Chipped router bit. Unsafe?

4nthony

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Feb 23, 2021
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772
Well, this sucks. I chipped my compression bit the other day while in a rush. Expensive mistake. I'm kinda thinking that continuing to use it is probably not safe and should just toss it and be glad I still have all my fingers.

What would you guys do? Use it or toss it?
 
Looks fine to me. Not enough to make it unbalanced. Unless you believe there are hidden cracks.
 
I would toss it. Unquestionably. If that thing disintegrates while you are using it, it'll be like a very high speed bullet. Definitely not worth the risk.
 
David said:
If that thing disintegrates while you are using it, it'll be like a very high speed bullet.
No, 30 ft/sec at most. Not downplaying the risk, but this is x50 exaggeration.
 
If that's a Whiteside bit it's around a $200 bit... ouch.

Carbide chips & fractures easily...that's the bad news, but because it fractures easily it will also quickly jettison the fractured part which leaves a solid piece of material behind even though it may be ugly and jagged. Most of the roughing cutters for machining metal are ugly & jagged albeit with proper radius transitions. Remember carbide is 2-3 times tougher/stiffer than steel, that's the reason it's popular for boring bars in metal lathe work.

So if you're machining metal then there's some need for caution, but if you're using it only on wood then I'd push it a bit.

As Svar mentioned, if it's not out of balance I'd just use the bit at a slower material feed rate while knowing full well that at some time you'll need to eventually replace it...hopefully when they have a sale.  [smile]
 
rmhinden said:
Suggest you contact the company who made it and ask them.

Bob

There is no way the manufacturer could say to go ahead and use it. Even if they think it is safe. It would have to be considered defective and they will not condone it's use.

Seth
 
Cheese said:
Most of the roughing cutters for machining metal are ugly & jagged albeit with proper radius transitions.
I have bunch of carbide burrs chipped with missing teeth. Just keep using them. I've completely broke few carbide bits too.
This one is quite big, though. If you are uncomfortable, by all means replace it. But personally I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Cheese said:
If that's a Whiteside bit it's around a $200 bit... ouch.

Carbide chips & fractures easily...that's the bad news, but because it fractures easily it will also quickly jettison the fractured part which leaves a solid piece of material behind even though it may be ugly and jagged. Most of the roughing cutters for machining metal are ugly & jagged albeit with proper radius transitions. Remember carbide is 2-3 times tougher/stiffer than steel, that's the reason it's popular for boring bars in metal lathe work.

So if you're machining metal then there's some need for caution, but if you're using it only on wood then I'd push it a bit.

As Svar mentioned, if it's not out of balance I'd just use the bit at a slower material feed rate while knowing full well that at some time you'll need to eventually replace it...hopefully when they have a sale.  [smile]

Yeah, it's a Whiteside from Bits&Bits, coated with their Astra voodoo. It's such a great bit. Less than a year old, too.  [sad]

I was template routing on the table and flushing up an inside cutout of a template. The outside of the template was fine, I used the bandsaw to get close to the cutline so there wasn't much material to remove. For the inside I had to use the jigsaw and, well I'm just not as accurate with the jigsaw and I had a few places where I probably left a bit too much material, was kinda in a rush, and decided to nibble away at the extra material. Bad idea.

In the blink of an eye, the piece was ripped out of my hands. The next thing I saw was the steel INCRA insert from my lift spinning around with the bit. I was lucky the insert didn't fly away. The hole in the insert was pretty chewed up and I was surprised the bit didn't have more chipping. But, as you said, carbide is tougher than steel so I guess that explains it. I only route wood. No metal. Well, not intentionally  [wink]

SRSemenza said:
rmhinden said:
Suggest you contact the company who made it and ask them.

Bob

There is no way the manufacturer could say to go ahead and use it. Even if they think it is safe. It would have to be considered defective and they will not condone it's use.

Seth

I reached out to Bits&Bits to see if it was something that could be fixed by sharpening or other means and noticed their reply after I'd already posted here. They said:

"With those chips in the edge, I don't see it being possible to sharpen without changing the geometry. I wouldn't advise continuing to use the tool, the balance of the tool might be off enough to where it can destroy the router arbor or bearings or cause another mishap."

