# Freud Stacked Slot cutter set...huh??



## matt1710 (Sep 21, 2010)

Hi

I just received the Freud 61-102 set. I must say it's the most complicated looking bit I own - in fact I'm a little daunted by it. There is no instruction manual in the box, maybe they expect that people should know how to use one of things - I sure don't. The arbor is currently set up with four cutters, some spacers and a nut to lock the whole assembly. . In addition there are two larger bearings and a huge number of spacers.

Clearly one can change the number of cutters on arbor, change the size of the bearing and change the number of spacers. But I'm not sure if there are any combinations of spacers/cutters/bearings that are not recommended. For example, should one set the actual cutting blades offset from one another when using more than one cutter on the arbor? Can the blades are two different cutters overlap?

Any help would be much appreciated. Perhaps I could contact Freud and see if they have some kind of operational manual for this thing?

Matthew


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Something like this Matt?


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Ok, I googled it and found this photo. As long as the cutters are staggered you should have no problems.


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## giradman (Jul 23, 2012)

Hi *Matt* - I don't own that particular bit (have a couple of standard slot cutters), but I was curious so searched for some pics - the one below shows your slot cutter, I believe; the bearings determine the depth of cut and the stacked cutters arrangement, the width - hopefully someone who uses this bit will 'chime in' - Dave


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Freud 61-102 1/8-Inch Stacked Slot Cutter Router Bit Set

Amazon.com: Freud 61-102 1/8-Inch Stacked Slot Cutter Router Bit Set: Home Improvement

Router Forums - View Single Post - Red Freud., Black Freud "industrial"

##> Freud 61-102 1/8-Inch Stacked Slot Cutter Router Bit Set searching Today. | Facebook

Woodworker.com: Freud174 Stacked Slotting Set, Stacked Slot Cutter Set

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matt1710 said:


> Hi
> 
> I just received the Freud 61-102 set. I must say it's the most complicated looking bit I own - in fact I'm a little daunted by it. There is no instruction manual in the box, maybe they expect that people should know how to use one of things - I sure don't. The arbor is currently set up with four cutters, some spacers and a nut to lock the whole assembly. . In addition there are two larger bearings and a huge number of spacers.
> 
> ...


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## matt1710 (Sep 21, 2010)

When you say "as long as the cutters are staggered" do you mean that if I have more than one cutter installed on the arbor, the actual cutting 'blades' should not sit directly above one another? So - if I had two cutters installed on the arbor - there would be 90° between the two?


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## TRBaker (Jul 5, 2012)

Matthew, I think the biggest concern is that the teeth don't sit on top of one another. You don't have to have them at a 90 to one another, but at least turn them so the carbide of one cutter isn't in contact with the cutter that is next to it. This will throw your measurement off, put the blade in a bind against the other and possibly make the cutter unbalanced. If you have ever used a stacked dado blade, the principle is the same.


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## matt1710 (Sep 21, 2010)

Would it be ok to have the cutter's teeth sitting above one another if there were sufficient spacers in between to ensure that the teeth couldn't contact? I guess that would still leave a balance issue though...


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## TRBaker (Jul 5, 2012)

Matthew, you seem to really want to put these cutters in alignment with one another. Why is that. If the spacers are stacked so that the cutters are not touching one another, you will have a gap between them that doesn't get cut.


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## matt1710 (Sep 21, 2010)

I did think about that but figured that the gap would be so fine (like 0.5mm) that it'd be removed by the violence of the cut. Maybe not though? Sounds like I'm best to offset the teeth though - no reason not to I guess.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Matt, like in the first photo I posted if the cutters are in line you get spaced cuts like box joints. The entire reason for the bit you mentioned is because it works like a dado blade as Troy mentioned. This allows you to make cuts of differing widths and really is an economical choice.


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## matt1710 (Sep 21, 2010)

Just received this reply from Jim at Freud:

The main rule is that the carbide on one cutter never touches the carbide or the steel body of another.* Another one is to try to always try to locate the cutters as close to the router as possible.* In other words do not stack a lot of spacers and put the cutters closes to the nut.* If you follow this you should be fine.* Yes you can cut a set of parallel grooves but always be careful when doing this to use guards, and some type of hold down device to eliminate unwanted stock movement


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

matt1710 said:


> Just received this reply from Jim at Freud:
> 
> The main rule is that the carbide on one cutter never touches the carbide or the steel body of another.* Another one is to try to always try to locate the cutters as close to the router as possible.* In other words do not stack a lot of spacers and put the cutters closes to the nut.* If you follow this you should be fine.* Yes you can cut a set of parallel grooves but always be careful when doing this to use guards, and some type of hold down device to eliminate unwanted stock movement


Hi Matt., this low cost set which can be arranged in several ways was bought on Ebay at very reasonable cost and as you can see in these shots, produced perfect box joints on the first attempt.


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## Sgt45 (Apr 13, 2013)

I've been thinking of getting that bit set. You say there are many spacers. Can you tell me the thickness of them. If they are various thin spacers I would say stack it just like a dado blade with offset cutters


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

matt1710 said:


> Hi
> 
> I just received the Freud 61-102 set. I must say it's the most complicated looking bit I own - in fact I'm a little daunted by it. There is no instruction manual in the box, maybe they expect that people should know how to use one of things - I sure don't. The arbor is currently set up with four cutters, some spacers and a nut to lock the whole assembly. . In addition there are two larger bearings and a huge number of spacers.
> 
> ...


see if this helps...

Freud Tools - Stacked Slotting Set


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## matt1710 (Sep 21, 2010)

Sgt45 said:


> I've been thinking of getting that bit set. You say there are many spacers. Can you tell me the thickness of them. If they are various thin spacers I would say stack it just like a dado blade with offset cutters


They're 1.04mm per spacer.


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## Sgt45 (Apr 13, 2013)

Hey Matt, How you doin' with your slot cutter? I couldn't figure out how hard it could be for you to figure out until I received mine today! What the @#*!!? It took me an hour to figure it out through trial & error (mostly error). For the price you'd think they could include simple instructions with stick figures and maybe a reference chart. It is a great bit, though. Glad I got it>


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## matt1710 (Sep 21, 2010)

Glad someone else found it tricky! I haven't used it much - in fact hardly at all - not because it's not a great bit though. I've been mulling over using it to cut box joints (I have two shop-made dedicated jigs for this at present, which get used a lot) however the idea of being able to cut much finer joints, all at once, with PERFECT spacing does appeal. I'm not quite sure how to go about it - surely the stock height has to relate perfectly to the cutter stack height - and there will be some flip-flopping of adjacent sides...I think? Have you tried this yet?


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