Let’s talk about router bits! Router bits are power tool accessories used with corded and cordless woodworking routers. There are profiles are all kinds, related to the shape you want them to cut into wood edges, or within a workpiece.
Bill asked:
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Do you have any data for router bits such as quality brands and prices?
I’m a DIY woodworker and usually work with pine, but not always.
That’s a great question, but also an easy one!
Router bits usually fall into two categories. There are value-priced router bits that offer a good balance between performance and affordability, and there are more premium router bits that cost more but are better made and longer lasting.
For value-priced router bits, MLCS offers very broad selection and reasonably good quality for the money. They have a very solid reputation.
For better router bits, I like Freud as a general go-to. I bought a Freud router bit set a few years ago when it was on sale at Amazon, and the bits have been great. Those bits are still in use, although a couple are waiting to be cleaned.
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Depending on the wood, pitch can sometimes adhere and harden onto router bits, requiring a special cleaning process before they’ll provide optimal cut quality and efficiency again.
I bought some Whiteside and Southeast Tool router bits about a year ago, and they are fantastic.
I’ve also used Bosch router bits, Ryobi, and some others. I’ve steered clear of super-cheap bits though, based on user reviews. If you’re on a budget, MLCS has a couple of competitors that are equally well-regarded.
Buy Now(MLCS router bits via Amazon)
Buy Now(Freud router bits via Amazon)
Buy Now(Whiteside router bits via Amazon)
If you aren’t quite sure about what you might need, buy an inexpensive but reputable assortment, and then individual bits, small sets, or a different assortment from a better brand.
For example, I have a mix of individual 1/4″ shank router bits, a Ryobi 1/4″ shank bit set, an MLCS 1/4″ shank router bit set, a Freud 1/2″ shank router bit set, a set of MLCS roundover bits, a mix of individual 1/2″ shank router bits, 1/8″ shank mini router bits, and small Whiteside and Southeast Tool assortments and sets that I bought for review purposes. I also have some random Bosch and Milwaukee router bits from back when Amazon had them at clearance prices.
With regular woodworking router use, a bit collection will inevitably grow over time. If you aren’t sure about what you want, investing in an inexpensive assortment is less risky than splurging on a large and more premium set of bits you might end up not needing or using for the work you do.
What are your router bit brand recommendations?
Andrew
MLCS and Eagle America are where I get mine unless I need one in a hurry that Lowes or Home Depot have in stock. They won my business with superior customer service, honestly best company I have ever dealt with.
Patty Cake
Whiteside. No doubt about it. Clean, crisp cuts with much less load on router.
Mike
Freud have always been good to me. If planning ahead I usually go with MLCS. Once above the entry level it is more about the router and use to get good performance. Even the best bits will suck if taking too deep of a cut on an underpowered router.
FishStick
For variety and price hard to go wrong with MLCS. I’ve bought several starter box sets to get a collection going. Bought a few Yonico bits that have worked well in pine. For my better bits or ones I know I’ll be using more of I’ve gone with Freud and Whiteside. So far the Whiteside has been the most insanely sharp bit out of the box. Since I only do diy I’m more interested in having a bigger selection vs total quality (to a point). Some will probably only be used twice but the ones I find myself using more I’ve upgraded. Haven’t tried the Katana MLCS yet since those approached the “I’ll just buy Freud and not worry price points.”
Chris
I’ve used a Skil set I got for Christmas with my router. They’re not too bad for the money. I think Irwin and freud have good bits as well.
Tim
The carbide fins break off the Frued/Bosch bits all the time.
Actually pretty dangerous.
fred
For my home shop – buying router bits for almost 50 years, I’ve tried lots of brands – sticking with less expensive ones when I only need to make a few short cuts. I used to buy Carb-Tech (from the now defunct Trend Lines ) for this – but also from Eagle America, Infinity Cutting Tools, Kempston, MLCS and Rocker for the short-run work. For better bits I bought mostly Whiteside and some Freud.
For production work in our commercial shop – we had 2 shapers – but also used routers. I see from old inventories that we bought mostly Amana, Freud, Southeast Tool and Whiteside router bits.
In the remodeling business for built-ins – we’d often buy an odd Freud or other open-stock bit at a Home Depot after consulting with a customer about a desired profile.
ca
For me, the best brand of router bits is the one I can find in the store.
Ben
I typically buy Whiteside for carbide bits or bits that I know I’ll use alot. I’ll pickup Yonco’s from Amazon for bits that I don’t anticipate needing as much. Dollar for dollar, the Yonco’s have really impressed me compared to Whiteside, Freud and Amana’s.
Carlos
Agreed with Yonico’s bits. This got me into the Woodworking when the startup costs are holding me back. These bits are worth every bit that they were paid for. I have created some beautiful projects with these bits and would recommend them to anyone.
