# Quick bit question



## AronD (Apr 3, 2013)

I've just went from 2 bee hives to 5 hives (picked up 2 more and one hive decided to split in half and swarm, thankfully I caught them). I need to make a lot more hive boxes. And while my Whiteside dovetail bit works fine, I'm not having much luck keeping my strait bit very long. Could someone recommend a brand of bit that would be suitable for high pitch content and moderately high heat? I'm working with white pine a lot, and while Whiteside bits work fine, I want a faster extracting straight bit. 

I've had my eye on Freud bits for a while, but does anyone know if they make 1/4 shank with 13/32 strait bit? I saw a dovetail kit (17/32 and 13/32) but it was in 1/2 shank. I'm just looking for an alternate straight bit in 1/4 shank (13/32 bit). Could someone throw some recommendations at me? I'm not that well versed in bits yet.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Freud is no better than Whiteside. If you are routing in pitchy wood you might benefit from Trend bit cleaner and experimenting with different rpm. A dirty bit generates more heat which cuts life expectancy.
You might also try Onsrud bits. They make more straight and spiral bits than any one else according to what I see. One other member recently had a similar problem and called Onsrud and asked for tech assistance and according to what he said it was one of the best phone calls he ever made. Fred from Onsrud is a member of this forum known as Onsrudcutter2010 and they are selling on ebay using the same name. You can also get a hold of them those ways.


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## AronD (Apr 3, 2013)

I'm keeping the bits as clean as I can mechanically (no time between cuts for chemical cleans), but I'm thinking I just need to stop at least once or twice a day and chemically clean my bits. My router is maybe a 1/2-3/4 horse and its from the 80's. I'm glad it still works. I have one set rpm and I think I'm loosing a bearing, so I'm loosing speed when cutting (due to lack of hp) and I'm loosing cutting efficiency (due to a bearing). I dont exactly have the cards stacked in my favor right now, which probably affecting bit performance. Plus I'm limited to 1/4" shank only.... I just need to go sink $400 into a new router.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Aron, I think you would be very happy with a Bosch 1617EVSPK for about $190. This is an industrial quality router. If your budget can't stretch that far there are Craftsman combo kits for about $100 which many members are happy with.

Order a solid carbide spiral upcut bit once you have a router that accepts 1/2" bits. MLCS offers these with free shipping but my choice would be Whiteside.

The Trend Tool and Bit Cleaner works quick, is inexpensive and safe for the environment. I highly recommend it. Woodcraft carry's this in the stores and online and Sommerfeld may still have it on sale for a better price.


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## darsev (Feb 3, 2012)

AronD said:


> I'm keeping the bits as clean as I can mechanically (no time between cuts for chemical cleans), but I'm thinking I just need to stop at least once or twice a day and chemically clean my bits. My router is maybe a 1/2-3/4 horse and its from the 80's. I'm glad it still works. I have one set rpm and I think I'm loosing a bearing, so I'm loosing speed when cutting (due to lack of hp) and I'm loosing cutting efficiency (due to a bearing). I dont exactly have the cards stacked in my favor right now, which probably affecting bit performance. Plus I'm limited to 1/4" shank only.... I just need to go sink $400 into a new router.


Aron,

Just some thoughts from my experience - if they are useful.

I'm in a similar re budget and router, except my router actually died and I now have the cheapest one in the shop until I can get the one I want. Some of the things that I found was that going slower with the router often got the job done quicker. If the router loaded up so that the pitch dropped noticeably, I backed up and took less of a cut. When I was working at the factory, the CNC router would be adjusted for rpm and travel speed to suit the material being cut, and that made a noticeable difference to the life of the bits as well as the quality of the cut. I have also read that the diameter of the cutter and the number of flutes also influences the temperature of the bits due to the way the chips are removed. 

A question - are you using a router table or working handheld? I presumed a table of some description both from the quantity of work and the difficulty of routing the frames hand held. If so, see if the router itself needs a good clean out. They are usually designed to work handheld with the bits facing down. If you put them in a table, the vents then become something that captures the wood dust instead of pushing out hot air. If the dust builds up, it will add to the heat and cause other problems.

How many boxes are you making up and how many frames are you putting in each box? I looked after bees back in the 90's, and I seemed to remember that we put 9 frames in a box instead of 10 to make them easier to get out. The bees would build the comb out so far that adjoining frames would stick together.

Darryl


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## AronD (Apr 3, 2013)

darsev said:


> Aron,
> 
> Just some thoughts from my experience - if they are useful.
> 
> ...


I need to make 15, medium sized, 8 frame supers. I'm using all #2 white pine (Lowes grade pine) and I'm doing a through dovetail all my points. #2 pine is 3/4 inch thick, so most of my cuts are 3/4" deep. I've yet to have a problem with my dovetail bit, its just the straight bit that doesn't last as long.

I'm actually using both hand held and table mounted. I'm using a dovetail jig and a table I built. I am very hands on with my tool, so I clean my gear frequently.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I think that the rule of thumb is that you should only take a depth of cut equal to the bit diameter. You can't do that with the dovetail but you can with the straight bit. A single flute bit might work better as it has a higher chip removal rate.


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## Daikusan (Apr 12, 2013)

AronD said:


> I'm keeping the bits as clean as I can mechanically (no time between cuts for chemical cleans), but I'm thinking I just need to stop at least once or twice a day and chemically clean my bits. My router is maybe a 1/2-3/4 horse and its from the 80's. I'm glad it still works. I have one set rpm and I think I'm loosing a bearing, so I'm loosing speed when cutting (due to lack of hp) and I'm loosing cutting efficiency (due to a bearing). I dont exactly have the cards stacked in my favor right now, which probably affecting bit performance. Plus I'm limited to 1/4" shank only.... I just need to go sink $400 into a new router.


Have you checked the brushes? Just before mine went bad I noticed a decrease in speed when loaded. Once I replaced them the problem went away. Just a thought, though brushes might not be related to your problem anyway.


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