cheap router bits *LINK*

Depends

Marvin Horn

>I bought a set of 66 from MLCS several years ago. I live in a rural area 40 miles round trip to any supply and at least 200 miles round-trip to a good supply so they have been a real lifesaver on several occasions. Quality was good, not great and the only real complaint is that the shafts are shorter than normal. Probably a third of them still have the protective coating on. For me they were well worth the money to supplement higher quality high usage bits.

Re: cheap router bits *LINK*

Gary Ratajczak

>You may also want to check the link below. I buy bits from these guys at the shows, and they have been very good. They come with a warranty. Look under sets in the link.

On the set you posted, my guess would be there is quite few you would never use. I would compare to just getting a smaller set from woodline, or individual bits (with warranty).

My experience with some of the cheaper bits is the bearings usually freeze up. They seem to be the week link. As for cutting, unless you are a cabinet shop, they should all service you well.


http://www.woodline.com

Re: cheap router bits

knotscott

>Getting whacked with a flying piece of carbide goes against my philosophy!

Seriously, it is a possibility with any bit, but more so with cheap ones. I prefer to use high quality bits like Whiteside, Freud, Infinity, and CMT, but there are times when a less expensive bit makes sense for a low intensity or infrequent application. There are alot of well proven "value" oriented bits that I'd prefer to buy versus an unproven Ebay bargain...Holbren, MLCS, Woodline, Woodcraft, Price Cutter. etc. And even with those, I prefer to not to spend a large chunk of change on dozens of cheap bits... keep the total cost down by not buying a huge set...maybe a smaller one is more prudent, or perhaps spending $80 on a 7 piece Whiteside set is better yet, depending on what profiles you want.

Re: cheap router bits

Barry Irby

>Tom I have a set of about twenty I bought at Costco sort of on the same idea. The whole set cost about what I pay for one excellent bit, so if I use one of them I feel like "I got my money's worth". And I have used about three of them. I also have a set of forstner bits that have about twenty in them that I paid aobut $20 for at Costco. Not excellent bits, but for one hole here and there they do the job.

You mentioned they ship from your town. I had the experience of buying some gadget I saw in a magazine. I happened to notice they shipped from my area and hunted down their location. I was stunned. This place did not deal with walk in trade and shipped everything. It was huge. The building was 600' on a side. Not even a sign on it, just the street number, off in an anonimous industrial park. It was a Twilight Zone experience. Who knew they were there? And they seemed equally baffled I had found them. Sold me the gadget for less than advertised, but it took a while because they did not know what to do for an invoice or how to take the money. Might be interesting to find the one local to you.

Re: cheap router bits

Jay St. Peter - Southern MD

>I have had mixed results with cheap bits. Some were pretty decent, some arrived dull, and some literally self destructed during the first use. I can recommend Woodline bits for inexpensive. I still buy Whiteside, CMT, and Infinity for my most used bits. But, for profiles that will receive limited use Woodline is my choice. All the bits I've ordered from them arrived sharp and within a reasonable size tolerance (which I've found is significant at the price range). The door profile bits took a bit of effort for a perfect fit, but the customer service was excellent.

Jay St. Peter

Re: cheap router bits

Doug in Denver

>I bought some cheap bits that had nice thick carbide and were vary sharp. What I discovered though was that the little shafts the bearings slips over were machined off center. If you put one in a router table, use a nice straightedge ruler along the fence and adjust the fence until the bearing just kisses the ruler, and rotate the bit. If that shaft is off center, the ruler will move away from the fence as you rotate the bit. I have no idea if it makes any difference in use, but I noticed it.

Re: cheap router bits

George@Colonel's Workshop-Havertown PA

>Hello Tom,

I've accumulated bits over time, and usually buy Woodline because of the guarantee. I rarely am tempted to buy a set anymore. However, when I was starting out I bought small sets of Freud Roundovers and Coves, and a set of Jesada Straights. Also one of those multiple bearing rabbeting bits. These seemed to be the most commonly used profile. For panel raisers, I bought CMT. Otherwise I accumulated on am "as needed" basis and bought by price. I route every day, and in my experience, even the less expensive bits are safe and effective.

George

Re: cheap router bits

Joe Piotrowski - Chicago Burb's

>I used a few of these and they are ok. but like it was said before me. I'm not a production shop and I expect that with normally wear and tear I can easily get several years out of these bits with a little maintenance.

Re: cheap router bits

Robert R Clough - Thorncraft

>Basically that's what I do also. For bits used once in a while I'll get HSS, otherwise carbon.