VIQUAR SYED
I agree and have experienced the same.
Bill
I normally get Whiteside but have had nothing but good results with the Yonico bits I have purchased from time to time. Very good for someone on a budget….Like me half of the time. 🙂
Ron Misiura
I am a hobbyist woodworker who gets out to my shop not nearly enough. I won’t comment here on Brand names, but the glaring issue to me over the years is, (and I don’t know if they even make them anymore), non-roller bearing guides as compared to ones with the roller bearing guides. Never again will I use a router bit that has no roller bearing because it often just burns the wood.
Glen Freyermuth
I mostly agree Ron, but I recently bought a Whiteside 1/16″ roundover bit with a solid brass pilot that makes beautiful edges with very little to no burning, as long as I keep it moving. Wood still looks square and crisp (not too rounded), but feels soft to touch. The best part is that inside corners come out beautiful – not looking like they were routed after the fact. My project was very white birch, and any slight marking sanded right off. Try it!
John
Amana, Infinity, Whiteside, Freud and CMT all have been excellent, no particular order.
Jon
Those listed like Whiteside, Frued, Amana, Bosch….. so on, whatever fits my criteria honestly. The ones that cost more make sure your going to use the most. I buy Yonico (and alike) to see if I am going to have a relevant reason to buy any particular bit in a higher end brand. Ones I use a lot I will pay a higher premium because the blades hold their edge better, ones I use less frequent I will buy Bosch or Frued, and ones that are a one time use or very rare I will got cheaper but I hone the blades before as they are generally not very sharp out of the box.
Adam
Mostly Whiteside for myself – I subscribe to the theory of only buying the bits I need for a project, and buying quality when I do.
The truth is, most home shop folks need about a dozen bits for the majority of their work: a couple roundover bits in different radii, a chamfer bit for knocking corners, a couple spiral cut bits in different sizes, a large straight cut bit, two flush trim bits (top and bottom bearing), and then possibly a dovetail bit, a rail & stile bit (or matched set), or a raised panel bit. Here and there maybe an ogee bit will be called for.
At $20-50 each, good bits may seem like a difficult purchase to stomach, but you’re rarely buying more than one or two at a time, and like a good saw blade, they pay dividends over the long term.
Chris
Guys I am a sales rep for a tooling company and have seen my fair share of router bits. What it comes down to is sharpen ability. The cheap bits are really really hard to set up and sharpen. Now if you are a hobbyist than this shouldn’t matter to you but if you want a good router bit that will last a long time than these I have seen listed are awesome. But, ryobi has to be at the bottom of this list because of the shank length and the carbide not set straight (takes more fine tuning to sharpen)
Altan
I am in general against cheap tool accessories, so I don’t like to buy cheap ones, I would still go for professional bits as a hobbyist, I feel more safe with them, I see some people have complained about TCT bits that carbide tips breaks, if you use the right tool accessory (generally) it would not break, in most of the cheap TCT bits the quality of the weld between the body and the carbide tip is not good, that is one of the reasons, if you are using something like that you should not expect to be able to use your router fast to put more pressure on the bit, Trend is a brand which makes solid carbide bits, I have not seen any other brand that makes solid carbide router bits, there are some brands (Austrian brand Alpen) that make solid carbide bits (burrs) but for die grinders mostly. Pine is a soft wood (mostly/depends on the origin) at least in general we accept it like that, if you work with a knotless pine then average quality router bits are fine, but to rout any wood with knot you should go for premium bits. Knots are much harder compared to the wood itself and they are the things that break or damage the bits mostly.
Altan
I have some DeWALT router bits made in Germany which are very good quality, FAMAG router bits are good also made in Germany, Freud router bits are good quality and made in Italy mostly, Carbide grinding is not an easy, cheap and simple process and not every country has that kind of technology to grind them well, I have noticed American, British, German, Austrian, Italian and Israeli brands are generally good in this sector, the origin already would tell me something about the quality.
fred
Famag was our favorite brand for Forstner bits.
Altan
Yea, Fred
But the problem is they don’t make them with 1/4″ hex shank like the ones Trend Snappy or Fisch does, I like everything (almost everything if possible and applicable) with E6.3 1/4″ hex shank, the time for round shank bits has past specially in West which time is more expensive than labour and material and tools.
fred
We used them in the shop – mostly in a drill press or cup hinge boring machine – so hex shanks were not de rigueur – but would have been nice.
7/16 hex shank was our choice for larger auger bits and self-feeds. With a 7/16 hex drive impact – its nice to use the same tool for drilling clearance holes and driving lags – does save time. Same thing with a using a Milwaukee 2711 super hole hawg with quick change chuck
Maybe Famag will migrate over. Meanwhile – Fisch bits are very good too.
