# Router bit source?



## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

I have a very limited selection of bits. 
Lowes & HD are my local sources here in Alaska, Lowes had Bosch (limited selection) & HD has Freud (very limited selection).
Last week I found librawood, they ship to AK (free over $125) so I ordered some whiteside bits. 
I selected : dado set, roundover/bead set, 1" "V" grove 90 degree, 3/8" up spiral, 1" round nose & a 22-1/2 degree trim bit. 
Since I have a 1/2" & a 3/4" straight, & 2 pattern/flush trim bits. (Bosch)
Will this be a good started set for a rookie?
Also is whiteside a good quality bit? (should be for the price of the above order I made).
Anyone recommend the best $/quality bits? Source?


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## Mark (Aug 4, 2004)

Hey Dave, I would check out Oak-Park, they have high quality bits and good prices for the level of quality.

Check out their US catalogue here: http://us.oak-park.com/catalogue.html

Edit:

It appears you're in luck, they're apparently having a sale on their router bits!

http://us.oak-park.com/catalogue.html?list=RBS--


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Hi Dave. Yes, Whiteside is a good quality bit. It looks like you made a good start on your bit collection. As far as where to look, I would suggest checking out MLCS at http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/. They ship free to the continental US no matter how much you order, although to territories and AK they use priority mail, so it will cost according to the weight of your order. Also check out http://eagleamerica.com/default.asp?splid=SPLID02&bhcd2=1226648384.

These are just a couple of places to check. I'm sure some of the other guys will chime in with their faves.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

Bogydave said:


> I have a very limited selection of bits.
> 
> I selected : dado set, roundover/bead set, 1" "V" grove 90 degree, 3/8" up spiral, 1" round nose & a 22-1/2 degree trim bit.
> Since I have a 1/2" & a 3/4" straight, & 2 pattern/flush trim bits. (Bosch)
> Will this be a good started set for a rookie?


Depends what you're making. A rabbeting set will cut joints in one pass and is easy to setup. You can double-sided tape straight pieces of stock on as a pattern and get nice radiuses at the intersection using a big (1 1/8") pattern bit.



> Also is whiteside a good quality bit? (should be for the price of the above order I made).


Very sharp. The best bit in Fine Wood Working's ogee? and straight bit tests and a good value.


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

magnate.net has some decent bits at a fair price. I don't know what shipping would be to your neck of the woods, but from California to VA it's $6-$9.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Bogydave

I will need to disagree with most  buy the best you can, but buy a good set to start off with, 30 pcs. 45pcs.,or 66 pcs. set, most of the time you will get a free display case with the set then norm, it's true you may not use them right off the bat but it's like buying a drill bit set you can buy a small set or one of the big sets, with letter,number,fac. in the case so many times you will want a bit just a little bit bigger or smaller the same thing is true for router bits when you need to put in a 1/4" slot and you want it just a bit wider so you pull out a 5/16" router bit to get the job done just right..

You will get many profiles in the router bit set just like a drill bit set so to speak 

To go back to drill bits,,,,how many times have you said I wish the bit would not bend when I try a drill a hole, that's when the short stubby drill bit comes in to play just like router bits when you say I wish I could change the profile just a little bit that's when you go to the router bit set and pull out one that you want to use..you can't do that unless you have one on hand..aging just like a drill bit set how many times have you gone to the drill bit set and pulled one out that you know for sure it's sharp it's true with router bits a s well, it's just one of the normal things woodworkers do.. 

You will in time add more and more router bits, the ones that don't come in the set the norm ( the bigger ones the norm )  

I do like the big MLCS set it comes in a NICE case that you can hang on the wall or on the side of the router cabinet, it's not to bad of a deal the bits will run you about 3.oo dollars ea. in the set plus the free display case.

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/routerbit_sets.html
========





Bogydave said:


> I have a very limited selection of bits.
> Lowes & HD are my local sources here in Alaska, Lowes had Bosch (limited selection) & HD has Freud (very limited selection).
> Last week I found librawood, they ship to AK (free over $125) so I ordered some whiteside bits.
> I selected : dado set, roundover/bead set, 1" "V" grove 90 degree, 3/8" up spiral, 1" round nose & a 22-1/2 degree trim bit.
> ...


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Dave, Whiteside is always top rated in magazine testing and by many pro's. You did not go wrong in buying the best. I suggest people start out with the 10 most commonly used bits instead of buying sets. Once they have had a chance to be sure they enjoy routing, then is the time to follow BJ's advice and gather as many profiles as possible. I would avoid any set's you find at the big box stores, they tend to be very low quality. Freud offers very good quality bits. MLCS is popular with many forum members as well.


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Mike said:


> start out with the 10 most commonly used bits instead of buying sets.


Which goes to the question
What are the top 10 most common used bits?


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## thistlefly (Dec 2, 2008)

*MLCS vs. Eagle vs. PriceCutter*

I'm considering a boxed set of bits, and have looked at the MLCS site and the Eagle site... this time I noticed that the Eagle set I was looking at is their "PriceCutter" series.

I still can't post URLs yet, but using those shown earlier for MLCS and Eagle, I'm comparing the MLCS 66-piece set to the Eagle "PriceCutter" 70-piece set.

