Rutland router cutters - Any good ?

[TRITON]

I'm needing a 30degree chamfer cutter for some 6 sided tapering columns.
Trend trade for the 1/2" is £100- Typically the most expensive out their sizes, or I can get an Axminster one @£35, but I see Rutlands do a set of 4 -
11.25° chamfer bit - D=18.3mm H=22.2mm
15° chamfer bit - D=21.4mm H=22.2mm
22.5° chamfer bit - D=27.8mm H=22.2mm
30° chamfer bit - D=35mm H=22.2m
For the princely sum of £63(or £50 on their site) Though its on 14" shank not 1/2".

Anyone got any experience of their cutters ? Certainly they look OK, and Rutlands has a fair reputation I believe.

 

[marcros]

I have one of the big sets from rutlands bought years back. I dont use most of them often, and some will never have been used at all but they are handy to have in case and they were cheap at the time.

they are alright, quality wise. Mid table. If one blunted through use I would probably replace it with one from Wealdon (or have it sharpened). If I was using them all day every day I would use wealdon cutters.

In your case, I would probably buy one of these unless you actively plan to use the other cutters in the set, otherwise you have just paid 50 for a single cutter. 60 Degree Chamfer

 

[Myfordman]

Yes they do have a reputation which is why I usually avoid them.
Far less risk buying from Wealden whose products are very good indeed and quick delivery.

 

[Bm101]

Rutlands has a fair reputation I believe.

I have bought some stuff from Rutlands and it was Ok. The website is widely believed to be a sham at least in terms of customer reviews as they apparently 'cook the books' on that point. Caveat Emptor. I'm not saying don't buy them there I'm saying I buy my bandsaw blades at Tuffsaws and my router bits at Wealden because I consistently see both products highly praised by people who know far more than me both for 'service and parts'.
Why take a chance with metal spinning at 18 000 rpm odd?

Edit: Beaten to it!

 

[Peter Sefton]

Wealden and Tuff saws are both great companies to deal with who know their products.

 

[TRITON]

Had a look on the Wealden site and they appear to only have a 60 degree. But I need 30d, as its for both sides for a 6 sided column, And Im pants at degrees, Pretty sure the 60 is for one side and you need the 30 to do all the boards,30 a side to make it circular. I was rubbish at the compass in the scouts.

Might take the chance on the Rutlands kit, or opt for the £35 Axminster one, though I'm sure with the others I'd find a use somewhere.
Just not sure on 1/4" given its for bubinga, which is hard as heck, though its on the router table and multiple passes the order of the day.

 

[marcros]

it amounts to the same thing, just depends where you measure from. one is from the horizontal, the other from the vertical. You just need to work out whether to run your piece vertically or horizontally.

I made some long grain mitres once using a 45 chamfer bit and a rigid setup. I wasnt that impressed with the resulting joint. Actually, on a tapered 6 sided column, I dont know whether you could cut this on a router table. Beyond my knowledge but I know that it is a compound angle. The 30 degrees must be constant to be a circle top and bottom. mind blown!

 

[TRITON]

Aye I see but its actually worse than that as im doing the chamfer 5mm from the top, not all the way to a sharp edge as im biscuiting them together to make easy glue up, but i want that top bit to create small V shaped straights I can put a piece of inlaid stringing into. So as far as i can work out I need both sides of each tapered section chamfered- On the router table yes.
I think if it was just the 60 on one face, when it comes down to the biscuit jointing, i'd need to reset it for 1/2 , and also id lose the V shaped groove for the inlay. It wouldnt be an accurate V, more lop sided

Bloody maths, i bloody hate it.

 

[Peri]

https://routercutter.co.uk/routerbits
Worth a look - they stock Whiteside bits

 

[johnbs]

The 60-odd 1/2" Rutlands router set I bought a few years ago is excellent, and I left a genuine review. They're worth a punt.

 

[Ollie78]

I have a few, they are fine. Probably not the quality of Wealdon or Whiteside but as good as Axminster own brand or the green Trend ones.

I have quite a few CMT router bits which I find very good. Scott and seargent have them on offer sometimes. And they do pretty much every cutter you can think of.

As for the degree measurement, this is often measured differently. I Have this issue with different CNC software.
On one program its the included angle, on the other its the angle from 90 degrees so half. It makes it interesting if you forget which is which !!

Ollie

 

[Peri]

Just found a 30degree edge bevel cutter in routercutter.co.uk clearance bin - £23

https://routercutter.co.uk/30-degree-edge-bevel

 

[pcb1962]

Haven't bought router bits from Rutlands but have bought plenty of other stuff from them.
Nothing wrong with any of it for the price, I don't know why people say they have a bad reputation.

 

[marcros]

Haven't bought router bits from Rutlands but have bought plenty of other stuff from them.
Nothing wrong with any of it for the price, I don't know why people say they have a bad reputation.

Generally from prior experience of their customer services, and shady reviews. Also partially due to the false discounts and sales.

They may have changed, but a few years ago they were dreadful. I still wouldn't buy from them now based on prior dealings.

 

[Peri]

..........I don't know why people say they have a bad reputation.

2 of Rutlands precision clamping squares

 

[pcb1962]

2 of Rutlands precision clamping squares

View attachment 98334View attachment 98335

So that was one instance of failure of their Quality Control, it isn't indicative of the typical nature of their stock in my experience.

 

[Spectric]

Another vote for Wealdons, good quality and fast despatch and also infinity cutters, especially if you are looking at traditional/period mouldings.

 

[marcros]

So that was one instance of failure of their Quality Control, it isn't indicative of the typical nature of their stock in my experience.

sadly it is fairly typical in my experience. I had a small anvil from them that dented when used. the replacement was the same. the router cutters have been ok, no issue with those. I cant remember what else I ordered some time back, but I had to speak to customer service about it and it was painful.

we can only really go on our own experience. going back 5 years the company was dreadful. Things may have changed since then. Your experience seems to have been positive, other's experience somewhat mixed.

 

[Ollie78]

I think with Rutlands you just have to weigh up each individual thing they offer.

I bought some roller stands from them and the rollers did not spin concentrically so any timber rolled along them went up and down like a roller coaster, so they went back as unfit for purpose.
I use one of their router motors in a lift which is good for the money but not super high quality, on my second motor after the first one melted itself ( replaced under warranty ), second one is fine.

At the moment they have fake Incra rulers and squares which I would refuse to buy on principle.

Stuff like the router bits are probably made in the same factories as most others just painted a different colour.

Ollie

 

[murphy]

https://routercutter.co.uk/routerbits
Worth a look - they stock Whiteside bits