You could start with a drill and drill bits to remove most of the wood. It
'wood' save a lot of work.
Go all the way through with the drill, then even up the edges with the
router.

Doug


"Bill" wrote in message
...

I wish to cut 1/2" wide mortises all the way through a fourbyfour (cutting
from both sides of course). Was just about to order the Amana bit# 45426
which is a double-fluted straight plunge bit, with 1/2" shank, 1/2"
cutting diameter and a 2" cutting height.

Will use a DeWalt 2.25HP Router. Is the above bit adequate for this job
(or do I need to look at spiral-fluted)? Just because the bit has a 2"
cutting height doesn't mean I should plan to try to cut more than 3/16 to
1/4" at a time, right?


BTW, Swingman, you were right--there are more bits than I thought out
there! I assume that since I have a plunge router that I'll be able to
extend the abilities of a single bit a little. For instance, using a bit
with 1.5" cutting height to cut a 1" deep groove. I know, of course, that
one should not use a bit that is too much longer than necessary due to
deflection and vibration, etc. I don't have any router bits at all yet,
and my router hasn't even arrived yet, so I sure I'm destined to learn a
great deal! I can try my hand at chisel-sharpening in the meantime..
Probably should dust off Bill Hylton's book (on the router) on my shelf...

Bill