# Tongue and Grove Bits



## sarge (Mar 3, 2009)

Hi All, I have been looking at buying the Freud Adjustable Tongue and Groove bit set and I was wondering if anyone has used it or have any comments. I found them for $79 which I didn't think was all bad. As always I appreciate everyone's help. Bill


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi Bill,

I'm not against Freud bits. I wished I had a few more of them. In any case, you may want to look at MLCS. Price wise, it may be cheaper.

MLCS Tongue and Groove Router Router Bits


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## kolias (Dec 26, 2008)

That's a nice set Ken and at a good price

Nicolas


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

The Freud adjustable bits are quality and useful since you can alter the size for different projects. Any time a bit can be used in different ways by making an adjustment or changing a bearing you have effectively saved the price of a new bit. It adds up.


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

hi Bill,

i too want a t&g setup. but i want a matched set. i see the mlcs matched set is 79 bucks. being a tight old guy, i will probably look for something more in my budget.

i think there are some deals on ebay on these bits.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-pc-1-2-Shank-...rkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301%


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## sarge (Mar 3, 2009)

Hi All, I really do like that the Freud is adjustable and I have always had good luck with them. I called my local woodshop and the guy said to come in and he would give me a live demonstration of the Freud bit. I am very lucky to have a great shop like that close to me. I will let everyone know which set I go with and how they work for me. Thanks, Sarge


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Bill

Just about all T&G sets are adjustable , but you want a set that can do more,,,i.e. 3/8" wide cutter or you can use the set for slot cutter jobs as well...many times the stock is just a bit to thick for the normal T & G SETS and you want T&G set that can do it all..plus with the Opt. bearings you can set it to only cut 1/4" deep that's real plus..you can also use it for a rabbit bit set,plus you can use it to make spines that are right on the button. 
Not to say anything about the 5.2 mm cutter that's just right for the 1/4" plywood now days..

11pc 1/2" Shank Slot, Tongue & Groove Router Bit Set - eBay (item 140311410361 end time Apr-07-09 10:54:46 PDT)

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sarge said:


> Hi All, I really do like that the Freud is adjustable and I have always had good luck with them. I called my local woodshop and the guy said to come in and he would give me a live demonstration of the Freud bit. I am very lucky to have a great shop like that close to me. I will let everyone know which set I go with and how they work for me. Thanks, Sarge


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

hello BobJ,

that set looks like a great price for the versatility of the arbors and cutters.

it looks like you could also cut biscuit slots with it, since it has the 5/32 cutter.

after i get over what ive bought lately i think i will check into them. thanks,


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi levon

It's a great set of cutters, here's a link to oversize bearing that can be used with the set..I'm sure you know that sommerfeld sales a CMT T & G set that goes for over a 100.oo bucks and with the set below you can do the same type of job with it ...for much less..

Katana Slot Cutters, Tongue and Groove Set
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3-Pc Tongue & Groove Cabinetmaking Set-Sommerfeld's Tools for Wood

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levon said:


> hello BobJ,
> 
> that set looks like a great price for the versatility of the arbors and cutters.
> 
> ...


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

thanks BobJ,
it took me a few minutes to see the bearings that you were talking about. they are reasonably priced too.
i was looking on peachtrees site or an email from them and they had a video promoting a 3 piece molding set. in the video was a pretty good section on cutting splines and biscuits on the router table.he was doing them on picture frames but they could be used in other ways.


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

The Katana is great and so is the Sommerfeld, I have both.

I do like that Sommerfeld CMT better, but overall I have more Katana bits as they cut as nice as any bit I have ever used and are a tad cheaper. Never wore one out yet and I am currently testing the new solid carbide spiral Katana bits that have only come out a short while ago. So far so good.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

sarge said:


> Hi All, I have been looking at buying the Freud Adjustable Tongue and Groove bit set and I was wondering if anyone has used it or have any comments. I found them for $79 which I didn't think was all bad. As always I appreciate everyone's help. Bill


I have one of those sets.

