Freud router bits- constantly letting me down

[mouppe]

Really fed up with Freud bits and I am going to start using other brands.

Strike 1. After the first pass with a panel raising bit, the carbide chipped. I was definitely not overtaxing the bit, so I exchanged it for a new one. Same thing happened again with the new bit so contacted Freud and they asked me to send it to them so they could check it out. They sent me a third bit which seems ok so far.

Strike 2. Then I had a 1/8" bit break on me. OK, not a big issue, this is a fragile bit and can easily happen.

Strike 3. Yesterday, I was routing some dadoes with a 1/4" bit and when I went to clean them up afterwards with a router plane, the 1/4" blade would not fit in the dado. When I measured the router bit it was 1/32" undersized. That's a lot. About 12% variance in fact.

I went to the store to get a new bit and asked the sales assistant to measure them first. We checked two. Both were undersized by around 1/32" as well. Rubbish.

I would be interested to know whether I am asking too much for my bits to be more accurately sized. These bits are not cheap and cost about $25 each.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Richard,
Thanks for the heads up.  I have used Freud bits a lot over the years and found them dependable, but I haven't bought any for a year or so.  Hope the quality has not fallen off the cliff.  Looking forward to other's reports on this topic.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Richard,

I have A LOT of Freud bits and I was having a problem with the flush trim bit.  I also found that it doesn't measure out to specs.  Freud wanted it returned for examination and exchange, but it did have me thinking about their quality.

 

[ShawnRussell]

There has been a lot of chatter on the Amazon reviews about bits not being 100% to size.

 

[mastercabman]

I have not had any problem with Freud exept for a rail&stile set.One of the bit had a cutter set at the wrong hight and it would not let the rail go into the stile.It was very minor.I took the set back to woodcraft and they gave me a new set witch it was fine.
Don't recall any bits breaking on me.

 

[Sparktrician]

The Amana and Whiteside router bits I've used have never been a problem, both in terms of dimensional accuracy and overall quality, and none have ever failed. 

[smile]

 

[tiralie]

I have a couple dozen Freud bits from the very basic to rail and stile sets and haven't had a problem with any of them.
I have started to buy the Amana bits but not all the profiles are not available here (Canada) at retail so I it takes a bit longer to get them. Richelieu does stock standard Amana bits.
I have some LeeValley bits on my "to buy" list as well but have never tried them.
I would be frustrated as well if I wanted a 1/4 dado and got something less than that, but I am not sure I would give up on them.
Freud makes too many profiles and they are too readily available (convenient) for me to stop using them.
I wonder if they (Freud bits) are getting counterfeited?
Tim

 

[Jason Kehl]

Almost all my bits are Lee Valley bits and I have never had a problem. I have broken a couple 1/8" bits, but they are fragile and I admit I was pushing them too hard. I have never measured a Lee Valley bits size to compare with published specs, I have never been in a situation where I suspected they were under/over sized. I have a couple Amana bits and they too seem to be well made. I don't think I have even 1 Freud bit, and will continue to avoid them.

j

 

[EdL]

Haven't used any of the straight bits, so I'll not comment.

The Quadracut profile bits that I've been using are awesome, end grain tearout is a thing of the past.

Ed

 

[semenza]

I haven't had  any problems with Freud bits. I also don't have a lot of them and haven't bought any in several years.  Mostly because I got some awesome 1/2 price deals on a ton of CMTs.  I actually haven't needed to buy a router bit in the couple years since that purchase.  Not sure if that helps. Lots of anecdotal evidence  ???

Seth

 

[DKurzweil]

I use mostly Freud bits due to how readily available they are.  I have never had any problems with them not being sized to speck or chipping/breaking.  I have only broken one Freud bit, an 1/8" bit and I was milling aluminum with it.  I was expecting to break several of them, but they held up like champs, only broke one over 2 hours of milling.  The bit far exceeded my expectations on that day. 

I would not give up on the company due to one bad experience.

Best,
Daniel

 

[ScotF]

Whiteside makes some of the best router bits out there and their customer service is bar none -- I had a rail and stile bit's bearing stick and they sent me a brand new one to replace it in a matter of days.  I believe that they are the manufacturer of Eagle America's bits too.  Very, very high quality and long-lasting carbide. 

Scot

 

[mouppe]

Daniel,

It's not one bad experience but several. As for the customer service, Freud is very good. In fact, tomorrow they are picking up the 1/4" bit in question and dropping off a new one, so I certainly have no complaints there.

I'm just a little reticent buying more bits given my recent experiences.

Richard.

 

[PeterK]

I needed some 1/8" and 1/4" bits a few months ago. Went to Blowes and found some Bosch bits. Picked up 2 of each. Like you, I found out when using them that they were all 1/32" undersized. Weird. I normally purchase CMT, Freud, Whiteside bits but the Bosch are the first I have had this issue with. Just wonder if this is just the metric stuff being relabeled as close enough in size.

Have about 20 Freud bits and never had carbide issues.

 

[mouppe]

The very helpful guy on the phone at Freud's customer service today told me that 5 thou' is an acceptable tolerance for a bit like the 1/4" bit. He measured one whilst I was on the phone and it was undersized by 3 thou'. He is sending me that one as a replacement.

 

[tbellemare]

It's not uncommon for default machining tolerances to be +/- .015". In the size range of router bits, +/- .005" would seem reasonable to me. The price of a machined object increases with the tolerance required so I could see high quality bits pushing more like +/- .001", but I'm just speculating.

I've worked with everything from rocket engines to a-bombs, farm implements & oil well/mining drill bits, semiconductor mfg equipment to German & Italian luxury/sports cars. Tight tolerances can certainly be held in machining operations but on something like a bit assembly (carbide tips), it would most likely be achieved during final grinding of the cutting edge, I think. And that is likely only done after final heat treating of the whole assembly.

Maybe someone screwed up that last operation. Mistakes can happen in any environment. The goal should be to discover them and fix them, not avoid the truth or try to cover it up. Economic pressure can cause bad decisions, especially if a company culture moves toward thinking they are perfect...

Tom

 

[Jesse Cloud]

The very helpful guy on the phone at Freud's customer service today told me that 5 thou' is an acceptable tolerance for a bit like the 1/4" bit. He measured one whilst I was on the phone and it was undersized by 3 thou'. He is sending me that one as a replacement.

Richard,
Just to calibrate, for the kind of work you do (which I greatly admire), do you concur that 5 thousandths is a reasonable tolerance?  Seems good to me, but I am often surprised at the precision that some folk work to.
Thanks,
Jesse

 

[mouppe]

Jesse,

5 thou' is completely acceptable for a router bit for me, but you would clean it up with a hand tool afterwards. A smoothing plane shaving can be less than 1 thou'. You can detect that with your finger. My router bit was off by about 30 thou'. That's massive and clearly a factory problem, confirmed by the two similar bits I checked in a local store. Must be a bad batch.

It all depends on the tool. I would be happy if my TS left me a straight edge that was within 1/32" over a few feet (and it does better than that).

Regarding the router bit, it was equivalent to using a 1/4" drill bit and getting a 7/32" hole!

 

[fdengel]

Regarding the router bit, it was equivalent to using a 1/4" drill bit and getting a 7/32" hole!

Are you sure it wasn't a 5.5mm hole?

7/32 inch = 5.55625 millimeters

 

[mouppe]

Regarding the router bit, it was equivalent to using a 1/4" drill bit and getting a 7/32" hole!

Are you sure it wasn't a 5.5mm hole?

7/32 inch = 5.55625 millimeters

I don't understand your point. Metric has nothing to do with it.