Bad Router Bit Experience

[Jim Frye]

I am making some trivets for our Son &DIL new home. Not wishing to use an old Craftsman Professional carbide bit I used some twenty years ago to make a bunch of trivets as Christmas gifts for the family, I dashed over to HD and picked up a Freud Diablo carbide bit to use. On the first plunge cut, one of cutters on the new bit shattered into literal carbide dust. I bundled up the bit and its packaging and headed back to HD for a replacement bit. Four hours of use later, the replacement bit was missing the end of one of the cutters. I am somewhat taken aback as all of my table saw blades are by Freud (no Diablo ones though). In the future, I will stick with Whitside, Woodline, Bosch, or Amana bits and NOT be in a hurry to get one. The Diablo bit was $38 with my veteran’s discount, but a waste of $38.

[dbhost]

That is NOT what I expect of Freud. Their stuff is usually quite good... Not sure if they are any good after the takeover now, but MLCS bits used to be quite good as well...

[leehljp]

I am glad that I have a large inventory of router bits, both 1/2 and 1/4" shafts - upwards of 150 or so. Still, when I need one that I don't have, this makes me skeptical. I have a few good HD router bits from the early 2000's, but don't remember the brand.

One thing I "usually" do is google reviews of . . . . what ever. But now I will even do that with name brand router bit reviews.

I saw a news article on Ford today in which they are hiring back many of their engineers because AI couldn't do as well as the engineers, and it is paying off in better quality.

[dbhost]

So for router bits, I have the MLCS 66pc 1/2" shank set, plus an assortment of profiles for cabinet door profiles, biscuit cutting, and an assortment of 1/2 and 1/4" shank Rockler bits, some cheap chinese locking miter bits and of course my cheap Bauer 1/4" set, maybe what is it 15 pieces. plus a couple of the Freud bits that I have picked up here and there. Maybe 110 bits total. I USED to have around that many various 1/4" shank bits, mostly Skil and Vermont American from back when they were all USA production but I migrated to 1/2" shank when I got the Hitachi Router and got rid of my B&D Firestorm router...

In my years of using router bits, I have only had 2 bad experiences, both with cheap bits. One was caused by an idiot user. First one I managed to drop the router with bit installed and bent a 1/4" shaft straight cutting bit, and then recently the Bauer flush trim bit bearing failure.

I wish I had held on to my 1/4" shank bits...

[Jim Frye]

I have some 1/4” shank bits, but all of my routers, except the Ryobi TR30 trim router, have 1/2” collets. I have to go looking for the 1/4” collet adapter now and then. Oddly enough, my old Ryobi R700 plunge router came with 1/4” & 3/8” adapters. In all these years, I have never seen a router bit with a 3/8” shank.

[dbhost]

I think my first router was a Ryobi R161, it had a 1/4" collet with no 1/2" available sadly... At least that is how I remember it...

I have HEARD of but never once seen 3/8" collet routers and bits. Just don't think there was enough interest for that to take off...

[LCHIEN]

there are 12 mm collets used in European routers. Very dangerous because its so close to 1/2" A European 12mm shank bit will be 0.4724" or about 1/32 less than 1/2" . Put one in a 1/2" collet you may think you got it tight but you have only tightened the collet to its minimum, probably around 0.492 (15/64) and that bit may move and get throw out at high RPM.
Europeans also have 6 and 8 mm shanks. 6 mm shank bits would seem to fit 1/4" (6.35mm) but would also be dangerously loose.
I have no use for nor would keep any metric shank bits in my shop for those reasons.
Bosch has 6, and 12mm collets available for the 16xx series, but I would never get one. So close as to create confusion. and no use if I keep no metric bits.
The OEM Bosch collets have no size marking on them.

[leehljp]

I still have an 1/4" carbide bladed ogee bit I bought from Sears in the early 70's. It is a little dull but it is still alive! My first router was a Sears 1/4 in router. I had two of them.

[LCHIEN]

I still have a 1/4" Craftsman router from the 70s. I still have a little plastic case with I think four original bits from my original purchase... they are HSS bits, not carbide tipped.

[dbhost]

Those old Craftsman bits were awesome. My uncle had them in his workshop.... Decades of use, several houses of furnishings built with them and not a dull bit in the box...