# Solution to 45 Degree Miter Bits



## Greeneyedeagle (Feb 15, 2009)

I've had a lot of people ask me about using my 45 degree miter bit and setting it up... so I thought that I would also post it here.

I have made guide blocks, after the set up, but as the thinkness of the wood changes, so does the adjustments...but here is how I handle things.
I set the bit up so that the center line of the bit is 1/2 the thinkness of the stock. Then I take two pieces of the stock and place them against the fence on either side of the bit. I then lay a straight edge across the two peices and slowly move the fence back until the cutting edge of the bit just touches the straight edge. I make a pass with a peice of scrap, cut it in half and then turn one piece over and put them togehter and see if they fit flush on each side. If not, I raise or lower the bit 1/2 the distance they are off. Again... if you move the bit up or down, you *must* move the fence also using the straight edge tip. I run another test piece, cut in in half and see if the fit is flush.... and if so... I measure the height of the bit, the position of the fence and the thickness of the stock and all this goes into my little book for future setups... and yea... I keep one of the two pieces of scrap as an initial setup block.
I like the 45 degree miter and once its understood... its not a hard bit to work with. As for me... I cut one edge laying flat on the table and then the other side standing on its edge. I do that to all four sides and they fit together very nice and tight....and by using a strap clamp..they come out very very close if not right on square.
Make sure also the thickness that the bit will cut. Freud has a regular and a baby miter bit....the baby bit goes from 3/8 up to 3/4 which is the one I use the most.

Palmer


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Are you talking about a lock miter?


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Greeneyedeagle

Here's a great video  show and tell type..

MLCS lock mitre router bits

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Greeneyedeagle said:


> I've had a lot of people ask me about using my 45 degree miter bit and setting it up... so I thought that I would also post it here.
> 
> I have made guide blocks, after the set up, but as the thinkness of the wood changes, so does the adjustments...but here is how I handle things.
> I set the bit up so that the center line of the bit is 1/2 the thinkness of the stock. Then I take two pieces of the stock and place them against the fence on either side of the bit. I then lay a straight edge across the two peices and slowly move the fence back until the cutting edge of the bit just touches the straight edge. I make a pass with a peice of scrap, cut it in half and then turn one piece over and put them togehter and see if they fit flush on each side. If not, I raise or lower the bit 1/2 the distance they are off. Again... if you move the bit up or down, you *must* move the fence also using the straight edge tip. I run another test piece, cut in in half and see if the fit is flush.... and if so... I measure the height of the bit, the position of the fence and the thickness of the stock and all this goes into my little book for future setups... and yea... I keep one of the two pieces of scrap as an initial setup block.
> ...


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## Greeneyedeagle (Feb 15, 2009)

I had seen that video before but if the stock that I was working with is over or under the 1/2 or 3/4... then what? The set up blocks get you close....That is why I described what I do....and it works for me. And hopefully for others as well.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Palmer

Right on , they make the bits to do 3/8" to 1 1/4" thick stock 
most of the setup blocks just don't work most of the time,the only one I have found that works well for just about all stock is the EZ SET from sommerfeld tools,,you just dial up the stock size and set the bit..


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Greeneyedeagle said:


> I had seen that video before but if the stock that I was working with is over or under the 1/2 or 3/4... then what? The set up blocks get you close....That is why I described what I do....and it works for me. And hopefully for others as well.


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## chrisrosenb (Apr 4, 2009)

Thanks Palmer. 
Those bits are a pain to setup.


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## Barreller (Jun 1, 2009)

I'm trying to set up my table for cutting lock mitres. I can do the set up as Palmer describes above and cut one half of the joint with the stock flat on the table with ease. My problem comes with trying to cut the other half with the stock vertical to the table. It just doesn't seem safe and is basically uncontrollable. What am I doing wrong? The speed is OK at about 15,000 and the stock is 12mm MDF. I'm using a DW625 in a pretty solid table with a cast fence. I could post a photograph if that might help.

Steve


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Palmer
> 
> Right on , they make the bits to do 3/8" to 1 1/4" thick stock
> most of the setup blocks just don't work most of the time,the only one I have found that works well for just about all stock is the EZ SET from sommerfeld tools,,you just dial up the stock size and set the bit..
> ...


Thought I'd go and have a look but Sommerfeld doesn't have a picture of them :-(

Cheers

Peter


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Barreller said:


> I'm trying to set up my table for cutting lock mitres. I can do the set up as Palmer describes above and cut one half of the joint with the stock flat on the table with ease. My problem comes with trying to cut the other half with the stock vertical to the table. It just doesn't seem safe and is basically uncontrollable. What am I doing wrong? The speed is OK at about 15,000 and the stock is 12mm MDF. I'm using a DW625 in a pretty solid table with a cast fence. I could post a photograph if that might help.
> 
> Steve


Steve, the secret is to make a test piece for each thickness wood that you set up, this way next time the set up it's so easy using the test piece to set height and fence. As you can see, this is where a tall fence excels. In spite of showing a piece of MDF in the vertical position, this material is not the best for lock mitres.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Peter

Here's a link to the EZ SET JIG

ROUTER SET UP JIG-Sommerfeld's Tools for Wood

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istracpsboss said:


> Thought I'd go and have a look but Sommerfeld doesn't have a picture of them :-(
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Peter


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

That jig looks very interesting Bj, in spite of me not understanding how it's used. I'm sure that I can rely on you to post a shot or two of it being used to set up a lock mitre bit.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Harry

"understanding how it's used " hahahahahahahaha it's a very simple jig to use,you just dial the wood thickest ,slide it into the bit and lock the bit,it's now set,move the fence in to place and make a full cut...but I do like using the MLCS way,it's much essayer once the bit is set to the right height. ..


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harrysin said:


> That jig looks very interesting Bj, in spite of me not understanding how it's used. I'm sure that I can rely on you to post a shot or two of it being used to set up a lock mitre bit.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Bj, I wasn't referring to the set up jig like those I make and posted a shot of, I was referring to the Sommerfeld EZSET that you posted a link to. I know that at times I can be slow on the uptake, but not THAT slow!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Harry


*Detailed Description*

" How many times have you been frustrated trying to set your
lockmiter bit to the correct cutting height? How many test cuts would you have to make? How much wasted time and material would you have?

Now, with the new Easy Set you can position your router bit perfectly the first time. The Easy Set is made of a special compressed plastic that will not distort and comes with the capability to set the exact height for eight different router bits. Four of those bits are the hardest ones to set up:
# 45* Lockmiter
# 22 1/2* Lock Miter
# Drawer Lock
# Glue Joint . The other four are our most popular bits:
# Groove Cutter in our Tongue and Groove Cabinetmaking Set
# Glass Panel Cope Cutter
# Raised Panel Cope Cutter
# Baby Lock Miter.

Easy Set adjusts to any material thickness from 23/32" to 1 3/16".
Jig is adjusted by rotating the center dial clockwise; jig clicks at posi-stops every 1/128". (Note: know the exact thickness of your wood for perfect results.)
Dial the Easy Set to the exact thickness of your stock. Use the jig to set the height of your bit, cut your joint - it's that easy.
Takes the trial and error guesswork out of router bit set-up."


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