Re: about router bits

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Posted by Matt on February 13, 2002 at 16:47:15:

In Reply to: Re: about router bits posted by RandyT on February 13, 2002 at 11:15:12:

Randy, Trust me the high speed steel bits won't cut it, your premium carbide bits will last, not as long as we like sometimes but we use this stuff in case works daily, and I have heaps of bits, the problem is not the wood its the fact the glue used in particle board and MDF turns to carbon when subject to heat (aka router speed) We had a tool maker come to our shop on this problem, slow the router speed down, speed up the feed rate and the carbide is the only thing that is comercially available that will work (short of diamond tooling, we checked into this also not feasible about 100 bucks per bit) the carbon formed is virtually as hard as the carbide and dulls it quickly. A carbide router bit should just pick at your fingernail when sharp, very true that it cannot be sharpened to an edge like steel, it just lasts, the steel will burn up, turn blue and loose its temper, and then is no good, it can be sharpened but will no longer hold a edge, a good quality carbide bit only needs resharpening. I am not trying to be a no it all on the subject,its just we use this stuff daily to make our living, I have co-owned a shop the past 15 years and produced many pieces of casework & cabinetry, on the production & custom levels, fortunatly making my living doing so. Best of luck Matt

: : MDF is great stuff... smooth, easy to work with, easy to finish, sturdy. Only caveat: it eats router bits for lunch. Geez. There's something demoralizing about staring at a worthless piece of scrap metal that five minutes previous had been a $10 router bit.

: Just a quick note about bits, solid carbide is very durable, but won't have as sharp an edge as a high-speed steel bit. However, it will keep that mostly sharp edge for a longer period of time.

: A friend of mine who has been in woodworking for about 20 years says that you are better off buying 3 or 4 high speed steel bits (at about $4 each and which can be re-sharpened) than a more expensive solid carbide bit (about $15) which dosn't perform as well, but lasts longer.

: Not sure how this applies to your situation, but I thought I would pass on the info.

: RandyT

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: Randy, Trust me the high speed steel bits won't cut it, your premium carbide bits will last, not as long as we like sometimes but we use this stuff in case works daily, and I have heaps of bits, the problem is not the wood its the fact the glue used in particle board and MDF turns to carbon when subject to heat (aka router speed) We had a tool maker come to our shop on this problem, slow the router speed down, speed up the feed rate and the carbide is the only thing that is comercially available that will work (short of diamond tooling, we checked into this also not feasible about 100 bucks per bit) the carbon formed is virtually as hard as the carbide and dulls it quickly. A carbide router bit should just pick at your fingernail when sharp, very true that it cannot be sharpened to an edge like steel, it just lasts, the steel will burn up, turn blue and loose its temper, and then is no good, it can be sharpened but will no longer hold a edge, a good quality carbide bit only needs resharpening. I am not trying to be a no it all on the subject,its just we use this stuff daily to make our living, I have co-owned a shop the past 15 years and produced many pieces of casework & cabinetry, on the production & custom levels, fortunatly making my living doing so. Best of luck Matt : : : MDF is great stuff... smooth, easy to work with, easy to finish, sturdy. Only caveat: it eats router bits for lunch. Geez. There's something demoralizing about staring at a worthless piece of scrap metal that five minutes previous had been a $10 router bit. : : Just a quick note about bits, solid carbide is very durable, but won't have as sharp an edge as a high-speed steel bit. However, it will keep that mostly sharp edge for a longer period of time. : : A friend of mine who has been in woodworking for about 20 years says that you are better off buying 3 or 4 high speed steel bits (at about $4 each and which can be re-sharpened) than a more expensive solid carbide bit (about $15) which dosn't perform as well, but lasts longer. : : Not sure how this applies to your situation, but I thought I would pass on the info. : : RandyT

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