# for those who cant afford spiral upcut bits...



## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

harbor freight has a 3 pack of upcut spiral bits 1/4" 3/8" and 1/2" for $12.99!

- harbor freight spiral upcut bit 3 pack $12.99


just thought id pass it on!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Thanks Mike


Did you note they are
"high speed steel"

Not the normal 

=======


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

right bob they are HSS not carbide but for the price they can be easily replaced when they get dull!


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Mike, with these bits getting dull means the first time you use them on hardwood. They will instantly turn blue from overheating and then the bit is trash. I tried a better quality HSS 1/2" spiral upcut bit once. We chucked it up to make the cut out for Neils router table. The cut was made in 3 passes to keep the load down and once completed I had one cut that cost me $22. I do not mean to come across as rude, just trying to save you some money.


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

> They will instantly turn blue from overheating and then the bit is trash


Interesting. HSS on lathe bits does not anneal until it gets to 1000 deg F which is dull red.

Can there be another reason why the bits get dull? BTW I am still on my first one which I use to cut circles - admittedly in softwood.


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

Mike said:


> Mike, with these bits getting dull means the first time you use them on hardwood. They will instantly turn blue from overheating and then the bit is trash. I tried a better quality HSS 1/2" spiral upcut bit once. We chucked it up to make the cut out for Neils router table. The cut was made in 3 passes to keep the load down and once completed I had one cut that cost me $22. I do not mean to come across as rude, just trying to save you some money.


iteresting, all i have are HSS bits and havent had ths problem happen


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## dustmaker (May 18, 2009)

I'm in the market for a 1/2" spiral upcut and so this post caught my eye.
Hmm, apart from the HHS issue I see "1/4 shank" in the ad. Clearly not, based on the pictures! If the pics are accurate I suppose one would need a 3/8" bushing adapter to use the 3/8 bit in 1/2" collet as well, no?
I am thinking more along the lines of the 1/2" MLCS SU bit. Does anyone know of a better deal on an all carbide 1/2" bit?


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Mike my friend, cobber, buddie mate, if you look at the four way toolpost that I made on this lathe many years ago using a HSS end mill which quite probably is the same one shown, with no problems and, because my lathe is only a model makers machine, I could only take light cuts and so it took a long time with the cutter in contact with the mild steel block and I only very occasionally have my cutters sharpened so I find it difficult to agree with you on this point based on my experience.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Frank

I do recommend the set below,,then you will have all the sizes you need 
That makes them cost 18.oo each bit..

SOLID MICRO-GRAIN CARBIDE
7 Piece Spiral Upcut Set
MLCS solid carbide router bits

==============


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

dustmaker;122028
I am thinking more along the lines of the [URL="http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bt_solid.html" said:


> 1/2" MLCS SU bit[/URL]. Does anyone know of a better deal on an all carbide 1/2" bit?


I haven't done a side-by-side, but Woodline generally has pretty good prices on spiral bits.


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## dustmaker (May 18, 2009)

Hi Rob,

Yes, the Woodline 1/2" bit is priced a few bucks less than the comparable MLCS bit...not sure about the shipping though...and now Bob has me salivating over the 7 piece MLCS set :sad:


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

dustmaker said:


> Hi Rob,
> 
> Yes, the Woodline 1/2" bit is priced a few bucks less than the comparable MLCS bit...not sure about the shipping though...and now Bob has me salivating over the 7 piece MLCS set :sad:


The 3/16" spiral in that set has a cutting length of 5/8" The Woodline I believe is a 1" cutting length.


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Mike Gager said:


> iteresting, all i have are HSS bits and havent had ths problem happen


I pondered the issue a bit since this came up some time ago (and will no doubt come up again).

One of the possibilities is that all HSS is not equal: Lee Valley make a big deal out of making it known that their HSS router bits are made in USA because "USA know how to make the best HSS".

Having observed quality differences in other areas of metallurgy related to the geographical area of production I think this may be at least a part of the explanation.

In which case beware the HF bits


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

and there was me thinking that SWEDISH steel took line honers.


