Can't help too much with the sets as the only 8mm bits I have are a leigh dovetail set I purchased many years ago.  Mine are mostly 1/2" and some 1/4" but I would say check CMT and Bosch and maybe Freud and see what they have to offer here in the US...  Many of the Festool bits seem to have 8mm shanks.

Best,
Todd

I have 8mm bits from Festool and Leigh...both excellent. If you have the Festool catalog, you will see several pages of their m,m bits. All carbide and all very good.
   Your OF 1010 also has a 1/4" collet. Dont use it of you can find 8mm bits. There is quite a difference witht eh 8mm shank.

Whiteside makes an 8mm shank set of bits for work with jointmaking jigs.  These sets include straight and dovetail bits.  For other profiles, members of FOG consistently rate them very highly.

Dave R.

Another source in North America for 8mm router bits is www.chipsfly.com. Their bits are manufactured for use in the WoodRat. They offer a limited range  -- only 3 straight bits, and an assortment of dovetail bits.

The dovetails are really different, however, from carbide versions. They are quite slim, with profiles as narrow as 6?. So they joints look handmade, in contrast to the mostly crude appearing carbide-made joints.

Gary Curtis

In my decision making between the OF1010 and OF1400, I found a supplier of 8mm router bits at a somewhat reasonable price, unsure of there quality tho. Link Below:

http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Router_Cutters_1.html

Cheers

Sammy and Martin,

I went to the websites each of you posted and all I saw were 1/4" and 1/2" bits.  Entering "8 mm" in the search box within their sites returned no products.  Maybe I wasn't persistent enough in digging through their websites.  How can their 8mm shank router bit offerings be found?

Dave R.

I just sent a wish list of bits off to Wealdon today, hoping they can post them to people outside of Europe (in my case Australia - not sure if the Commonwelath comrade ship would apply )

Link to 8mm Shank straight cutters: http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_8mm_shank_238.html


Thanks for you link Martin, checked them out today seems the US people are looked after, they are sold at WorkShop Tools...

Also found another European manufacturer, seems they specialise in 8mm shanks http://www.jvl-europe.com/index.html, once again not sure about quality and delivery outside EU....


Cheers

Sam

Gentlemen,

Received a reply from Wealdon, quite impressed actually, they added Australia and New Zealand to there online website for delivery.... Also JVL replied and they ship to both US and Australia however you have to email them your request for a quote inclusive of postage.

Does anyone now which manufacturer has the higher quality router bits JVL or Wealdon?


Cheers

Sam

Wealdon tools make excellent quality router bits. I've spent about 450gbp with them so far, and have been very impressed. Each bit is very well packaged and coated with protective material.

The bits are very sharp and produce an excellent quality cut. I use them with a 1400.

Recommended. Oh, and at least in Europe, they are far cheaper than the festool bits.

The only sets I have found available are those for use with Leigh jigs.  I was hoping to locate sources of other profiles, beyond straight and dovetail bits.

Dave R.

Other than the Festool offerings, I have not found anything else in the US in 8mm. The Festool bits are really high quality, very sharp, long lasting. I have been using a wide variety of Freud 1/4" bits with great results. No chatter, no breakage, no complaints.

Sammy I have used Wealdons for router bits for a while now they are very good quality bits better than any of the stuff Ive used so far. Not sure if they do deliver outside the UK but Im sure you would have found out by now. If you look on www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums you will find everyone there uses wealdons thats how I found out about them.

Chris

Tom since you happen to be a CMT dealer, can you not get the 8mm bits that CMT makes?

Also the issue is more than speeds and feeds.  There is also the issue of side loads, which makes the 8mm bits much superior--it is the same reason why one would prefer to use the 1/2 inch bits if they would fit.

Vijay

Vijay:

Unfortunately, CMT doesn't sell 8mm bits here. I guess they didn't detect a big enough market for it.

I agree about the side loading... I think it can be accounted for, within reason, by fine tuning the speed vs. feed. At least that's what I do using a CNC router. If it's chattering, my feed is too high for the speed. If it's burning, I'm not keeping the cutting surfaces cutting so they dwell and heat up, which means I either need to slow the speed or increase the feed.

With all that said, I totally agree that 8mm bits are stronger than 1/4" bits and that 1/2" bits are stronger than either 1/4" or 8mm. I just think that a bit with a small enough overall diameter is perfectly fine with a 1/4" shaft. To exaggerate the thought, I wouldn't want to swing a raised panel bit with a 1/4" shaft and I wouldn't want to pay for a 1/2" shaft on an 1/8" diameter straight bit.

This is all just my opinion so please ignore it if you think it's bunk.


Tom

We had a discussion about this with Brian & Shane at Router Class last April.  I suggested that maybe if Festool would run some specials on sets as a promo sometime, it would spur more interest in them.  they had a promo 8mm set several yars ago with a Sys1 with insert that I bought.  I have since added more Festool 8mm bits to the mix as I really would rather use my OF1010 than my DW621.  (I do have the OF2200 and OF1400 on my wish list.)

I am hoping they will do another set with decorative profiles this time or a combination of bits that can create common mouldings.