# Safety of super cheap bits?



## walkerrosewood (Jan 23, 2014)

Ok, so here is my question. Sorry it's a tad long winded.

I purchased my first router on ebay and it came with some decent Bosch bits. A straight, a roundover, and an ogee. All 1/2" shank. I gather these will get me by for a while for most of the normal cuts. But I also wanted to mess around with some other bit shapes I'll probably never use. I didn't want to throw lots of money at it just yet, figuring I'll probably destroy them pretty quickly.

So I scoured ebay and purchased literally the cheapest, no-name, junk bits I could find. A 24 piece set for $30 or so. "Shars" is the brand. They are 1/2" shank, supposedly carbide tipped, but vertical cutting edge (not angled or spiral). While reading about different bits for both routers and drills, I learned that one should always check the maximum rpm ratings before using a bit, blade, or any rotating attachment. With no information readily available on the Shars website, I emailed my inquiry. The response was "6000 rpms."


I've not been able to even find a router that goes lower than 8000 rpm, much less one that has a 1/2" collet. Did they mean to say 16000 or 60000? Should I be worried about attempting to use these bits at all? I know I was just throwing money away with such a cheap product, but I now I feel particularly duped if they really are only safe to 6000 rpm.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Shars is hobbyist type quality, maybe a little better. They sell a lot of machine tools that aren't accurate for a production machine shop but they are good enough for me. The quality of a Starrett or Mitutoyo would be wasted on my abilities.

If those bits are sold as router bits then they would have to be okay to turn at 25000 rpm. It sounds to me like the response you got was for for milling cutters where 6000 rpm would be pushing it. I am not familiar with their router bits but most bits nowadays are fair to decent quality. There is the occasional dud in a set. I got one in a set from Canadian Tire that wouldn't go into the collet. The shank was a few thou oversize. They replaced it without any problems.


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

I think you will fine using these bits ( they may not cut as clean nor stay sharp as long but nothing unsafe about them ) if they were 1/4" shanks maybe still would not stop me from using them.
Here is chart showing speeds for router bits by size

Router Bit Diameter	Maximum Speed
Up to 1"	22,000 - 24,000 rpm
1" to 2"	18,000 - 22,000 rpm
2" to 2-1/2"	12,000 - 16,000 rpm
2-1/2" to 3-1/2"	8,000 - 12,000 rpm


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Walker I have said many times that these cheap sets of bits should not be owned by anyone as all they are good for is to be used a filler, rubbish bin filler, the other thing is that most persons would never use all the bits in these sets and many just sit in the set forever so they are bad for that reason also, so only buy good quality bits that you intend to use they are more expensive but they work better and last longer, when they get blunt the get then sharpened, keep your work area clean, use hear, eye, and dust protection, don't cut too deep at one go as you will get a better cut if you do it in stages, and don't forget that working with wood is fun, it's just that sometimes it is not that funny. NGM


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## walkerrosewood (Jan 23, 2014)

Thanks everyone for the responses. I've made a bunch of cuts with the cheap bits. They didn't produce the cleanest cut, but they didn't explode, melt, or turn into projectiles so I think they're ok. Not sure why the manufacture told me 6000rpm, they must have been mistaken somehow about their own product? 

The only unsafe part was trying to pull them out of their slots in the case. Some of them were in there so tight I cut my finger trying to yank them out! (lesson learned, gloves and pliers were quickly deployed)

If I ever need a keyhole or classical bit I'm sure these will do just fine. Going forward, I will certainly buy nicer single bits of anything I find myself actually using.


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## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

I like having some cheap bits around for situations I don't want to risk good bits on. For example, when I have to do a rabbit on the inside of a picture frame and think a pin might be hidden in the mix.

I've [unintentionally] ran over a lot of brads and things over the years and it hurts when using an expensive bit.


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## Daikusan (Apr 12, 2013)

Neville is right about bit sets, there are some you would likely would never use. I don’t own a bit set and have bought the individual bits I need for a project.

Which brings up Kelly’s point. Its not a good day when your expensive bit hits a hidden nail, screw, brad or what ever.

Someone on here has the signature “There is no such thing as scrap wood” a true-ism in my thinking; leftovers are always useful. I usually do not use scraps for projects but on occasion they are the right match. I always use scraps for test pieces before making the real cut. The scraps are generally metal free, but since Im human I miss things.
Steve


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