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

dustmaker said:


> I'm in the market for a 1/2" spiral upcut and so this post caught my eye.
> Hmm, apart from the HHS issue I see "1/4 shank" in the ad. Clearly not, based on the pictures! If the pics are accurate I suppose one would need a 3/8" bushing adapter to use the 3/8 bit in 1/2" collet as well, no?
> I am thinking more along the lines of the 1/2" MLCS SU bit. Does anyone know of a better deal on an all carbide 1/2" bit?


oh wow i just noticed what you are talking about. i will have to check when i get home if the 3/8 bit is 3/8" shank or not. i do know that the 1/2" bit is 1/2" shank but not sure about the 3/8 bit


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

ok ive double checked and the 3/8 bit is a 3/8" shank so i guess unless you have a collet adapter theres only 2 usable bits, which still isnt bad if you use a HF 20% off coupon thats only a little above $5 each

collet adapter is $4 from mlcs (with free shipping) so i plan on buying one for the 3/8 bit

ill let everyone know if i have problems with these bits overheating like mike mentions


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## joesmith (Nov 22, 2012)

I am new to this forum and I stumbled on this thread because I have been using these bits. 

I have the Leigh FMT and have used the Harbor Freight bits extensively in the last few weeks doing 60 or so mortises and tenons. 

I can say that they do dull but no faster then any of the same bits from Freud to Whiteside. I have tried them all in the same capacity. HSS seems to be the same across the board. I am sure there are some differences, but not enough to make a difference in mortise and tenons. I am not a big fan of Harbor Freight, but for around $10, you can't beat these bits. 

Recently they started selling 3 1/8" length 1/4" spiral upcut bits in 3 pack for $6. I did not see the multi pack spiral bits they had, so I do not know if they stopped selling them. Almost all makers of spiral bits only make them in 2 1/2" at their longest. This is not long enough for the FMT. The extra length is great. 
For that price, you can not beat them and if they dull, I throw them away.


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## joesmith (Nov 22, 2012)

Also, I did get a reduced to use the 3/8th bit from Lee Valley. Works just as good.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

joesmith said:


> I am new to this forum and I stumbled on this thread because I have been using these bits.
> 
> I have the Leigh FMT and have used the Harbor Freight bits extensively in the last few weeks doing 60 or so mortises and tenons.
> 
> ...


Hi Joe - Welcome to the forum

Spiral bits can get pricey. I usually use solid carbide. Where I live almost every thing has shipping attached so it becomes a major part of the cost. Shopping the internet helps a lot. Here's one source I use for spiral bits:
Spiral Bits - Router Bits

Another is an eBay vendor:
Saw Blades, Carbide Tipped Router Bits items in LMT Onsrud Router Bits and Blades store on eBay!
The listings for the Onsrud cutters varies from week to week but the cutters are great. A couple of weeks ago I picked up a 1/2" compression spiral with a 1-3/4" cut length for around $25.
Once again, welcome aboard


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## Sawdust Don (Nov 1, 2012)

From my limited experience cutting wood with high speed cutters, not so good.

One thing that happens when a HSS cutter turns blue is, the cutters actual edge has reached the toasted point, burned and dead. The cutter will have to be ground back past the point of the burned cutting edge, that got much hotter then the cutters body that turned blue.

There are various grades of HSS, with Cobalt being the better for higher heat, but turning blue is still toasted.

I found, I can remove more steel with HSS mill type cutters, then maple or walnut, even cutting steel dry. That is on a milling machine however.

Probably, most demanding applications, would require HSS to run considerably slower then a carbide cutter.

Don


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Sawdust Don said:


> From my limited experience cutting wood with high speed cutters, not so good.
> 
> One thing that happens when a HSS cutter turns blue is, the cutters actual edge has reached the toasted point, burned and dead. The cutter will have to be ground back past the point of the burned cutting edge, that got much hotter then the cutters body that turned blue.
> 
> ...


Believe it or not wood is way more abrasive to cutters than metal.


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## joesmith (Nov 22, 2012)

I have done 12 M&T joints today with a Leigh FMT and the Harbor Freight HSS 1/4" Spiral Bit. So far, no blueing or dulling. After over 30 M&T, the previous bit was still working good, but not great, so I switched it out with another one, and continued cutting. 

Thanks John, I checked out the links and I think I will stick to the cheap bits. 

For me, after using the FMT for a few years, I am just not seeing the difference in the bits as far as quality is concerned. The cheapy bits seem to hold up to alot of plunging and climb cutting.


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