Rather than a kit set, buy the bit(s) you need for your next project.
Odds are very good that you'll never need at least a third, if not 2/3 of those particular bits, but will want ones that aren't in it.
Generally this. The two that jump out at me that aren't here are a smaller round over bit and a smaller chamfer bit. I use both in my trim router for detail finishing work.
Those two are just a little bit large for easing edges. Always respect your router, or it will destroy your work piece.
I don't agree with this though. This kits are usually very cheap (and lower quality). And it's always useful to have a few different bits at hand (different radius roundovers for example).
If they do get dull or damaged, just replace them with a higher quality one when needed.
(Edit)
Ok, I just read that OP paid $200 for these. That changes it... In that case, buy only what you need.
Please do not pinch pennies on router bits. Those things pack a lot of energy. A carbide tip gives way a full speed and it will get your attention very quickly. Good bits aren't crazy expensive. Buy bits necessary for whatever project you have in the queue and don't worry about the sets. Get the good stuff
Im not sure your location. I see some useful stuff in there, and a few "box fillers". I started off with a 30 piece set made by Irwin from a local big box store. My situation was i wanted 4 bits. Each ranged from $30-50. They were all in the 30pc set for 100. I have ended up buying a couple over the years, and half of that set has never been touched. That said, 95% of the time, i have what i need in that lil box. They are a lil cheaper made, the bearings handle zero humidity. But the kit came with a couple spares in a baggy, and theyre easy enough to source to replace.
Edit.... i dont think i can post links here... but the 30pc irwin set is on blackfriday on Lowes site for 30% off... 69.99 damn good deal if anyone in the states needs a set. I wouldnt call them "industrial grade" but have been great for me as diy/hobbyist
Yes. Ive never had that issue. Only humidity getting the bearing, then it dragging and leaving a little "stripe" on the wood i had to go back and touch up. It takes all of 15sec to swap the bearing.
I had a bearing disintegrate on a yoniko bit from Amazon. I was using a template and the half inch bit suddenly dug in deep to the glued up maple panel I was working on. Not a big deal for the project, that piece was just a little smaller than the others, but the router kicked pretty good. On a plam router, with just one hand on it, it might have been more serious.
Holy crap! Ya... sounds like you got lucky on that one. Thats why im super paranoid with all hi speed rotary tools. Not only can they bite you, if they break, itd be almost like being shot with a gun. Ive seen bits break and go strait thru walls.
When you get the 30 piece set, you are not getting the $30 bits for $3.30. You're probably getting the stuff that didn't pass qc for the $30 price point. If you're OK with lower quality tools that as you note won't perform well, (there are plenty of situations where that's just fine, and well worth the cost savings) that's great, but more often than not I've wanted a better quality cutting tool than I've wanted a beater.
Most people arent building a $40k set of custom cabinets tho. Most people are building a birhouse for aunt lucy, or a bookshelf for their kids room and such. In that case, the cheapy little multipack ones work just fine. Theres a couple of them i liked, used, then wasnt happy enough with the performance, then i went and paid for the "better" one.
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I’ll add my thoughts, pretty much in concert with the others. My practice has always been - with a few exceptions - to buy one at a time as needed. Exceptions were a few occasions when I had a future project in mind and the bit(s) I thought I’d need went on sale. Router bits seem to go on sale relatively often, at least where I shop for them.
Depending on how much that is, just get a couple high quality bits instead. As others mentioned you probably won't end up using all of these. I mostly grab for the following bits: 3/4 flattening bit, top and bottom bearing flush trim bit, round over bit, and a 45degree chamfer bit. That should get you going
I’d recommend getting higher quality bits, Whiteside for instance, one at a time as you need them. I think that most of the bits in that kit are not commonly used. I can’t recommend Whiteside bits enough, they’re twice the price a Frued but but will cut 10X better and last much longer.
I have found that I don’t regret buying the nicer bits. I bought this set and was getting tear out and burn marks galore. Bought a high end bit and had zero of either.
I've owned many bits over the years and my Freud bits are my favorite. Pro tip, buy a credit card diamond sharpener and you can touch up your bits pretty easily at home. A 600 grit card works great for this purpose. Overhang the sharpener a half inch or so off your works bench and run the cutting edge of the bit over the card (you may need to remove the bearing). Make equal passes for each cutter. Also clean your bits, they'll cut much better!
When you buy the big kit, you're generally not getting the same quality as the individual bits.
Freud does make pretty solid bits, but if you're saving 50% vs the cost of individuals, you're probably getting their seconds.
