Dave Ronyak said:
Your message is the first time I have heard of Infinity brand cutting tools. Whiteside seems to be the brand of choice among USA woodworkers, and those who have used Festool's bits speak very highly of them - that they are worth their relatively high price. Select Whiteside bits are offered at discounted promotional prices periodically by Woodcraft (my local store has a different bit on sale each month), and when Hartville Tool has its big promotional sale and factory demo events in the Fall and Mid-Winter, Whiteside usually has a representatve on hand and their entire line is discounted. I've got some inexpensive bits (made in China) from JoinTech. Most are OK, but beware that some are not. Some are undersized - what good is a flush cutting bit that doesn't and leaves a considerable amount to be sanded (risking sanding through the veneer)? I've got some profiles from PriceCutter which are also made in China and they have performed well. So I guess it is buyer beware, and good luck!!
Dave R.
Dave,
Maybe I can share a little history with you (OK, long & you probably don't care
) Carlo Venditto started a company maybe 20 years ago called Jesada. The company was in Florida and mostly at start up sold router bits imported. They were CMT router bits. Carlo then started manufacturing his own router bits and selling them under his brand name. They were highly regarded at the time, rivaling CMT, Freud, Amana, and Whiteside. If you've been reading about woodworking for about 10 years or more, you might remember some ads showing an Orange (the fruit & the Florida link). The CMT bits were coated with orange and so were Carlos. It wasn't a problem at first, as they were on good terms. What happened was that CMT and Carlo got into a trade battle over his line of router bits starting to take over market share. CMT sued Carlo over their 'trademarked' color. After a drawn out court battle, Carlo changed his router bit coatings to white. To follow suit, the ads were showing an Orange that had white and orange stripes running diagonally across. I purchased a lot of bits from Jesada at the time.
Carlo sold out to another guy for a lot of $$$ and in the process, signed a trade agreement that he would never start up a competitor business. The new owners of Jesada floundered. The company went into the red and disappeared. A few years ago, another company bought the brand name and has started to sell bits under the brand name. But they're not the same.
Where this is leading... You may or may not have heard of Infinity for the last 5 or 6 years. David Venditto stepped into the router bit making business as CEO of a start up company. He was asked to step in by the people starting the company as he had spend many years working for his father at Jesada. I recently read an interview with him, but I read so much, that I cannot recall where the article was. Basically, he has stepped in and taken over where his father left off. The business is doing well and the products are receiving rave reviews by some of the wood rags. You may have (or not) heard of the Dadonator blade. The router bits seem to be as good as the old Jesada ones. They have a silver coating.
Check out the photo below. If you ever watch any old reruns of The New Yankee Workshop, watch norm make doors. He'll use a set of white Jesada cope and style bits, like the set I have...
Whiteside is another great manufacturer. I recently read a post on another forum for a discount:
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB2&Number=3370454&Forum=,,All_Forums,,&Words=&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Main=3368488&Search=true&where=&Name=27546&daterange=&newerval=&newertype=&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post3370454
Brian Holbren from www.holbren.com put up the post: Put "woodnet10" in the coupon code box on the first page of checkout.
I have a price match policy so if you find it cheaper, put the info in the comment section when ordering and the difference will get credited back.
Dave, hope this wasn't boring.
NMacK said:
As a new 1010 owner, I would appreciate some assistance in compiling a starter set of 8mm router bits from the Festool website. My envisaged work will be using mainly Melamine and MDF for projects around the house. In a recent article, "Ten essential router bits", in Fine Woodworking, Gary Rogowski identified ten useful bits. These were:
1/4" straight bit
1/2" straight bit
3/8" spiral-fluted straight bit
Rabbetting bit with four bearings
1/2" dovetail bit (10 degrees)
1/4" roundover bit
3/8" radius cove bit
45 degree chamfer bit
Three-wing slot cutter
1/2" flush-trimming bit (1 1/2" long)
These however were mostly 1/2 " shanks. Any assistance with matching these profiles to Festool part numbers or an alternative Festool selection, with corresponding part numbers, would be welcomed.
NMack,
Just curious, why the 8mm router bits? Granted, they have less vibration than 1/4" bits, but I think that you'll be limiting youself on router choices down the road as a lot of trim routers and other US made routers don't do 8mm. (if you're posting from europe, disregard!).
As far as the router bits go, that sounds like a good start and Rogowski knows his stuff. As far as the ones that I use most, I rarely use a 45 degree chamfer. I use 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" round overs all the time. I use a 23/32" for plywood joints. I use a 1/2" flush trim bit with a 1 1/2" cutter height frequently. But, the list goes on and on. I recently took an insurance photo.
Rod
