Woodworker's Journal 2001-25-2, страница 74

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Selecting

By Bill Hylton

Your Router Bits

Store your bits in a shop-built or commercially available stand. Carbide cutlers are very brittle and can chip with the smallest contact. Also, keep your bits free ot moisture. Remove the bearings and store ttiem in a shallow tray of oil.

74 April 2001 Woodworker 's Journal

But even with straight bits, the choices can be confusing. A good catalog will offer options such as varying numbers of flutes, spiral or stagger-tooth configurations, a welter of diameters and lengths, and a choice of 1/4". 3/8" or 1/2" shanks. So. how will you know what to buy?

Relax. You can begin with the basics and add special application bits as your skills and needs continue growing. To me. the basics are 1/4", 3/8". 1/2" and 3/4" with cutting edges between 3/4" and 1 " long. TheyII handle a wide range of jobs, from 1/8" deep dadoes to 1" deep mortises. While you always want to use the shortest bit that will do the job (for safety reasons), a really stubby bit has limited use because it only makes shallow cuts. At the opposite end of the scale, a sii|x*r long bit may be essential for those rare through cuts on thick stock, or really deep mortises.

Picture this: it's Saturday morning and you're in the shop. Your brand new router has just been unpacked and you're really itching to put it to work. But instead, here you are flipping through a catalog, looking at router bits. That's because your pitiful "starter set" of six bits from nine years ago suddenly looks pretty grim next to that new router.

A catalog is exactly the right place to begin checking out bits and their profiles. If you already know where you'll be going with your new router, you can zone in on specific bits. If not. read on ...

Straight bits come in a wide variety of sues and options, tout a basic router set should include all the most uselul diameters: 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and 3/4".

Cutting Joints

Buy straight bits first. "Hie router is a crackerjack joint cutter, and straight bits are all you need for the majority of joinery cuts — dadoes, grooves, mortises, tenons, laps, half-laps and even rabbets.