Router bits - Too Good to be True?

[Brian Kent]

Does anyone have experience with Woodcraft router bits.

I assume I would be better off buying one smooth, long-lasting Whiteside bit, but this is tempting.

I would not need these to be long-lasting, just smooth enough and clean cutting:

Woodcraft Anti-Kickback Router Bit Set, 10 Piece, 1/2" shank - $42.99

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4091

10 Piece Set includes: 1/4" & 1/2" straight bits, a 1/2" flush trim bit, a 1/2" core box bit, a 1/4" round over bit, and 1/2" V groove bit, a 1/2" Roman ogee bit, a 1/4" cove bit, a 1/2" 45º chamfer & a 3/8" rabbeting bit.

[Richard Butler]

I have about 12 of their bits. They work pretty good. If I needed the bits I would buy them.

[Mike Heidrick]

Does anyone have experience with Woodcraft router bits.

I assume I would be better off buying one smooth, long-lasting Whiteside bit, but this is tempting.

I would not need these to be long-lasting, just smooth enough and clean cutting:

Woodcraft Anti-Kickback Router Bit Set, 10 Piece, 1/2" shank - $42.99

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4091

10 Piece Set includes: 1/4" & 1/2" straight bits, a 1/2" flush trim bit, a 1/2" core box bit, a 1/4" round over bit, and 1/2" V groove bit, a 1/2" Roman ogee bit, a 1/4" cove bit, a 1/2" 45º chamfer & a 3/8" rabbeting bit.

The bits are good. I buy them when they have the $5 bit sales. That is an excellent price!

Whitesides and Freuds are better but more than $5 or $4.29!

[scott spencer]

I've found their bits to be a good buy at the sale price, and a decent choice for a bit that won't see heavy use. They're not Whiteside caliber but are worth that price IMHO for your application.

[Wilbur Pan]

At The Woodworking Show I saw a talk on routers where the differences between router bits was explained. It's all in the carbide. Otherwise, router bits are pretty much identical between brands, except for the paint job. They all will give good results as far as cutting is concerned, but the longevity of the router bit is what changes.

If you can imagine this, carbide comes in a sheet, which is punched out to make the carbide tips for a router, much like making cookies from a sheet of cookie dough. Then, the leftover pieces are formed into a new sheet of carbide, and more bits are punched out. This process is repeated until as much of the original sheet of carbide is used as possible.

As it turns out, the process of forming new sheets of carbide results in carbide that will not be able to take as many sharpenings as the first bits that are cut out from the sheet.

More expensive router bits are made with the first batch of carbide tips that are cut out. You will be able to resharpen these bits many times before they are used up. Less expensive router bits use the carbide from successive rounds of cutting and reforming, and the cheaper the bit, the further down the reforming/recutting chain you are. The result is that the cheaper the bit, the fewer times you will be able to resharpen the bit.

The advice that was given was that if you were starting out, to go ahead and get a cheap set of router bits. Once you figure out which bits you use a lot, get the more expensive versions of the bits you use frequently.

[Andy Haney]

bought at a similar price. I believe they are well worth it.

Andy

[David N. Williams]

More expensive router bits are made with the first batch of carbide tips

Extra Virgin Carbide Tips !?!?!? ;)

[Phil Thien]

As it turns out, the process of forming new sheets of carbide results in carbide that will not be able to take as many sharpenings as the first bits that are cut out from the sheet.


Interesting. Is this because the carbide sheets gets thinner with each subsequent processing, or is something happening to the carbide during this process that makes it softer or something?

Your post brings up an interesting point. Many magazines run the same sorts of articles over and over ("The blade shootout," "20 different router bit brands compared" and so on). There is a term for running the same rehashed articles over and over, I can't remember what it is.

It would be nice, however, if they would dive into a topic like how carbide is made and what it means to the user.

[Fred Craven]

I bought a $5.00 special a couple weeks ago for a small customer project. The Whiteside bit would have been $30+. I did notice a difference in performance (which surprised me), but the job got done quickly, efficiently, and more profitably. I'm now considering getting more of the cheep bits, and using them until I find profiles or sizes that I use a lot--then get the nice bits.

[glenn bradley]

I have several Woodcraft bits picked up during 3 different $5 bit sales. At the price of the set you list you would be able to get an idea of what bits you really like on the cheap. They do dull faster than more quality bits.

I see the benefit of trying out the bit at a great price, finding the ones you use a lot and buying quality versions of those as replacements once required. I generally pick up a bunch of certain bits at the $5 sales and toss 'em when they dull. I can't drive or ship to the sharpening service as cheap as I can replace them.

[Jay Keller]

Does anyone have experience with Woodcraft router bits.

I assume I would be better off buying one smooth, long-lasting Whiteside bit, but this is tempting.

I would not need these to be long-lasting, just smooth enough and clean cutting:

Woodcraft Anti-Kickback Router Bit Set, 10 Piece, 1/2" shank - $42.99

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4091

10 Piece Set includes: 1/4" & 1/2" straight bits, a 1/2" flush trim bit, a 1/2" core box bit, a 1/4" round over bit, and 1/2" V groove bit, a 1/2" Roman ogee bit, a 1/4" cove bit, a 1/2" 45º chamfer & a 3/8" rabbeting bit.
I got a 40 pc set from MLCS for a little more then that. Carbide and 1/2. Used it for years and most excellent.

[Wilbur Pan]

Interesting. Is this because the carbide sheets gets thinner with each subsequent processing, or is something happening to the carbide during this process that makes it softer or something?
I think it's the reprocessing that alters the properties of the carbide so that you get fewer useful resharpenings.


Your post brings up an interesting point. Many magazines run the same sorts of articles over and over ("The blade shootout," "20 different router bit brands compared" and so on). There is a term for running the same rehashed articles over and over, I can't remember what it is.
Regurgitation? ;)