Router bits you use the most?

[Tom Walz]

Which router bits do you use the most? Which router bits would you most like to own?

tom

[Prashun Patel]

I use my 1/8" roundover and 45deg chamfer bits so much I keep one of them permanently chucked in my trim router. I also use my straight cutting bits quite a lot; it's just so darn versatile.

My 'dream' bits are less about the profile and more about the brand and quality of the cut. So, if I had the $$, I'd get a set of Katana bits or at least Freud quadracuts.

[Lee Schierer]

1/8" and 1/4" round over bits see the most use.

[pat warner]

Straight bits have more application than any other design, my most useful cutter.
E.G: Mortices, notches, tenons, grooves, dados, gains, rabbets, T+G, circle/ball making, jig making, templet work, laps, carving, essentially all excavational work.

[glenn bradley]

I use straight bits (spiral or otherwise) for so many different things that I pick them up whenever I see a good price. Roundovers are used for details as are chamfers but, I also chamfer almost all shop jigs and cabinets so they see a fair amount of use. Flush trim bits are used for straightening edges when it makes more sense to take the cutter to the piece and for duplicating parts. A "most used" list would look like this based on wear and tear and sharpening: Chamfer, flush trim and pattern, spiral mortising, round-overs and drawer lock. I have many other profiles for specific (or even one-time) needs but these are the work horses.

[Von Bickley]

My most used bits would be round-over, chamfer and cove.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I have a 1/16" roundover permanently chucked into a Harbor Freight trim router (the bit cost about as much as the router :) ) that I use for easing edges. I use a 1/4" and 3/8" roundover a lot with the 1/4" seeing about three times the use of the other one. I also have a 23/32" bit permanently chucked into an old old Craftsman for plywood dados.....I keep expecting the old router to bite the dust. It doesn't see nearly the amount of use of the roundover bits, however.

[Jerome Hanby]

Round over and pattern following (bearings) straight bits.

Someday soon I hope that my dovetail bits start seeing more action.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I have a couple whiteside staggered 3/8 long bits I uuse a lot.
I have oodles of end mills that I use too.
I have a "kit" of some 80 or so bits I got at a show for $30.00. I never fail to find uses for those weird sized cutters even though the common wisdom was that no one ever uses em all so don't buy it. I use all the round over bits in the set a lot. Just those alone is worth the purchase price.

I have the Lee Valley DT set and hardly use them.

I have the bigger Whiteside Lock miter I haven't used but once. That's a beast of a cutter.

[Art Moore]

Straight bits (fluted and spiral) by a wide margin. 2nd most used are flush trim, rabbet, roundover and chamfer.

[scott spencer]

- roundovers - 3/16", 3/8"
- cove
- chamfer
- 1/2" straight
- rabbet
- ogee
- thumbnail table edge

[John Eaton]

Straight
Roundover
Chamfer
Cove

All in various sizes.

-- John

[steve reeves]

straight
round over
rail and stile
tongue and groove

[Chuck Tringo]

Straight, Roundover, Chamfer

[Chuck Tringo]

....and rabbeting :)

[Greg Hines, MD]

I use straight bits, including pattern and flush trims, chamfer, round overs the most. Most of them I use in a router table. I do have some spiral cutters too, but use the straight bits a lot.

Doc

[Charles Wiggins]

Flush cut bits - hands down

[Chuck Tringo]

Flush cut bits - hands down

...oh yeah, forgot about those too, and while were at it patter bits quite a bit. (NPI :p)

[John Ricci]

1/4" and 3/8" roundover
Dovetail bits
Keyhole bits for wall hanging items

J.R.

[Tom Walz]

Thanks folks.

We are going to be selling Whiteside bits and wondered what to order initially.

Since you were good enough to respond we’d like to offer you something in return. We thought maybe we’d just send each of you a router bit of your choice from Whiteside with a value in the $20 to $25 range. (No charge for bit or shipping.) This is only for folks whose posts are above this one. For the rest of you, watch for next time. This has proven to be a good way to get real consumer information so we’ll do more of it.

We hope to have a full Whiteside site up this week (1300 times). No guarantees from our webmaster but that’s her estimate.

If you know what you want now you can email Emily Erskine at sales@carbideprocessors.com (sales@carbideprocessors.com) or call 800 346-8274.

Tom

[Jerome Hanby]

Wow, that's generous. I'll send you a PM and an email

[Denny Rice]

1/4" roundover bit
1/2" roundover bit
straight bits---1/4" 1/2" 3/4" bits
straight bits(undersize for sheet goods) 1/4" 1/2" 3/4" bits

I use these 8 bits more than I do the other bits I own. I would be lost without these bits. I made jigs (Norms) for my staight bits to cut dados for shelving they work great too.

[Tom Walz]

Thanks for the compliment.

It was also really nice of folks to answer a stranger's quesion just because he asked.

Tom