I agree with Seth in that I didn't expect them to endorse continued use of the bit.

Svar said:
Unless you believe there are hidden cracks.
David said:
If that thing disintegrates

Yeah, it's the potential cracks I can't see. Fear of the unknown. Ha. I don't know, maybe I'll just use it on plywood and make sure I remove as much material as possibly prior to using the bit (which is what I should've done in the first place).

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

 
Svar said:
David said:
If that thing disintegrates while you are using it, it'll be like a very high speed bullet.
No, 30 ft/sec at most. Not downplaying the risk, but this is x50 exaggeration.

I'd be interested to see your math on that claim.
 
Chipped router bit. Unsafe?

Yes.  Proceed with caution and insure heavily. 

Best of luck. 
 
Aside from the safety issue,  I would imagine that the chipped bit will make ragged cuts.

That looks like Whiteside's "ultimate spiral pattern" bit.  I use a  1/2" shaft down-cut bit from Whiteside--about half the price.  Is there any substantial difference?
 
waho6o9 said:
Chipped router bit. Unsafe?

Yes.  Proceed with caution and insure heavily. 

Best of luck. 

Thanks and duly noted.

Packard said:
Aside from the safety issue,  I would imagine that the chipped bit will make ragged cuts.

That looks like Whiteside's "ultimate spiral pattern" bit.  I use a  1/2" shaft down-cut bit from Whiteside--about half the price.  Is there any substantial difference?

Yes, it is the Whiteside. Jonathan Katz-Moses has a good video explaining the differences between compression and down-cut bits (among other types). The slow motion footage is great.
 
I've been using down cut bits (also Whiteside) to cut dadoes in plywood.  Very clean cuts.  I suppose chip removal is supposed to be less efficient, but my dadoes are rarely more than 3/8" deep.
 
David said:
Svar said:
David said:
If that thing disintegrates while you are using it, it'll be like a very high speed bullet.
No, 30 ft/sec at most. Not downplaying the risk, but this is x50 exaggeration.
I'd be interested to see your math on that claim.
It's linear velocity of the outer edge. Again, not trying to downplay the risk.
 
I would send a note to Whiteside.  They have an excellent customer relations department.  Maybe it can be resharpened.

I think this is solid carbide so I don't see how any part of it can fly off.  If it is out of balance then you would feel the wobble when you start up the router.  At 20,000 rpms that would be a vibration. 

I'm making no recommendations other than to contact Whiteside.  Send the photo. 

They don't list an email address, so you will have to call:

Whiteside Machine Company
4506 Shook Road Claremont, NC 28610
Toll-Free: (800) 225-3982
Local: (828) 459-2141
Fax: (828) 459-1252

 
4nthony said:
In the blink of an eye, the piece was ripped out of my hands. The next thing I saw was the steel INCRA insert from my lift spinning around with the bit. I was lucky the insert didn't fly away.
That makes me question the design of those inserts if a sudden jolt can pop it up. Magnetic? Perhaps not a good idea. Add stronger magnets, screw it down?
 
I am still fairly certain that this is solid carbide. It is unlikely any pieces will fly off. 
 
Svar said:
That makes me question the design of those inserts if a sudden jolt can pop it up. Magnetic? Perhaps not a good idea. Add stronger magnets, screw it down?

I've got the same setup, and they're not small magnets.  They're already kind of a pain to change, because they're so strong.

No idea how they lifted.  But I'm willing to bet this isn't going to be a common problem.
 
tsmi243 said:
  But I'm willing to bet this isn't going to be a common problem.

I was driving my car a number of years back and I noticed that a car full of high school girls was traveling with the rear door not latched fully.

At the traffic light I rooted my horn and said, "Your rear door is not latched."  And the driver replied, "How many people have you ever seen fall out of a moving car?"

I replied, "Just one."

Not a common problem, but a problem nonetheless.

Note:  I was the one that flew out of the car.  I was six years old at the time.  The door latch was broken.  It is difficult to forget.

 
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