Ben V
My goto is Freud.
Any thoughts on Amana? They have been recommend to me a couple of times in the last few weeks. Especially their miniature bits for rounding out the inside of a corner.
Chris
Rockler bits anyone?
Bueller?…..
Gordon
For consumables like bits and blades, I tend to buy cheap first, then replace it with something high end. Sometimes I don’t have to replace the cheap one because I don’t use it as much as I expected. When I do need the expensive one, I consider the “lost” cost of the cheap one as the trial price.
Chris
I’m just getting into the woodworking space. Is Rockler considered the cheap option? I was shocked at the $40+ price PER bit last time I was in there….
ktash
Whiteside is at the top of my list for any bit that they make. Top tier are Whiteside/Freud/Amana. Freud has some specialty bits for things like cabinet doors that are great. Freud does a lot of innovation
I bought mlcs early on, but wouldn’t do so again except for their Katana bits which I’ve have good luck with. In the Katana line they have some good plunge bits that I don’t find elsewhere that have held up and are a good price, especially sales. They seem to have more plunge bits in wider widths that are still reasonable, and plenty of sales on their bits. These plunge bits are not the spiral ones, just straight bits and if you want to make holes or dados, etc. that are a wider diameter, these are a great buy, imo.
Rockler is ok, as is the Woodcraft house brand, but only if on a great sale, otherwise Whiteside/Freud/Amana aren’t that much more money and are superior. Whiteside and Freud are sometimes on sale at various places. I only have one Ryobi bit and probably wouldn’t buy them. Bosch is not that great, either especially their lower tier line. I have some CMT and they are ok, too.
I have some great Trend bits, but they are not widely available except in Europe. Peachtree sometimes has the Trend bits on good sales, but not sure if they are the good ones you can get in Europe (I think), so wise to double check.
fred
Router Bit World is one place that is sometimes good for comparison price shopping:
https://www.routerbitworld.com/
Jared
I have several Skil, some Ryobi, some Task, some mystery ones I got with a used router, and then more recently, several Bosch bits. The cheap ones don’t work great for long and I’ve had a couple bearings go “ping!” and zoom across my shop. The Bosch seem great in comparison – but I realize I’m not comparing them to high-grade competitors.
I was curious about the Yonico and I might pick up a few based on the positive mentions here. I am not a big-time woodworker and I do have trouble dropping $30 or more per bit on something I use so rarely. I’d rather have a new pair of pliers, ratchet or some other tool I use more.
The Bosch bits I picked up from Amazon. For some reason after Christmas on the Amazon Canada site there were several that went super cheap. I noticed because I had a couple in my shopping cart while I mulled over my purchase – and they kept dropping the price when I checked back. I then searched for all the Bosch bits and several others were also dropping. Must have been a “dynamic pricing” event or something because they went right back up whenever I purchased one. I bought most for about $9-$13. I would certainly do that again.
Jerry
I’ve used many brands but like the Lee Valley for finish, durability and edges that remain sharp. Also have used Freud, Busy Bees brand and Yonico through Amazon and they worked for what I needed. If it’s a bit I need for occasional use even some cheapies work fine
Michael
If you are cutting pieces that have to match up, don’t buy cheap
DC
MLCS set 6077 since I very rarely do any woodworking. Great beginner set for my Bosch compact router.
Jared
Freud bits are owned by Bosch and I notice no real difference between the 2 as far as quality like some some seem to think.
Big Richard
Decent starter set from Timberline, made by Amana
https://www.amazon.com/Timberline-TRS-120-Purpose-4-Inch-12-Piece/dp/B000FUX37M
Ricky
Compare to the price and quality , I finally choose Kowood.
I purchased the 24X set from AMZ and the quality is good enough for newbie like me and work great for making a little box for gift.
Mr Mephisto
I’ve been using Armana , Whiteside , and Infinity (since their shop is based less than a mile from me) a lot, but recently I’ve fallen in love with CMT. It’s like a better version of Freud.
A lot of people claim Freud has issues with their carbide, but I’ve never seen it. I’ve seen it with their Diablo bits. But never with the real Freud line. (And yes, they are owned by Bosch, but the Bosch bits are seriously overrated. It’s like how people think Dewalt has good routers because they own ELU. Lol.]
Personally, I see whiteside as an overhyped bit. They are good, but are overpriced when you get to their carbide. Do a hardness test sometime on their bladed, and spiral bits. Their high-end compression bits are better, but priced more than most people’s routers.
All in all, for inexpensive bits, CMT has been impressive. I always just assumed they had gone to 💩 after Lowe’s had them years ago (like how every item that is good, goes to Lowe’s and Home Depot, and then the garbage … *stares at Bessey with shame*. )