Rick Potter
04-08-2015, 2:37 PM
I am starting to make closet organizers for the house, simple basic shelf units and casework. I need a lot of dado's as I am doing three large walk in closets and a good sized pantry. The pantry alone will have over a hundred dados. I am using 3/4" melamine to build them as it is easy to keep clean.
My first thought was to use the RAS, which is fine for the shorter ones, but some will be 16" or more deep, so I fooled around with various router jigs to at least do the deeper ones. I finally decided on the jig I would use, and did my first unit as a trial. It is 12" deep and has 7 shelves. Dados slightly over 34" wide, so used a 1/2" brand new Woodline shear bit taking two passes 1/4" deep. It worked just fine, but the bit is very dull after doing this first unit, which totaled 14' of dado.
So, I did the second unit with the RAS and my cheap dado set, as I don't want to mess up my good set on simple shelf units. It worked well, with just a little bit of chip out, acceptable for where it is to be used. That still leaves me with a lot of dados to make in the wider stuff using the router.
Which finally brings me to the point....will a better router bit really last longer than the cheapie I used. I am hesitant to put my Amana bit in just to see if it gets dull. I certainly don't want to buy a new bit every 14' of cut.
So..what do you guys who rout a lot of melamine use for bits???
My first thought was to use the RAS, which is fine for the shorter ones, but some will be 16" or more deep, so I fooled around with various router jigs to at least do the deeper ones. I finally decided on the jig I would use, and did my first unit as a trial. It is 12" deep and has 7 shelves. Dados slightly over 34" wide, so used a 1/2" brand new Woodline shear bit taking two passes 1/4" deep. It worked just fine, but the bit is very dull after doing this first unit, which totaled 14' of dado.
So, I did the second unit with the RAS and my cheap dado set, as I don't want to mess up my good set on simple shelf units. It worked well, with just a little bit of chip out, acceptable for where it is to be used. That still leaves me with a lot of dados to make in the wider stuff using the router.
Which finally brings me to the point....will a better router bit really last longer than the cheapie I used. I am hesitant to put my Amana bit in just to see if it gets dull. I certainly don't want to buy a new bit every 14' of cut.
So..what do you guys who rout a lot of melamine use for bits???