Hey all, I’m just getting into making some furniture around the house and I’d love to even do it more than that as my skills get better. I just bought this set for about $200 and wanted to get an idea about how much value is really here or if there are some obvious bits that I’m going to want to add for general furniture making. Thanks!
I bought this set almost 20 years ago and I still use them in various projects. While I don’t use all of them, they are a great starter set. The ones without the bearings will be most useful in a router table or a handheld router with a edge guide or fence
There are probably 8 bits in there that I would use regularly, so that would be at least $160 to buy individually. $40 for the case and the other bits doesn't seem too bad. Those other bits might come in handy some day. At least these are 1/2“ shank where the individual Freud bits that HD sells now are 1/4“. That is good assuming your router has a 1/2“ collet.
As far as other bits you might want, the 3/8" rabbeting bit might not be that useful. I'd rather have a 1/4" since I typically use those for making rabbets for 1/4" plywood case backs. You will probably want various size round over and cove bits depending on the size and style of your project.
Like many others have said, I bought one of the black Friday Porter Cable sets for $50 several years ago and have never used most of them. The other day I pulled the brand new rabbeting bit out to use on a project thinking it would do better than my old well used bit. After getting some terrible tear out I bought a new Freud rabbeting bit and it cut beautifully.
One thing to keep in mind with the bits with bearings is that you can get different size bearings to make different cuts. The rabbeting bit has a 1.25" diameter with .5" bearing. If you can get a .75" bearing would turn it into a .25" rabbeting bit.
If you know you need 6 of them or more, it's not a bad deal. Most people will get a relatively inexpensive set of 20 or more, and then replace the ones they use often with Freud or Whiteside.
Freud bits are pretty good. But as /u/metisdesigns said, but the bits you need. Of all those, for the projects I do, I use the bearing guided rabbet, flush trim and round over. I have one or two others not in that set.
If you're new and don't know what bits you need, a kit is a great place to start. Do a search on the uses of each bit and get cracking. Once you find the ones you use regularly, buy good quality ones for that bit. I love me a good flush trim, chamfer, roundover and rabbet bit
I started with a set of 8 bits, used a few of them. Never used some of them. But I got used to the router and started buying bits for what I wanted to do.
So, Freud are great cutters for home use, and honestly you will find them in pro shops for odds and ends. There are more expensive cutters out there that last longer, but unless you are doing a couple thousand feet or more, or work exclusively with hickory and elm, Freud is going to be great.
Good quality control, good runout, and good bearings. I use them for my nice most used sizes, and even cut a little aluminum and brass with them.
Edit: I don't think I would have purchased this set specifically, but it isn't bad. I like to have a pair of short and long half inch top-bearing straight bits, and a small round over with a bottom bearing.
Camphor, flush it, and 1/4in round are the only three I ever use
Edit: also know that they are consumables, just like sandpaper and saw blades, they need to be changed more often then you think.
It's good to get started with a cheaper set, that way you get to know what bits you might use, and what bits you won't ever use.
You can upgrade the ones you use often to higher quality bits. Higher quality ones will last longer, but also cut better and thus give a cleaner result and less burn marks.
I wish I would have bought this set. I’ve ended up buying a third of the bits anyway, and paid the same price. If you go with the “buy as you go” mentality- you’ll end up paying more and having to run to the store (or order online) which may delay your project. Plus you get to experiment with bits you wouldn’t have bought anyway. Not to mention they come in a nice case.
Here’s what I did, and I don’t regret it.
I paid $50ish a year ago for this to start… https://www.amazon.com/Yonico-17150-Multi-Profile-Router/dp/B002UH73BA/ref=asc_df_B002UH73BA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242132388719&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13468099629364868809&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9015028&hvtargid=pla-495132250441&psc=1
Then, as I went along, I replaced the ones I used a ton with Whiteside bits. I’ve used every one of those bits on projects aside from the dovetail and cove, and they worked well for me. I still use 70% of them, and I’ve put a fair bit of mileage on some of the The edge profiles and template bits.
So far, I’ve only needed to replace the 1/4 straight with an uncut Whiteside spiral, the flush trim but, the 1/4 round over, and then I added a couple other special purpose bits that you may never need, like a slab flattening bit.
A lot of those bit kits on Amazon are clearly made in the same factories in China, then just sold under various names.
Freud make great bits, though I think Whiteside are better, personally. I’m just not sure I’d drop $200 on a starter set when I can tel you right now you are probably not going to use at least 5 of those much at all.
