Starter Router Bit Set

Fig.2 A lap, dados that fit, even whacking a little metal. All possible with the TRF-1 and simple templets.

Fig. 3 An easy edge or the whole damn thickness at 45°! For safety & cut quality, full thickness cuts should be done with a work/jig holder.

Fig.4 Immaculate 4-faced tenons, centered tongues, rabbets (from 0-7/16"). All from the TA-226.

Fig. 5 The shallow slice is simply a decorator cut. The radius was hand scraped.

Fig. 6 The open ended mortice was done in 3 passes on the router table. A through cut with a circle jig will get you holes or disks. Solid carbide for max deflection resistance in a small cutter. Shallow stopped cuts are not a problem.

Fig.7 Dados and slots on the router table. I widen (tune) them for a close fit. A straight continuous fence is essential for these cuts.

Fig.8 The RS4-40 in a morticing application; able to penetrate 1.5 x its flute length. The wide rabbet, (stage wasted after the mortice), can be as wide as practical, much wider than 1 cutter diameter! Cut the same rabbet on both sides of the work to make a centered tongue.

Fig.9 With the templet, collar, and plunger I can waste right through 3/8" thick aluminum (in stages), or 5/4 oak. (Cuts left unfinished for illustrative purposes).

Not the run of the mill decorator cutters (fig.1); these are cutters I use regularly in my work, cutters (PRC*) with enormous application. Follow me; see if you don't agree. The set has been selected to expedite your climb up the router G-2 learning curve. You can use the bits in your hand or table router. The plunge/fixed base PK** routers are the tools of choice for experimentation and practice. The plunger should be used for the multistage work where a full-depth cut may be too much for the router or the cutter. The fixed base router is the best tool for modest, single pass edge cuts. A collar guide system, such as the PC default ring & nut will facilitate the stage and templet cuttings. I'll explain some of the application with pictures and text. If there is any confusion, or reservation, email for a more thorough explanation.

The short trimmer (TRF-1) with its long 1/2" shank and stout body is not to be found in most cutter catalogs. The tool was designed for minimum deflection and max cut quality; most cutters with the same function (flush trim cutting) are skinny and chatter the work. This cutter is part of my trimmer set. Use it for shallow work with thin or thick templets. The shank roller (bearing) will follow the shape of the templet and the cutter will copy it on to the work. A cutter for exact dados, laps, short tenons, and thin (up to 1/2" thick) pattern cuts, (fig.2).

The 45° bevel and rabbet bits use the same shank and bearing, a significant savings (~10$/bit) over buying complete assemblies (cutter, bearing, & shank). To change cutters in the collet, engage the spindle lock (of your router), and turn the nut on the end of the arbor. Exchange cutter bodies, replace the bearing & nut; no need to un-collet the arbor. More than 50 different cutters fit on this shank. (Email for catalog.)

All work machined on the jointer, planer or tablesaw is square edged and sharp enough to cut a body. A little easy-edge (45° bevels) will tenderize its touch, (fig.3). Extend just a 1/16" of cutter to break the edge or waste up to a 1/2" of stock with it. A great cutter to learn hand routing with, a cutter so sharp and efficient you can hardly sense its slice. With little extension, an 1/8" for example, you can rout in climb (no tearout) or anticlimb (Clockwise or C-clockwise around the work) with no risk. Deep cuts should be routed in anti-climb, (CCW router travel for max. safety).

The rabbet bit, like the other cutters, can be used in the hand or table router. 2 bearings are supplied with this bit for 1/4" or 3/8" rabbets. The smaller bearing yields the larger rabbet. Given the fixturing, expect laser straight 4 faced tenons, single or centered tongues, sharp shoulders (rabbets) for glass and panels, and modest decorator cuts, (figs.4&5). Using the router table and its fence, you can make rabbets of any size, up to ~ 7/16" wide and 5/8" deep.

The stout 1/4" Solid Carbide cutter (404-SC), tho not always the perfect cutter for narrow shallow excavations, is a tool that works where no other cutter will. Moreover, with a minimum of technique sensitivity, the cuttings can be excellent. Spirals and bits with other grind-designs (in small cutters) bend easily when tunnel cutting (dados e.g.). Shallow cuts with the 404 will be chatter free; this straight flute design is as stiff as you can get from a cutter this small, better than a single flute cutter. Use it for those narrow mortices, through slots for sliding fixtures, shallow straight cuts and routine trimmer-router utility cuts in Formica and such, (figs.6&7).

The straight bit has more application than any cutter. Expect to make rabbets, large mortices, some tenons, do some table router jointing, and stage templet work. The RS4-40 has been chosen as an example of a straight utility cutter design that is nearly deflection free. Router bits with cutting diameters approximating their shank diameters (a 1/2" straight bit with a 1/2" shank e.g.) are weak and will deflect under normal cutting conditions! Once the flute grinding wheels cut below the shank diameter, a cutter's strength is compromised. The RS4-40 has no such illness. It is a tough cutter for the most demanding straight bit applications; long and strong enough to reach to 1.5 X its flute length, and narrow enough to use in the majority of collar guides, (figs.8&9).

An excellent & safe way to get started. A 1.5HP router will manage all cuts. For more control use one of my offset subbases. Add an offset subbase and subtract 10% from its price, (3$ for most, 5$ from DW 6182, DW 625, or DW 621).

Ordering: The 157$ bit & hardware set includes freight, packaging, inspection and product support. Email for ordering and product details or Remit 157$ (check or Money Order), for prompt delivery, to:

The Set Includes: (CD = Cutting diameter, FL = Flute length, S = Shank length and diameter)

*PRC has been making cutters for over 25 years here in California. That is their business, no saw blades, shaper cutters, no accessories or drills; they make router bits. Email me for free catalog.

**A package (PK) includes an interchangeable motor and an empty plunge and fixed base casting. See the Selection Link for an example.

*** Range of work, things I do regularly with these cutters: Mortice, tenon, laps, rabbet, dado, bevel, slot, circle making, edge jointing, templet making, (inside arbitrary) excavations, and ordinary shallow mill to pattern work in wood, aluminum, MDF, plastic and ply. And, let's be clear, many of these operations require jigs and fixtures; some trivial some sophisticated. Study and practice will be required. Email for advice as needed. Step x step tutorials will not be available but expect a general direction of what to do.