Woodcraft Router Bits - Any good?

[DerbyDad03]

These bits seem to cheap to be any good. Am I right? And if so, why am I right?

[Toller]

you pay for. What do you think you get for $43?

If you intend on using these heavily, invest in a decent product. If you will maybe use them once or twice, they ought to be just fine.

[DerbyDad03]

to cheap to be any good. Am I right? And if so, why am

Thanks for the response.

Did you miss my second question? "And if so, why am I right?"

What should I be looking for in a quality router bit? Is there an optimum bevel angle? Is there an optimum grade of carbide? What makes these bits

worth so much more than the woodcraft bits?

Thanks!

[Stoutman]

I think it would be tough to tell buy looking at them. You have to use them to see how they perform. Buy bits from well known companies Freud, CMT, Whiteside.

Woodworking magazines review the top brands every once in a while so watch out for these articles.

I stay clear of woodcraft bits and usually buy CMT. I had a woodcraft roundover bit that almost ruined a finished project due to massive chip-outs.

[Lew Hodgett]

What you get when you buy a quality product, usually not something that is priced to attract the bottom feeders.

Lew

[Edwin Pawlowski]

at $5 each. I bought some at that price and was very surprised at how well they worked. They are not as good as the major brands. For simple projects and shop fixtures, they are a very good value. It I spent 300 hours on a fancy desk, I'm going to use the best bit I can get for the roundover, etc.

[Doug Miller]

Whiteside, but certainly more than merely adequate. I have several, two of which have seen pretty heavy use, and haven't had the first sign of a problem with any of them.

From time to time, though, Woodcraft runs $5 specials on router bits. The implications of their advertising notwithstanding, these are *not* the same bits as their regular line. The regular line is made in Taiwan (or was, the last time I checked), but the five-buck bits are made in China and show all the earmarks of typical Chinese manufacturing: visible nicks in the cutting edges, coarser grinding, bearings that don't always spin smoothly.

[Toller]

I don't honestly know why; quality of the carbide, quality of the brazing, sharpening, or what. But when tested there is a strong correlation between quality of cut/life of edge and the price. Some expensive bits are only average, but on the whole...

I haven't quite mastered it yet, but I am working on the philosophy "don't buy junk".

[B A R R Y]

Places like Ballew Saw or CT Saw will sharpen a carbide bit for less than $10, sometimes as low as $5. I think Forrest will also do bits, but they tend to be a tad expensive, so I reserve their services for Forrest blades.

I have some $5 Woodcraft bits, which I'll frequently use for MDF to save wear on my good bits, but good ones last longer and can be sharpened several times.

I like Whiteside, and after a step down, CMT, and Freud. There are some online sellers of Whiteside, for instance, Ballew Tools, that are far cheaper than Woodcraft.

[Dave Hall]

any individual router bits through hundreds of board feet per year, but my Woodcraft $5 router bits (which I believe are the same bits as those in the reference set) have worked well for me. I have a couple of higher priced bits (Whiteside) and I cannot tell any difference in the cut. Again, I haven't used either enough to require resharpening (or in the case of the Woodcraft bits, replacing as that is less expensive than resharpening). If you are doing woodworking for a living or planning to refurnish your home over the next year, spring for good bits. However, in my opinion, if this is a hobby and money has any meaning, the Woodcraft bits are pretty good.

Dave Hall

[Bob]

mdf projects. I have a few of these bits. I will not buy anymore, no matter what the cost. I've been building a project out of quartersawn white oak that requires a lot of roundover edging. I was using the Woodcraft roundover bit and constantly fought burning, especially in the corners and end grain. It did not matter if I changed the bit speed or feed rate. It always burned. I picked up an Amana roundover bit locally and tried it out. No matter what speed or technique I used, I could not get the Amana bit to cause any burning. I got nice clean edges. The woodcraft bits are in a dark corner of the shop now.

Bob

[Swingman]

Amana bits and blades have all been high quality, IME. I've had an Amano dado set for years that has been an excellent performer, although I use a Freud Dial-a-Width most often these days just because it is so much nicer not to have to futz with shims; and my Amana router bits are grabbed first for jobs on expensive wood where there is little room for error.

That said, I notice Whiteside came out tops in a recent FWW magazine test shootout that had Amana with only a "good" rating, with the top four bit having an "excellent" rating.

Obviously a YMMV.

[samson]

What about Porter-Cable bits? I buy these. They aren't very expensive. I haven't had any problems with these, but then again I don't use my router that much.

S.

[B A R R Y]

Use the router more.

You'll see...

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[Pat Barber]

It's a good bet that the PC bits are made by one of the majors as a OEM job. I have used a few and they seem to do as well as most.

sams> What about Porter-Cable bits? I buy these. They aren't