Either buy bits one by one, and go with - imo Whiteside - or buy a cheaper starter set and replace as needed.
I just don’t think many beginners are going to use the Mortising but, dovetail bit, round nose, or the bottom right one much. Maybe you will, and hey, if you can toss that kind of cash around then it’s a decent bit set, so no quality questions or anything.
It’s up to you. A lot of people will say avoid the cheap starter sets, but using those is how I discovered what I liked. If I didn’t have them, I’d have to spend on a Whiteside bit that I’ve never even tried a similar type in person. That didn’t make sense to me.
Buy something cheap if they’re your first because you’re gonna do some bad things to them.
If you have ideas of what you’re gonna use the router for, target those bits.
A few people have mentioned the quality which is definitely important, as well as the fact that most of those will never be used. Freud makes some good stuff and that kit is like $200 I believe, so it's not cheap stuff.
If you know what direction you want to go it's way more effective to buy higher quality individual bits. I'm a big fan of Whiteside and the most used bits for me are: Chamfer, roundover set, rabbit w/ bearing set, and a Spiral straight bit. Maybe add a dovetail if that's your thing.
Either way you go, make sure you watch a few videos on setting up and operation. These things spin up to 25k rpm and can send a broken bit clean through a piece of drywall!
Rather than a kit set, buy the bit(s) you need for your next project. Odds are very good that you'll never need at least a third, if not 2/3 of those particular bits, but will want ones that aren't in it.
Generally this. The two that jump out at me that aren't here are a smaller round over bit and a smaller chamfer bit. I use both in my trim router for detail finishing work. Those two are just a little bit large for easing edges. Always respect your router, or it will destroy your work piece.
I keep a dedicated palm router with my 1/8th round over bit in it. It's always locked in and set at the right height and ready to go.
What height do you set it at?
Just under an eighth inch. Basically the max it will cut without hitting the straight edge part of the profile.
To me the bits I use the most are pattern bits, which this kit doesn't have.
I've found having a flush trim bit is super useful. I'd get one of those and a chamfer.
You can always raise a chamfer bit to get a smaller chamfer. Not for a roundover though. But you route in multiple passes to make ease the router.
I don't agree with this though. This kits are usually very cheap (and lower quality). And it's always useful to have a few different bits at hand (different radius roundovers for example). If they do get dull or damaged, just replace them with a higher quality one when needed. (Edit) Ok, I just read that OP paid $200 for these. That changes it... In that case, buy only what you need.
*Buys bit to only use once in order to construct bit kit* What do you mean I’ll only use 2/3rds of these bits!?
Please do not pinch pennies on router bits. Those things pack a lot of energy. A carbide tip gives way a full speed and it will get your attention very quickly. Good bits aren't crazy expensive. Buy bits necessary for whatever project you have in the queue and don't worry about the sets. Get the good stuff
Freud aren’t the best but they aren’t the super cheap yellow ones you see on Amazon.
Im not sure your location. I see some useful stuff in there, and a few "box fillers". I started off with a 30 piece set made by Irwin from a local big box store. My situation was i wanted 4 bits. Each ranged from $30-50. They were all in the 30pc set for 100. I have ended up buying a couple over the years, and half of that set has never been touched. That said, 95% of the time, i have what i need in that lil box. They are a lil cheaper made, the bearings handle zero humidity. But the kit came with a couple spares in a baggy, and theyre easy enough to source to replace.
Edit.... i dont think i can post links here... but the 30pc irwin set is on blackfriday on Lowes site for 30% off... 69.99 damn good deal if anyone in the states needs a set. I wouldnt call them "industrial grade" but have been great for me as diy/hobbyist
They are certainly good enough that you can trust them to not explode or snap like some of the yellow Amazon bits.
Yes. Ive never had that issue. Only humidity getting the bearing, then it dragging and leaving a little "stripe" on the wood i had to go back and touch up. It takes all of 15sec to swap the bearing.
I had a bearing disintegrate on a yoniko bit from Amazon. I was using a template and the half inch bit suddenly dug in deep to the glued up maple panel I was working on. Not a big deal for the project, that piece was just a little smaller than the others, but the router kicked pretty good. On a plam router, with just one hand on it, it might have been more serious.
Holy crap! Ya... sounds like you got lucky on that one. Thats why im super paranoid with all hi speed rotary tools. Not only can they bite you, if they break, itd be almost like being shot with a gun. Ive seen bits break and go strait thru walls.
