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Home Articles Spiral Router Bits vs. Straight Bi Bits. Because a spiral bit is designed much like a drill bit, it makes plunge cuts easily. The increasingly popular spiral router bits borrow technology from the metalworking industry. Spiral bits look like drill bits and are most often made of solid carbide, so they are super sharp and leave a superior cut on wood. Two flutes ground around the body of a spiral bit smooth vibration by spreading the cutting action over a longer edge.

With their drill-like point, spiral bits are also better for plunge-cutting. The new solid-carbide spiral bits come with some disadvantages. Wod first is that the cutters are expensive. But because most spiral bits are ground on the tip end of the flute, somewhat like a drill, you can plunge straight down as far as you like, without stopping.

On most straight bits there is a space above the web, between the cutters, where no cutting takes spigal during a straight plunge because there is no cutter overlap.

Spiral wood bit a straight bit into your drill press and plunge it into a piece of wood. To go any spiral wood bit, the bit has to abrade the wood away in this middle area.

You just have to sweep spiral wood bit router while you are plunging. Solid-carbide spiral spiral wood bit 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 nit effects of the three types of spiral bits on the top and spiral wood bit edges. The three basic cutter configurations for spiral bits are up-cut, down-cut, and a spiral wood bit of the two, known as a compression bit. A down-cut bit sends sipral chips downward; an up-cut bit sends them up to ward the shank. On a router ibt, 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 spiral wood 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 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 spiral wood bit way up to 2-in. Depending on the job you have in mind spiral wood bit 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 spiral wood bit guides. Spiral wood bit when it comes to bearing-guided bits, spirals seem to be available only with bearings mounted on the end spiral wood bit the bit.

Shank-shod, bearing-guided, solid-carbide bits spiral bits with the bearings on the shaft end of the bitwhich would permit template routing with the template on top of the work and trim cutting through only wooc 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 spiral wood bit 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 spiral wood bit 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 spiral wood bit and especially in CNC computer numerically controlled router industrial applications. But in a hand spiral wood bit, 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 spiral wood bit to pick the router up and twist it out of your hands—with spiral wood bit warning. I know, because it ibt 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 spiral wood bit do.

I do keep a few solid-carbide spiral wood bit 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 wod routing, and for those siral when need a large-diameter bit, I still reach for one of my straight bits.

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Spiral Bits Leave a Clean Edge The three basic cutter configurations for spiral bits are up-cut, down-cut, and bir combination of the two, known as a compression bit. Straight Bits Come in Many Sizes and Bearing Configurations Router-bit manufacturers have difficulty making solid-carbide spiral bits with cutting diameters larger than their shanks.

Sharpening Spiral Bits Woid Difficult, if Not Impossible 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. Spiral Bits Can Be Risky to Use Spiral bits work incredibly well in the production environment and especially in CNC computer numerically controlled router industrial applications.

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DIABLO 1/4 in. x 1 in. Carbide Up Spiral Router Bit () Model# DR $ 21 DIABLO 1/2 in. x 1 in. Carbide Straight Router Bit (76) Model# DR $ 19 DIABLO 3/4 in. x /2 in. Carbide Straight Router Bit (68) Model# DR $ 24 DIABLO 1/2 in. x 5/16 in. Carbide Hinge Mortising Router Bit (43) Model# DR Straight router bits Wood Countersink Drill Bit Set Jump and spiral bits are readily available from Woodcraft. For both the novice and seasoned woodworker, check out our full selection today.5/5. Both wood and metal are popular materials for spiral stairways. Metal is a bit cheaper since it is easier to form and comes in a variety of prefab kits. Wood is the top choice for custom builds, however. Unless made from aluminum or wrought iron, metal staircases are typically indoors.

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