On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 18:00:54 GMT, Charles Krug wrote:

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 09:30:44 -0800, mac davis
wrote:
On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 08:46:34 -0500, "Newbie" wrote:

I see most people recommend 1/2" shank. So then, does smaller shank exist
only to cover the low-end market? Is there a case where they have any
advantage over a wider shank?

well, I'm far from a "tool purist", but I use 1/4" bits in the table and free
hand routers and 1/2" in the shopsmith for drill press style routing... works
fine for me, but I'm still in the wood destroying stage.. *g*



Some smaller diameter cutters only seem to be made in 1/4" shank.

Generally speaking, a quality bit is a quality bit. A 1/4" shank
Whiteside bit is a better cutter than a 1/2" shank cutter from Home
Depot.

I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with a 1/4" shank for
small diameter cutters. They get a bad rap because of the abundance of
available 1/4" shank bits out there in Borg grade.

In general, if a larger shank is available, AND it fits into your
workspace, you want to use the larger shank. You also, in general, want
to use the shortest bit that will do the job at hand.

If you need an 1/8" core box bit, I don't think there's much problem
with using the 1/4" shank version. Indeed, I'm not sure I've ever seen
an 1/8" core box bit on a 1/2" shank, though I imagine someone must make
one.

even the 1/4" straight bit looks a bit odd with a 1/2" shaft..


mac

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