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

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5044

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
ups.com...
These bits seem to cheap to be any good. Am I right? And if so, why am
I right?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5044

If you are lucky, you get what you pay for. You almost never get more than
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.

On Jul 5, 8:58 pm, "Toller" wrote:
"DerbyDad03" wrote in message

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

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5044

If you are lucky, you get what you pay for. You almost never get more than
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.

Toller,

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 http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11597 worth so much
more than the woodcraft bits?

Thanks!

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 http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/11597 worth so much
more than the woodcraft bits?

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.

--
Stoutman
www.garagewoodworks.com

DerbyDad03 wrote:

What should I be looking for in a quality router bit?

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

Lew

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
ups.com...
These bits seem to cheap to be any good. Am I right? And if so, why am
I right?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5044


When Woodcraft first got into the router bit business, they had some sales
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.

In article . com, DerbyDad03 wrote:
These bits seem to cheap to be any good. Am I right? And if so, why am
I right?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5044

The regular line of Woodcraft bits is pretty good. Not in the same category as
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.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

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

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".

Toller wrote:

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


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.

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
oups.com...
These bits seem to cheap to be any good. Am I right? And if so, why am
I right?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5044


I admit that I don't do production woodworking and probably don't put
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

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
ups.com...
These bits seem to cheap to be any good. Am I right? And if so, why am
I right?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5044


I have a direct experience that convinced me to save the woodcraft bits for
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

"Bob" wrote in message

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.

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.


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 6/1/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

In article ,
says...

"Bob" wrote in message

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.

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.

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.

On Sat, 7 Jul 2007 18:18:07 -0500, samson wrote:


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.


Use the router more. G

You'll see...

---------------------------------------------
** http://www.bburke.com/woodworking.html **
---------------------------------------------

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.



samson wrote:


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.