The tongue cutter has opposing shear angles so it's nice even to silly thin veneers on both sides of your sheet goods. It's adjustable with tiny shims which is nice if you want to get a tight fit for whatever funky metrified or undersized sheet good you're trying to fit in the groove along with the tongue.

Freud should have :

1) Matched the arbor lengths so one setup worked for both bits. Just put the next one in flush with the bottom of the collet, tighten, and be happy. 

2) Used a standard slot cutter diameter so you could pick different fractional tongue depths using standard bearings (the bits are a wierd diameter with a 22mm? OD bearing IIRC). I'm both an engineer and cynical (that's probably redundant) and think it's part of a ploy to avoid canibalizing slot cutter sales.


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## dacundiff (Apr 6, 2009)

*I found this one at amazon*

I found this tongue and groove on amazon.com
search for Magnate S9005S Stile it is very similar to the sommerfields.
You can also search for "magnate BR" and find alot of replacement bearing.

i bought a router bit yesterday, I will let you know how it holds up.

Dave


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## Charles M (Apr 10, 2006)

Drew,

Thanks for the feedback. Two thoughts in response to your suggestions:

Matching the shank heights would be trickier on bits that have an arbor and no fixed cutters and would not be relevant for all applications.

22mm is the standard bearing for most slot cutters as well as most stile and rail bit sets.


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## fasttruck860 (Feb 18, 2008)

One word of caution on the ebay bits. I have bought several bits from a couple of different ebay sellers and while most were decent quality the matched T and G set was off. The cutters on the tongue bit where warped so that 2 of the tips were the correct distance but the third was low and would make for a sloppy fitting joint. I tried to make it work, but there is just no way beyond trying to bend the one cutter back into place. I will have to buy the one bit or just that slot cutter head.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI fasttruck860

Not sure who you got yours from but the ones I got off ebay are dead on,,they are so great I got one more set at the great price..
The guy I buy from will refund or replace any bit he sells..no fuss no muss...if you don't like it he will replace at any time.. see his feed back.


11pc 1/2" Shank Slot, Tongue & Groove Router Bit Set - eBay (item 130303091125 end time May-04-09 18:21:59 PDT)


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fasttruck860 said:


> One word of caution on the ebay bits. I have bought several bits from a couple of different ebay sellers and while most were decent quality the matched T and G set was off. The cutters on the tongue bit where warped so that 2 of the tips were the correct distance but the third was low and would make for a sloppy fitting joint. I tried to make it work, but there is just no way beyond trying to bend the one cutter back into place. I will have to buy the one bit or just that slot cutter head.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

Charles M said:


> Drew,
> 
> Thanks for the feedback. Two thoughts in response to your suggestions:
> 
> Matching the shank heights would be trickier on bits that have an arbor and no fixed cutters and would not be relevant for all applications.


A standard sized longer arbor and appropriate single thick spacer would do the trick for the groove cutter since the top of the lower tongue cutter isn't going to move unless some one is silly enough to put shims under it.

You have instruction sheets enumerating what spacer or bearing is needed; where necessary the same thing would work to get cutters on separate arbors to matching heights.



> 22mm is the standard bearing for most slot cutters as well as most stile and rail bit sets.


I guess it's close enough to 7/8" to not matter because either you don't need that tolerance or are already tapping the saw fence for minor adjustments beyond what you can measure.

1 1/8" looses close enough to 1/8" of slot depth, 1 3/8" 1/4", etc.


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## tryingtokeepmyfingers (Jun 3, 2008)

bobj3 said:


> HI fasttruck860
> 
> Not sure who you got yours from but the ones I got off ebay are dead on,,they are so great I got one more set at the great price..
> The guy I buy from will refund or replace any bit he sells..no fuss no muss...if you don't like it he will replace at any time.. see his feed back.
> ...


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