Advice on router cutters

[Marineboy]

Hi All. Would appreciate some advice re router cutters. I've just replaced my old Elu 1/4 inch router with the Festool OF1400, mainly due to the positive reviews from Custard and others on here. So I have a number of 1/4 inch cutters but want to add to them gradually with 1/2 inch cutters but am unsure as to the best type to have for the tasks I need to carry out most often. These are: cutting housings, edge rebates, the occasional mortise, and surfacing small pieces. I have used cutters from Wealden and they are excellent but am confused re whether I can use eg a bottom cut straight bit to cut a mortise.

 

[sunnybob]

If youre asking about what quality bits to use, it depends solely on your usage. I'm a keen amateur, and a lot of my bits are from cheap suppliers. They are fine unless you want to make a 1000 cuts with them.
As far as my experience goes, the difference between cheap and expensive is the cutting life so if youre making a living from it, buy the dearest..

 

[nev]

Is this of any use?
http://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/trend/con ... edge&id=85

 

[AJB Temple]

You can use a bottom cut straight bit to cut a stopped mortise - but you need to be careful. One snag with using a router to cut mortises is the bit tends not to clear the waste. On deep slots you end up with a lot of compacted shavings in the slot. I have cut a good few mortises in green oak with a big Hitachi router and a 10cm deep bit (which is right at the plunge capacity of the tool) - but you have got a lot of metal spinning at very high speed close to you. Yesterday my son and I cut a dozen stopped and chamfered at one end 8 cm deep by 4cm wide long mortises for fitting braces into very dry oak, and we used an auger bit and electric drill with speed control to get most of the waste out then hand chiseled. I prefer this to the router. (Slots were too narrow for my chain mortiser). Much less of an issue for shallow mortises.

If you are cutting deep mortices with a router in my experience it is best to do a sequence of plunge cuts side by side rather than trying to move the router laterally. Less of an issue for shallow cuts.

Have fun with your new tool. The Elu was a top quality tool too.

 

[Marineboy]

Many thanks for the prompt and very helpful replies. The Trend website is particularly good in summarising the various types and their uses so that will be a good guide for me in choosing which to get. Interesting too re the advice on mortices - I don't aspire to that kind of monumental work in oak but respect to those who do.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The Trend 12 piece set is a brilliant starting place, about £45. There's little in it you won't use sooner or later. Other than that mine are Wealden with the exception of some very small 1/4" ones. As said balance the purchase price against the expected usage.

 

[skipdiver]

I've got a cheapish Trend set that i only use occasionally and carry with me on jobs just to do the odd bit of shaping or profiling. The ones i use regularly in the workshop are sourced from Wealden, who i think are as good or better than Trend bits and cheaper in the main. I just buy as i need because their delivery is almost always the next day if ordered early enough the day before.

 

[DiscoStu]

I've got the OF1400 and bought a 30 piece trend set of 1/2 router bits. Sure there's a few I've not used but most I've found useful and it was a good option to get me up and running. I have then added to that with some specific router bits and I've bought Axminster bits for that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Woodmonkey]

Spiral bits are good if you're plunging deep mortices

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Two fences are good if you're plunging deep mortices. (or a jig.)

 

[Racers]

Engineering slot drills are vert good for mortices, and trmming the end of worktops.
They are also very cheap on Ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-12-7mm-HS ... Swh-1W3a~V

Pete

 

[Marineboy]

Once again thanks for the advice. I think it is a really valid point to balance the cost against expected usage. I will probably get a couple of straight cutters initially and then build up from there as needed.