Rail and Stile Bits (Rockler??)

[Charlie Kocourek]

I am planning to buy a set of rail and stile bits.

Rockler has all their bits on sale for 25% off. When I went to their site I found that they have three different kinds of rail and stile sets. One with the bearing on the bottom, one with the bearing in the middle, and one with a bearing in the middle and on the bottom.

Has anyone used these? Is there an advantage of one over another?

Thanks, Charlie

[Curt Harms]

and reading magazine reviews the 2 piece matched set is generally preferred. Having to disassemble and reassemble a cutter seems like a real pain plus the possibility of error. I don't know about the stacked type work but one concern I'd have is with the length of the stack. If there was any runout in the router it'd be magnified by the greater length of the bit. One thing that does interest me is the Freud adjustable sets. I didn't understand the benefit until seeing one demoed. The 3/8" tongue created on rails isn't a lot of glue surface. With the Freud set you can create longer tongues as well as do other neat tricks.

[Greg Wease]

Regardless of the manufacturer, select 2-piece sets with the bearing next to the straight cutter on the "stick" bit. Some of the Rockler bits have the bearing so high that it doesn't touch the edge of 3/4" stock. These are more difficult to align, often resulting in snipe. I also prefer sets with stacked components/shims because minor adjustments can be made if needed. The ones I use most are made by CMT or Freud, both of which give me better results than the Rockler bits.

[Charlie Kocourek]

Thanks for the info!