So what's your preference in router bit shank size and why?
For all but the most delicate, tiny profiles I personally prefer 1/2" shank.
I started out with a basic Ryobi 1/4" shank non plunge router, as basic as they get, and a Skil I think it was a 12pc basic profiles bit set. I was edge routing a roundover in a table top I was making for a friends camper when I tried routing over a fairly mild knot on the edge, and the stupid shank bent.
Ever since then I have absolutely hated using 1/4" shank bits, and will refuse to buy them unless that is the only way I can get that profile. I have a couple of them, but less than a dozen total at this time. Oh and that Skil was well under the warranty / return period from Lowes. I got a replacement set no problem. And I haven't bought a Skil bit, or blade since. Come to think of it, I bought a bunch of Skil stuff around the same time, 2004, jig saw, sander, those bits, and they all failed quite spectacularly, causing me to gain a pretty bad view of Skil as a brand... And by now everyone here, or at any forum I am active on should know, I am not a brand snob, and am perfectly happy with bargain priced/ consumer oriented tools as long as they are decent quality.
I still really like my 1990s Skil USA made circular saw though. It's after they off shored to China when it all went to fertilizer.
For all but the most delicate, tiny profiles I personally prefer 1/2" shank.
I started out with a basic Ryobi 1/4" shank non plunge router, as basic as they get, and a Skil I think it was a 12pc basic profiles bit set. I was edge routing a roundover in a table top I was making for a friends camper when I tried routing over a fairly mild knot on the edge, and the stupid shank bent.
Ever since then I have absolutely hated using 1/4" shank bits, and will refuse to buy them unless that is the only way I can get that profile. I have a couple of them, but less than a dozen total at this time. Oh and that Skil was well under the warranty / return period from Lowes. I got a replacement set no problem. And I haven't bought a Skil bit, or blade since. Come to think of it, I bought a bunch of Skil stuff around the same time, 2004, jig saw, sander, those bits, and they all failed quite spectacularly, causing me to gain a pretty bad view of Skil as a brand... And by now everyone here, or at any forum I am active on should know, I am not a brand snob, and am perfectly happy with bargain priced/ consumer oriented tools as long as they are decent quality.
I still really like my 1990s Skil USA made circular saw though. It's after they off shored to China when it all went to fertilizer.
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