Top Bearing Router Bits....????

[Dennis Peacock]

I'm needing a few 1/2" shank router bits that are top bearing guided bits for mortising holes for guitar pickups and audio controls. I'd like a 3/4" wide by 1/2" high cutter as well as a 3/4" wide but 1-1/4" tall cutter. Who is a good supplier of these bits? I simply refuse to buy them from a luthier supply shop as they charge 3 times the price of a standard bit. Advice and pointers welcome. :)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dennis,

I am a big fan of MLCS Katana bits. They work well! http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/katana_bits3.htm#kt_flushtrim_patkit_anchor

[John Huds0n]

I prefer Whiteside but I think you may have a hard time finding a 1/2" shank with a 3/4" wide cutter that is only 1/2" tall. They usually are longer - 1 1/4", 1 1/2" or 2"

page 20 of their catalog:
http://www.whitesiderouterbits.com/wm_catalog_03_2014.pdf

Good place to buy is RouterBitWorld or Amazon
http://www.routerbitworld.com/

[Larry Edgerton]

Freud has a 1/2" shank 3/4" dia that is about a 1/2" cutting length. Not on every site so you will have to find a # and search.

The other one not so sure, but if you can use the big Whitesides, 1 1/8" dia, they do the best job of trimming I have ever seen. And they last a long time.

[Walter Plummer]

Whiteside, Eagle, and Infinity all sell the bearings and stop collars separately. I think you can add them to virtually any bit.

[glenn bradley]

Another Whiteside fan. Brian at Holbren ships fast and inexpensively, Hartville has free shipping every day. I also have various bearings and collars that I add to bits that do not normally have them. If you can't find a 3/4" diameter (I assmue you want teh 3/8" radius) by 1/2" height, just make your template from thicker stock. Or use a 3/4" bit to make the template and follow the 3/4" radius with a smaller hinge mortise bit.

[Dennis Peacock]

Most excellent advice here guys....Thank You..!!!!! Now I will go and look to see what I can find from your advice. :)

[Peter Quinn]

I checked every catalogue I have, looked at the usual suspects, can't find the configuration you seek. Closest is 1/2" shank, 3/4"D, 1" CL. Cant find anything that short that is that wide with a shank that large. I guess you could have one made? Or refine which of those variables is critical. I checked Stew Mac and LMI, neither of them sells such a bit either. All the Stew Mac templates are set up to use 3/8"D patter bits with a 1/4" shank, and their router bit prices are surprisingly not bad. But those you can also find from Amana, infinity, possibly Eagle America. Maybe it could be achieved with a brass bushing and a straight bit?

[Walter Plummer]

Eagle has 3/4 Dia. x 5/8 CL. with bearing http://www.eagleamerica.com/product/v114-0812. 3/4 Dia. x 1 1/4 CL. with bearing http://www.eagleamerica.com/product/v102-0552b. Close enough?

[Rick Lizek]

Look at insert type bits. My go to source is Southeast Tool but Amana and others are catching up. Bits that take 12mm inserts can be rotated 4 times and they maintain the cutting diameter unlike bits that are sharpened. I've added bearings along with a retaining collar to make my own top bearing pattern bits. A bit more expensive initially but cheaper in the long run. Inserts are around $10 for 12mm but with 4 edges that's $2.50 an edge.