Routing a mortice..which bit?

[lastminute]

Is it absolutely necessary to use a special 'plunge' bit for routing a mortice?
...ie: where one of the cutter blades crosses the centre of the axis in order to 'scoop' out the middle of the 'cut'!
...have I described the correctly?

 

[doorframe]

I don't have such a bit in my collection. I can still rout a mortice but the bit will only plunge when moving laterally. A proper plunge bit would be much easier, and probably a bit safer.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi LM
I use the slot morticing bits made by Clico. They have one straight cutting edge and one serrated edge, which is designed to aid chip clearance. They are excellent.
The one downside is that they are not balanced and so work well at 5K RPM, for which they are designed, but become much more fragile at router speeds. The thinner ones, such as 1/4" are particularly easy to break if you are not very careful.
S

 

[Boxer]

I have very little experience but am happy with my first try at routing mortices using one of these:

http://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/product/C ... meter.html

Cheers
Chris

 

[RogerS]

Think you'll find that all Wealden cutters now have that extra bit of cutting edge in the middle. And you can run at full throttle.