# straight bit rabbeting question from a nubee.



## xoxo-aj (Nov 8, 2011)

a bit of back story first.. i got my first router table a few weeks ago and put it to use making an under cabinet wine glass rack for the wife. (brownie points) i made what basically amounts to T moulding used for the transitions between hardwood floors. I flipped it upside down and mounted a few of them spaced apart so the bottom of the wine glass slides in from the front and the glass is held upside down. (i feel like i'm making this way too complicated, :lol something like this.. 
I started with a pine 1x4 and put it on edge and made a rabbet on 2 of the sides to create the T shape. i left the bit height alone and used the fence to adjust the depth of the rabbet in multiple passes.

Would it have mattered what diameter straight bit i would have used for this ( ie 1/4", 1/2", 5/8" etc)? Other then maybe slowing the router down for the larger bits, i really can't think of a reason that any size bit would have made this cut better or worse. Am i overlooking something basic or what here? 

obviously i would have been better off with a rabbeting bit or even better a table saw and Daddo blade, but as those aren't options please help me understand this method..

Sorry for such a long question and Thank you in advance for any help or input you can privide! Andrew


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Being smaller is not that big of a deal. If your rabbet bit is smaller than the rabbet you want then you just have to re-adjust & make another pass.


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## xoxo-aj (Nov 8, 2011)

right, and that is very logical, but as i said, i didn't use and don't have a rabbet bit..


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Andrew, you figured out something that people usually have a hard time with: Making multiple passes to create the desired shape. When you do this with different profiles you can create something like 17 different moulding shapes from 3 bits. Now as far as what size bit you should use consider how much material you want to remove. Remember that removing material is actually two parts; cutting and chip evacuation. A small cutter can only remove a small amount of material at a time. Using a larger cutter will reduce the amount of time to finish the job and require fewer adjustments.


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## xoxo-aj (Nov 8, 2011)

great! that seems to be the answer i was looking for. seems like i would have been better off using a larger straight bit for multiple reasons then... thank you very much mike!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Andrew

I don't get why not just buy a rabbet bit, it's the one bit you will use all the time on the router table for many,many jobs..you can get the low end one for about 10.oo bucks or the higher end ones for about 60.oo bucks..many of the router bit sets come with one..


http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/set15piece.html
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## KenBee (Jan 1, 2011)

bobj3 said:


> HI Andrew
> 
> I don't get why not just buy a rabbet bit, it's the one bit you will use all the time on the router table for many,many jobs..you can get the low end one for about 10.oo bucks or the higher end ones for about 60.oo bucks..many of the router bit sets come with one..
> 
> ...


That is one nice set of bits. I had most of the bits in a 1/4 inch shank, but I am trying to phase out as many of my 1/4 inch bits as possible so I went with this set and am very pleased. Free Shipping too.


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## xoxo-aj (Nov 8, 2011)

bobj3 said:


> HI Andrew
> 
> I don't get why not just buy a rabbet bit, it's the one bit you will use all the time on the router table for many,many jobs..you can get the low end one for about 10.oo bucks or the higher end ones for about 60.oo bucks..many of the router bit sets come with one..
> 
> ...


I'm not trying to say that i don't want a rabbet bit, or that i will not buy one. My question was asked in hopes of gaining understanding of a concept. if you read my initial post, i just got started into this and while i know there are very good retailers out there, locally there isn't much to chose from when it comes to router bits. my choices come down to either really cheep bits or very hight end bits... there is no middle ground.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

MLCS has free shipping on all orders and decent quality bits. Check out the site.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

xoxo-aj said:


> Would it have mattered what diameter straight bit i would have used for this ( ie 1/4", 1/2", 5/8" etc)?


Sometimes. A larger diameter bit hits the wood at a flatter angle and is less likely to cause tear-out where you have things like grain reversals although you may be better off using a bit with some shear angle or a spiral cutting edge which slices instead of hammering the wood 40,000+ times a second.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Drew, I think 40K per minute is what you meant. If you think about it router bits work like a blade on your table saw shaving tiny amounts of wood per pass.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

Mike said:


> Drew, I think 40K per minute is what you meant. If you think about it router bits work like a blade on your table saw shaving tiny amounts of wood per pass.


Right! 20K RPM X 2 flutes, confusing seconds and minutes....


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## The Warthog (Nov 29, 2010)

It sounds like you did it right in the first place. I have a 3/4" straight bit I use for a lot of that sort of thing, but I eventually bought a rabbet bit. It's often best to cut the rabbet, dado or whatever a little at a time, rather than go for the whole thing at once.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Also remember that the width of the rebate will be fixed by the distance from the edge to the bearing. 3/8"??? ( or to the bearing spike? if you remove the bearing)

if you want a wide rebate, like for the base of a wine glass a straight cutting bit will allow you to cut a wider slot. Just keep moving the fence back from the bit.


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