# Router bit test data



## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Editors of Fine Homebuilding & Fine Woodworking put out the 2009 Taunton's Tool Guide.
They tested 16 bit brand names. 1/2" shank, cove & bead, b
Special made heavy duty table
Feed rate 5 ft/min (fpm) by auto feeder
Woods cuts made: 
30" on endgrain, planed to 3/4"- maple,cherry, oak, pine, Primium MDF
Then 100 ft of standard MDF
Then the endgrain again.
QC: same board on each bit, 4 editors independently rated each strip

overall Ratings: 1 to 10 (1=poor)
brand Overall rating Price Bit #
Whiteside 7.11 Excellent $31 #3212
Eagle 7.11 Excellent $33 #171-2605
Lee Valley 6.98 Excellent $33 #16J34.52
Southeast 6.82 Excellent $27 #SE3212
Woodtek 6.82 Excellent $32 
Infinity 6.71 Excellent $35

Rockler 6.42 Very good $38
BC Saw 6.09 Very good $80

Amana $50, Bosch $40, CMT $37, Freud $46, Grizzly $28, Ridge $46, all rated Good

Porter cable $30 & Woodline $22, rated Fair

Don't know if it's online yet: finewoodworking.com, On Magazine rack till March. It explains the test & rates each cut by material then avg for overall rating.

Hope this helps youns when selecting bits.


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Forgot to add, Eagle & Whiteside won "Best Value" also.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

Originally published in the May/June 2007 issue of Fine Woodworking. 

Whiteside has the article pdf on their website

http://www.whitesiderouterbits.com/ToolTestRouterBits.pdf


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Good memory
You are right.
They just changed (updated) the prices from what I see in the 2009 magazine


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## Skyglider (Nov 2, 2008)

Drew Eckhardt said:


> Originally published in the May/June 2007 issue of Fine Woodworking.
> 
> Whiteside has the article pdf on their website
> (url link deleted since skyglider not up to 10 posts yet)


Drew,

Thanks much for posting that link. It really helps in my buying decision for my first set of router bits. 

Keep it warm,
Skyglider


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## Drew Eckhardt (Aug 2, 2008)

Here's a link for the straight bit test. The test is dados in melamine coated flake board which may not be relevant (ideal hook angles vary depending on wood type; I don't know how different straight bits compare there) for cut quality although the lifetime numbers are probably good (carbide compositions vary between brands).

It's one data point. 

http://www.provenwoodworking.com/support-files/router-bits-test.pdf


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## Charles M (Apr 10, 2006)

Things change so quickly in this industry that it is surprising to me that FWW would republish that test. For instance, many of the Freud profile bits are now Quadra-Cut design, including the 38-614 bit that was tested. Also, we now have a Double Grind on our straight bits that negates the results from their old straight bit test.

Info on Quadra-Cut is here if you are interested:
http://www.freudtools.com/t-quadra-cut.aspx

And on the Double Grind Straight Bits here:
http://www.freudtools.com/news.aspx?showarticle=15


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

email of editor: [email protected]
I emailed the Editor of finewoodorking.
I ask him about the test twice, no response yet.
I wrote:
"Isn't the router bit "tool test" in your 2009 Tool Guide (pg 44) the same test as the one you published in 2007 with only the prices changed/updated? "

Kinda like politicians, gotta watch them.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Whiteside has always finished with top honors. Testing varies by magazine, and some seem more credible than others.


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## del schisler (Feb 2, 2006)

very nice info on the new design Next items will be yours del


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Guys

Make's you wonder who paid for the review 

Freud and CMT gets my high end bucks ....


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

I agree Bj. All my TS blades, and new router bits are Freud.


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Got a response from fine woodworking:

From: Betsy Engel 
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 2:23 PM
To: FW Editorial Mailbox
Subject: RE: Router bit tool test

Dave:

Thank you for your recent Letter to the Editor. You can be assured that the editor reads every letter that we get, but because we get so many, he can’t always respond personally.

The 2009 Tool Guide does have some new articles in it, but not all are new. We take tool reviews done in Fine Woodworking and Fine Homebuilding and combine them into one handy magazine. You are correct that the router bit test also ran in the 2008 Tool Guide.

Thanks for your interest in our publications.

Sincerely,

Betsy Engel
Administrative Assistant
Fine Woodworking Editorial
www.FineWoodworking.com
800-926-8776 x 3417


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