Freud raised panel bits

[Marred]

Newbie question. I'm looking for some good quality raised panel bits with undercutter and came across the Freud bits, but I noticed that they don't have a bearing between the undercutter and the panel bit while others do, such as the CMT bits. Is the bearing necessary or better or not important.
Thanks in advance...

[Jim Boyd]

Is there a bearing on the top?

[RayintheUK]

Is the bearing necessary or better or not important.
Thanks in advance...

Good question - my CMT set has bearings, but even with bearings, I still use my fence to take more than one pass when using an undercutting set. The last pass uses the bearing and the depth of the rebate on the panel is set by this.

I guess that there would be little, if any, difference in using the Frued set without the bearing, although I would definitely take multiple passes and creep up on the final pass. The only problem I can forsee is the posssibility of burning if passed too slowly, but the burning would take place against the shaft and the thickness of the rebate - not a piece of the panel that would ever be seen when assembled, as it's buried in the groove of the rails and stiles.

Hopefully, someone who actually uses the Frued set will be along with a more useful opinion.

Ray.

[Holbren]

Freud has that design patented or patent pending. Their sell is you get a full 1-1/2" reveal on the panel. They say that center section is the bearing and I guess with the help of a fence you can get by without a bearing.

Freud has always made good products so I'm sure it must work.

[Marred]

Panel reveal

Their sell is you get a full 1-1/2" reveal on the panel.

Thanks guys for the info. If the Freud gives a full 1-1/2" reveal, how much less of a reveal do you get with the bearing, such as the CMT Sommerfeld?
I've narrowed the choices to Freud or CMT.

[just4funsies]

One other thing to think about is that, since the logical place for the bearing is between the upper and lower cutter (this is the only place the profile maintains its original edge), the only way to do this is to make the shank thinner at this point, and therefore less stable and less strong than a full 1/2" shank would be. Ray is correct that any friction burning would be on the edge only, and this could probably be minimized by controlling the feed rate and using a sharp cutter.

[Holbren]

Looks like the CMT gives you 1-1/4" on 3/4" stock. I thing Freud is making this a bigger deal than it should be because they have a product nobody else can sell. Panel bits with bearings have been around a long time.

[Marred]

I'd like to thank all you guys for the info. I guess the last question I have is what bits do you guys recommend or prefer for raised panels? Manufacturer, backcutter or not, ogee, straight, cove?

[meika123]

I'm using the MLCS bits, w/o the undercutter, just my preference. They work great, and the price is right. Since I'm using them on a dedicated router table, (Only way I'd use this Monster bit) the bearing is a moot point for me.

Dave in NC