lot of the bits tested. What it does say is that price is not necessarily an indicator of quality.

I'd love to see the same test done on Oz hardwood.

Bodgy, you found the exact reason for my posting this link. This test was run in 1999 and one of the vendors mentioned replied it doesnt reflect what is on the market today. As router enthusiasts we need to encourage meaningful testing by reliable sources so we know what to expect when we spend our hard earned money.

Hi Mike...

Which vendor is different now? I buy Whiteside bits and am well pleased with their performance. In fact, the three other woodworkers that I demonstrated them to have all switched too, from CMT and/or Freud. Compared to those brands, Whiteside are a whole different thing...more carbide, better finish, smooth and well made.

Compared to the local brands, they are approximately 25% cheaper, too.

Greg

I'd always thought that CMT were in the top echelon, possibly at the top, but these data suggest that Whiteside may be better.

Must sample a few!

Any comments on the Infinity range?

Hi Steve...

I haven't yet tried Infinity, but I do recall hearing good things about them in an article somewhere. The Whiteside bits don't have the nice catalogue or little jewel cases that CMT has, but they are better, and have a nice range in some (but not all) profiles.

I haven't had good luck at all with Carbi-Tool, chips and fractures of the cutting edge seem too easy to get, even in MDF. The only Triton bit that I have ever tried (1/2" straight) broke after trimming 8" of the edge of a PINE board. POS.

Greg

As far as I know there has'nt been a difinitive test on the Oz hardwoods with the variety of router bits we have available here,however (I may be corrected)it would be interesting given that one was done and the results made known.

There are countless "name" brand bits but without a decided test here on a decent hardwood here in Oz that could provide some semblance of an idea of performance then it's always going to be down to an individual personal selection on the criteria available.

I have mainly Carbi-tool bits along with Dimar,Jesada,T-Cut,CMT as well as a smattering of Taiwanese bits for jobs that don't require a great finish.
The cost of router bits dos'nt faze me as long as they do the job on the timber I employ them on namely Jarrah/Sheoak and occasionally some desert timbers but I will only stay with that brand if I feel they perform reasonably well.

Cheers

Thanks for that one! A nice find and a good read.

Greg, the vendor who replied that the test was "old news" and didn't reflect the current market conditions was Freud. One of our members is a Freud employee and he keeps us up to date on their company news. A couple of our members have responded favorably about Infinity bits, no complaints so far. Many of our members highly recommend MLCS bits and I must say they have the widest selection I have seen to date. Whiteside has always set the standards and been consistantly the top of the pyramid of US made router bits.
As members of this forum you have the ability to petition one of the Oz woodworking magazines to run a test on bits similar to the one in my first post. With 11K members they will listen to you! I am in the process of organizing a petition on our site for an action of this type. We are also going to ask router plate manufacturers to adopt a standard size, and give them a list of what our members want to see on the next plate they buy. At this time we have 9K members and a manufacturer who wants business will listen to numbers like that.