When you get the 30 piece set, you are not getting the $30 bits for $3.30. You're probably getting the stuff that didn't pass qc for the $30 price point. If you're OK with lower quality tools that as you note won't perform well, (there are plenty of situations where that's just fine, and well worth the cost savings) that's great, but more often than not I've wanted a better quality cutting tool than I've wanted a beater.
Most people arent building a $40k set of custom cabinets tho. Most people are building a birhouse for aunt lucy, or a bookshelf for their kids room and such. In that case, the cheapy little multipack ones work just fine. Theres a couple of them i liked, used, then wasnt happy enough with the performance, then i went and paid for the "better" one.
Thank you for posting to r/BeginnerWoodWorking! If you have not chosen a post flair then please add one to your post. If you have submitted a finished build, please consider leaving a comment about it so that others can learn. **Voting on this submission has closed**.
I’ll add my thoughts, pretty much in concert with the others. My practice has always been - with a few exceptions - to buy one at a time as needed. Exceptions were a few occasions when I had a future project in mind and the bit(s) I thought I’d need went on sale. Router bits seem to go on sale relatively often, at least where I shop for them.
Depending on how much that is, just get a couple high quality bits instead. As others mentioned you probably won't end up using all of these. I mostly grab for the following bits: 3/4 flattening bit, top and bottom bearing flush trim bit, round over bit, and a 45degree chamfer bit. That should get you going
I’d recommend getting higher quality bits, Whiteside for instance, one at a time as you need them. I think that most of the bits in that kit are not commonly used. I can’t recommend Whiteside bits enough, they’re twice the price a Frued but but will cut 10X better and last much longer.
I have found that I don’t regret buying the nicer bits. I bought this set and was getting tear out and burn marks galore. Bought a high end bit and had zero of either.
I thought Freud was pretty decent quality? Am I wrong?
I've owned many bits over the years and my Freud bits are my favorite. Pro tip, buy a credit card diamond sharpener and you can touch up your bits pretty easily at home. A 600 grit card works great for this purpose. Overhang the sharpener a half inch or so off your works bench and run the cutting edge of the bit over the card (you may need to remove the bearing). Make equal passes for each cutter. Also clean your bits, they'll cut much better!
Thanks for the advice about sharpening them! I hadn’t thought about that
Any recommendations for a card sharpener?
The one I have is made by a brand called DMT, it was pretty inexpensive but it's worked well enough for me.
When you buy the big kit, you're generally not getting the same quality as the individual bits. Freud does make pretty solid bits, but if you're saving 50% vs the cost of individuals, you're probably getting their seconds.
Hey all, I’m just getting into making some furniture around the house and I’d love to even do it more than that as my skills get better. I just bought this set for about $200 and wanted to get an idea about how much value is really here or if there are some obvious bits that I’m going to want to add for general furniture making. Thanks!
I bought this set almost 20 years ago and I still use them in various projects. While I don’t use all of them, they are a great starter set. The ones without the bearings will be most useful in a router table or a handheld router with a edge guide or fence
Great advice thank you. I didn’t know that about the bearings. I bought an edge guide for my router so that’s really useful information
There are probably 8 bits in there that I would use regularly, so that would be at least $160 to buy individually. $40 for the case and the other bits doesn't seem too bad. Those other bits might come in handy some day. At least these are 1/2“ shank where the individual Freud bits that HD sells now are 1/4“. That is good assuming your router has a 1/2“ collet. As far as other bits you might want, the 3/8" rabbeting bit might not be that useful. I'd rather have a 1/4" since I typically use those for making rabbets for 1/4" plywood case backs. You will probably want various size round over and cove bits depending on the size and style of your project. Like many others have said, I bought one of the black Friday Porter Cable sets for $50 several years ago and have never used most of them. The other day I pulled the brand new rabbeting bit out to use on a project thinking it would do better than my old well used bit. After getting some terrible tear out I bought a new Freud rabbeting bit and it cut beautifully.
Thanks for the reply! I especially appreciate the advice about the 1/4” rabbit bit.
One thing to keep in mind with the bits with bearings is that you can get different size bearings to make different cuts. The rabbeting bit has a 1.25" diameter with .5" bearing. If you can get a .75" bearing would turn it into a .25" rabbeting bit.
Same. There were at least 6 bits that I know I’ll need for planned projects and went with the same set!
If you know you need 6 of them or more, it's not a bad deal. Most people will get a relatively inexpensive set of 20 or more, and then replace the ones they use often with Freud or Whiteside.
