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Buying Format. All Listings Accepts Offers Auction 3. Buy It Now Item Location. US Only. You just have to sweep the router while you are plunging. Solid-carbide spiral bits are becoming increasingly popular because they make a very clean cut.

But they have many limitations compared to the straight bits that have been popular for years. All spiral bits make clean cuts. This veneered plywood shows the effects of the three types of spiral bits on the top and bottom edges.

The three basic cutter configurations for spiral bits are up-cut, down-cut, and a combination of the two, known as a compression bit. A down-cut bit sends the chips downward; an up-cut bit sends them up to ward the shank. On a router table, all direc-tions are reversed. Besides directing the chips, the advantages of these configurations are best illustrated by the quality of cut, especially on veneered plywood see the photos above.

A down-cut bit will leave a clean edge on top but a ragged edge on the bottom; an up-cut bit will accomplish the opposite. This is great until you want to cut a dado with no tearout on the face. A down-cut bit will leave a clean top edge, but it sends the chips downward, into the dado where they have no place to go.

You can make this cut, but you have to Straight Router Bit With Bearing 90 take it slower than usual to give the chips a chance to clear. For woodworkers who work with A-grade veneers on both sides of the stock and must have a clean edge top, bottom, and middle, the compression bit is a good choice. It has an up-cut configuration on the tip of the bit and a down-cut spiral ground on the shank. By lining up the bit just right, you can get a superior edge across the entire thickness of the wood.

Router-bit manufacturers have difficulty making solid-carbide spiral bits with cutting diameters larger than their shanks.

Straight bits, on the other hand, go through dozens of fractional sizes, all the way up to 2-in. Depending on the job you have in mind for your router bit, straight bits also come in a variety of cutter lengths. So you can buy close to exactly the length of cutter you need. Straight bits also have a huge advantage over spiral bits when it comes to template routing, because you can buy them with guide bearings. And those bearings can be mounted on the tip of the cutter or on the shank of the cutter, depending on your needs and your template.

The bearings are made for a variety of cutter diameters and lengths. With their superior edge cut, spirals make great template cutters when used with collar guides.

But when it comes to bearing-guided bits, spirals seem to be available only with bearings mounted on the end of the bit. Shank-shod, bearing-guided, solid-carbide bits spiral bits with the bearings on the shaft end of the bit , which would permit template routing with the template on top of the work and trim cutting through only part of the work face, are not available. Some woodworkers like to sharpen their straight bits, although I find it difficult to get it right and always send out my bits for sharpening.

Carbide-tipped straight bits usually have enough carbide thickness to be reground four or five times, and the tech- nology to do so is common. A few services claim to be able to sharpen spiral bits. To me, this translates into a substantial loss. Spiral bits might stay sharp longer than straight bits, but even so, the cost of using spiral bits will always be higher. Spiral bits work incredibly well in the production environment and especially in CNC computer numerically controlled router industrial applications.

But in a hand router, their use sometimes imposes unusual risks not associated with the equivalent or bigger straight bits. The down-cut spiral bit's screw-driven forces are sufficient enough to pick the router up and twist it out of your hands—with no warning. I know, because it has happened to me.

On end grain the spiral bit is getting even more traction, so the risk is even greater—a pity, too, because a sweet end-grain finish is attractive. The up-cut spiral bit can have the opposite effect. It wants to pick up the work.

So you must secure the work in some kind of fixture or hold it by a clamp. I never rout anything that is not secured or clamped, but some people do. I do keep a few solid-carbide spiral bits because, when I want a beautiful face cut or I am cutting narrow mortises, and I have the money, there is just nothing better.

But my cabinet is mostly full of a wide variety of straight bits. For general-purpose work, for template and pattern routing, and for those times when need a large-diameter bit, I still reach for one of my straight bits. Quick View. Add to Cart.

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