Article on Router Bits Match-up

[andyb]

Gentleman,
Bits have been dicussed more times than most of you care to think about but I was surfing the net for some bits to purchase and ran across this article from Fine Woodworking on Router Bits Match-up. http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00045.asp

I thought it was very interesting and gave me a lot of food for thought. It looks like the average price bit out-performs some of the higher priced bits. As a matter of fact, some of the cheapest bits out-perfomed higher priced bits. (Check out the Router-bit scorecard halfway down the article.) As the article says that you can't judge a company's line by testing one bit, but if you have success with one bit and you are pressured for time why trust another brand.

Question, do most of you use just one brand of bits or do you use different brands for different cuts and/or material?

I noticed that an Onsrud bit was not in the test. What's your thoughts on Onsrud bits?

Sorry for beating a dead horse as they say, just trying to learn from the wealth of knowledge on the board.

Andy B.

[matt_p]

Andy,
I use a lot of Onsrud bits for cutting plastics.
Their new Super O is awsome, but not cheap. They make alot of specialty bits and have a very informative catalog. contact them for one.
I get most of my bits from Hartlauer in Oregon. they carry lots of onsrud tooling and have decent pricing and free shipping!

[edp]

I am surprised to hear that very few ShopBot owners use any bits made by Amana. We use them exclusively (partly because we buy in bulk for our regular routing and get good prices). For cutting 1/2" marine ply, we are using a replaceable insert, single flute carbide plunge bit that gives about 30% longer cut life than the brazed version and has 2 cutting edges, reversable. This has cut our tooling costs dramatically. Finish is equal to anything else we have ever used on ply

[jhicks]

Our preferences so far are Onsrud and Her-Saf. Have used some others for hand routers and find the cuts are not as clean and don't last as long. I am particularly pleased with the replaceable blade V cutters from Her-saf. More $ but with replaceable blades and heads, change over and replacement plus cleaner v cuts make them worth while to us.
Cutting foam, wood, Trupan, and plastics.
Agree that the Super O and O flutes in general are superior to conventional end mills on our cuts.
Onsrud pricing is negotiable so make sure you ask your dealer for the discount below factory list. 10% to 20% off list is not unusual.