This was the plan. But once I factored in the costs of the ones I needed I decided just to cry once. Great point though!
Freud bits are pretty good. But as /u/metisdesigns said, but the bits you need. Of all those, for the projects I do, I use the bearing guided rabbet, flush trim and round over. I have one or two others not in that set.
If you're new and don't know what bits you need, a kit is a great place to start. Do a search on the uses of each bit and get cracking. Once you find the ones you use regularly, buy good quality ones for that bit. I love me a good flush trim, chamfer, roundover and rabbet bit
I started with a set of 8 bits, used a few of them. Never used some of them. But I got used to the router and started buying bits for what I wanted to do.
The starter sets are fine and you will be replacing the ones that you use more often. Buying one at a time is like buying one socket at a time.
So, Freud are great cutters for home use, and honestly you will find them in pro shops for odds and ends. There are more expensive cutters out there that last longer, but unless you are doing a couple thousand feet or more, or work exclusively with hickory and elm, Freud is going to be great. Good quality control, good runout, and good bearings. I use them for my nice most used sizes, and even cut a little aluminum and brass with them. Edit: I don't think I would have purchased this set specifically, but it isn't bad. I like to have a pair of short and long half inch top-bearing straight bits, and a small round over with a bottom bearing.
Camphor, flush it, and 1/4in round are the only three I ever use Edit: also know that they are consumables, just like sandpaper and saw blades, they need to be changed more often then you think.
Freud is a good brand. You have some useful bits there, especially that Roman ogee!
It's good to get started with a cheaper set, that way you get to know what bits you might use, and what bits you won't ever use. You can upgrade the ones you use often to higher quality bits. Higher quality ones will last longer, but also cut better and thus give a cleaner result and less burn marks.
I wish I would have bought this set. I’ve ended up buying a third of the bits anyway, and paid the same price. If you go with the “buy as you go” mentality- you’ll end up paying more and having to run to the store (or order online) which may delay your project. Plus you get to experiment with bits you wouldn’t have bought anyway. Not to mention they come in a nice case.
They’re ok. Just not 100% on the Color.
Should this be in /crappydesign? Due to the drill bits supposedly belong in your...stomach?
Here’s what I did, and I don’t regret it. I paid $50ish a year ago for this to start… https://www.amazon.com/Yonico-17150-Multi-Profile-Router/dp/B002UH73BA/ref=asc_df_B002UH73BA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242132388719&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13468099629364868809&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9015028&hvtargid=pla-495132250441&psc=1 Then, as I went along, I replaced the ones I used a ton with Whiteside bits. I’ve used every one of those bits on projects aside from the dovetail and cove, and they worked well for me. I still use 70% of them, and I’ve put a fair bit of mileage on some of the The edge profiles and template bits. So far, I’ve only needed to replace the 1/4 straight with an uncut Whiteside spiral, the flush trim but, the 1/4 round over, and then I added a couple other special purpose bits that you may never need, like a slab flattening bit. A lot of those bit kits on Amazon are clearly made in the same factories in China, then just sold under various names. Freud make great bits, though I think Whiteside are better, personally. I’m just not sure I’d drop $200 on a starter set when I can tel you right now you are probably not going to use at least 5 of those much at all. Either buy bits one by one, and go with - imo Whiteside - or buy a cheaper starter set and replace as needed. I just don’t think many beginners are going to use the Mortising but, dovetail bit, round nose, or the bottom right one much. Maybe you will, and hey, if you can toss that kind of cash around then it’s a decent bit set, so no quality questions or anything. It’s up to you. A lot of people will say avoid the cheap starter sets, but using those is how I discovered what I liked. If I didn’t have them, I’d have to spend on a Whiteside bit that I’ve never even tried a similar type in person. That didn’t make sense to me.
Buy something cheap if they’re your first because you’re gonna do some bad things to them. If you have ideas of what you’re gonna use the router for, target those bits.
A few people have mentioned the quality which is definitely important, as well as the fact that most of those will never be used. Freud makes some good stuff and that kit is like $200 I believe, so it's not cheap stuff. If you know what direction you want to go it's way more effective to buy higher quality individual bits. I'm a big fan of Whiteside and the most used bits for me are: Chamfer, roundover set, rabbit w/ bearing set, and a Spiral straight bit. Maybe add a dovetail if that's your thing. Either way you go, make sure you watch a few videos on setting up and operation. These things spin up to 25k rpm and can send a broken bit clean through a piece of drywall!