I may still opt to start with a smaller set of higher-quality bits, but at this point don't know exactly what I'm losing in quality by going with the wider variety of the larger sets.

Any sage thoughts from our wizened, er, "seasoned" veterans? 

Bob


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Bob

I do recommend the set below,, 

http://cgi.ebay.com/30-pc-1-2-Shank...50386QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

It's like most you will find, it's only a 30 pcs. set but it has most of what you will need to start off with,, then just add more as you need them,,,

Many router bits can be use for more than one type of job just by thinking out of the box..or using two bit profiles to get what you want..

===========


thistlefly said:


> I'm considering a boxed set of bits, and have looked at the MLCS site and the Eagle site... this time I noticed that the Eagle set I was looking at is their "PriceCutter" series.
> 
> I still can't post URLs yet, but using those shown earlier for MLCS and Eagle, I'm comparing the MLCS 66-piece set to the Eagle "PriceCutter" 70-piece set.
> 
> ...


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## thistlefly (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks, Bob.

So... for a price like that, is the loss in steel quality, quality control, degree of sharpening/sharpness, all of the above? It sounds like not up to the quality of even the MLCS PriceCutter, is that a fair assessment or not?

(BTW, I also looked at the 12-bit Eagle set as a candidate for 'fewer bits, higher quality.')

Thanks for the link-

Bob


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Bob


Like they say " I can show you the water but I can't make you drink "


Have a good one 

=======


thistlefly said:


> Thanks, Bob.
> 
> So... for a price like that, is the loss in steel quality, quality control, degree of sharpening/sharpness, all of the above? It sounds like not up to the quality of even the MLCS PriceCutter, is that a fair assessment or not?
> 
> ...


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## thistlefly (Dec 2, 2008)

*Of bits and brands...*

I'm still sifting and sorting the massive amounts of information on this forum... gulp.  Wonderful, really, just takes some time.

Setting aside the choice of specific bits, and which vendor is best for a specific bit, I'm trying to rank the vendors in the high-end and "journeyman" quality categories in terms of overall quality. From this forum, the main contenders that I've settled on are these:

Top quality (and priced to match):
Whiteside
Katana (MLCS premium brand)
Eagle
Oak Park?

"Journeyman" quality:
MLCS
PriceCutter (Eagle "price-competitive" brand)
Oak Park?
eBay "Super Carbide Tools" shop (per BobJ)

I listed Oak Park in both places, since I'm not sure where the quality line falls in their case.

I couldn't see my way to buying less than the journeyman quality; I figure that would simply be a waste of money rather than a cost savings. I find myself leaning towards the MLCS and PriceCutter bits (or sets), perhaps just because I like to settle on one or two vendors that offer a wide variety of what I need in a given specialty.

The questions on specific sets and bits I'll put into another thread... for this one I'll focus on what y'all think of the above rankings. 

Thanks in advance to all-

Bob


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## dovetail_65 (Jan 22, 2008)

Throw CMT, Amana and some Frued on the top quality list. 

CMT has a 15% off special and free ship on Amazon so some of the bits are a steal even if they are a little more expensive.

Personally I love the Katana bits and think the prices are very good.


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi,

OP does carry excellent bits. I have several and yet haven't had the need to sharpen or replace them. 

I think what is being missed or overlooked is, price. Sometimes you can't afford that top quality bit. For a medium type bit, take a look at Grizzly, I'll even toss in Pricecutter as well. I'm not much a fan of Pricecutter but, they do have bits that work in a pinch.

The biggest problem with "sets" are, there are some bits that you may or may not use. Just seems a waste of money when you buy something and never use.


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## thistlefly (Dec 2, 2008)

Thanks for the additions, Nick.

OK... so would anyone care to order the high-end and journeyman sources by quality?

I'm thinking that though I like to get "good stuf" right off the bat, (a) the money is not endless, (b) I'd like to have enough functionality to tackle several pending furniture projects, and (c) I won't have my own opinion on the truly *best* choice until I get my feet (and several other body parts) wet... or at least wetter than when I last had a shop and router.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

FWIW, FWW (Fine Woodworking) did a review of profile bits a while back. Whiteside and Eagle came out on top, well above CMT, Freud, MLCS, etc.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/FWNPDF/011191046.pdf


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

Hi Ralph,

Over the past few yrs, Eagle has come around, quality wise. 

You'll also find, that, many member will stick with what they trust.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Hamlin said:


> Hi Ralph,
> 
> Over the past few yrs, Eagle has come around, quality wise.
> 
> You'll also find, that, many member will stick with what they trust.


Yes, for years I thought Porter-Cable bits were the cat's meow, mainly because I worked at a hardware store that was a PC and Delta dealer back in the late '50s and early '60s (before all of the corporate mergers and acquisitions). But, it appears that things change. 

Lately, I've been buying Eagle, based on the FWW review, and have been pleased so far.


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

I've found Eagle good to deal with, with good prices on their specials and, of course, they have now combined. If it's a bit that I think I'll use a lot I buy Eagle and if it is a bit of a one off, then Price Cutter. They are delivered together. One of the Price Cutter bits turned out to be PC when it arrived.

Cheers

Peter


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