What brand of....

[flyboylr45]

Hello,

I am an extreme novice with a lot of toys (bunch of Festools and more coming) ;D I am wondering what brand of drill bits do you guys use or recommend? Also, what brand of router bits do you recommend?

Next purchases: Domino, Kapex, and maybe ETS 150

 

[tbellemare]

I'm a little biased, but I'm partial to the Festool Centrotec Drill Bits (shameless plug). They are quick-change, true running, high-quality drill bits.

I also like Festool Router Bits.

Tom

 

[nickao]

Good router bits that people can actually afford are :

CMT, Frued, Amana, Whiteside,  Katana by MLCS are fantastic and a great price, Eagle makes some awesome bits and the Price Cutter line is the best of the lower end quality bits.

The Festool bits are so outrageously priced I do not know anyone that has an extensive set of them. There are some Festool bits that are marked 100.00 and no kidding Eagle sells them for 1/2 that, in one case on sale a few of the Festool bits cost only 20.00 at Eagle and the quality was fantastic. Festool just never has sales like that. I get most of my bits when they go on sale.

If you are starting out and want a great quality, but do not have a ton of money I would start with the Katana bits. I have Amana bits that are so good I will never wear them out and they are just overkill for me.

The bits you use most get the best money can buy, the bits you use once in awhile you can get away with the Price Cutter brand no problem. Most of my bits are the higher end, a lot of Whiteside,  but for a hobbyist I just do not see the need for a 120.00 chamfer bit from Amana or for most of the Festool bits.

I guess the best reason to get the Festool bits is for the 8mm shaft, but in real world conditions there is nothing wrong with the 1/4" bits no matter what the books say about them.

Katana Router Bits

Price Cutter Router Bits

Eagle Router Bits

MLCS Router Bits

Freud Router Bits

Amazon usually has great prices on the CMT bits and they are some of my favorite bits:

CMT Router Bits on Amazon

Amana Router Bits

In-Tech Insert Knive System by Amana are neat and worth a good look:

Insert Knive System Router Bits by Amana

Any of these bits from any of these companies will serve you well. If you mix brands and and look for sales you will get a better collection at a better price than sticking to one brand.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Nick uses his routers and bits a lot more than I ever will, so he should know who makes quality bits and at what price.

I have used some Price Cutter bits and have been very satisfied with them.  I also have some Sommerfeld's Own bits (cabinet making set) and find them excellent.  But overall, my first choice is Whiteside, which FWW recently rated best overall.  If you shop around, you can Whiteside bits on sale periodically, too.  When Hartville Tool has their general tool sales (usually in November and again late February), a Whiteside representative is always there, and individual bits are 20% off and many times sets of bits are even more attractively priced.

If you are contemplating an OF 1010 or MFK 700 router, you might want to give greater consideration to Festool's bits for the profiles you intend to use most of the time because they will have 8mm shanks whereas comparable profiles in other manufacturers' product lines will have much weaker 1/4" shanks, or 1/2" shanks that won't fit either of these two routers.

[To other FOG members, please do not let this become the beginning of a debate over 1/4" versus 8mm shanks.  That subject has already been discussed in detail on other FOG threads.]

Drill bits, I don't use enough of them to have a firm opinion regarding various brands.  But I do know there is a lot of Chinese made junk out there.  Crooked bits, bits with TiN coatings that pop off when used, and carbon steel bits that are very sharp when new but dull or even burn quickly when heated through use.

Dave R.

 

[nickao]

Yep Whiteside are fantastic no question about it. I have many of them and all my solid carbide are Whiteside. The Sommerfeld are CMT so you can not go wrong there at all. The cabinetmaking set I love. Over the years the cheaper bits have come a long way.

 

[mwhafner]

The Festool drill bits are great.  I have a set, but treat them like my good chisels.  I use them, but not on just anything.  

I guess it really depends on the type of bit.  I have had decent luck with Bosch, Milwaukee, and Dewalt twist bits.  Twist bits are almost disposable for me.  I usually keep a index around of "just put a hole in something" cheapos around.  

I have a set of Freud Forstner bits that are great.  Hilti or Bosch is hard to beat for masonry bits.  The Milwaukee self-feeding bits and hole saws are great for rough construction, electrical, plumbing, etc.  I really like the Snappy (I think that is the brand) countersinks and centering bits.

Router bits, I am a lot pickier about.  I generally stick with, in order of preference, Whiteside, CMT, and Freud.  I am sure that the Festool bits are great, but my local dealer doesn't keep a very large selection in stock and I don't generally plan well enough to order them online.  I have also had pretty good luck with Porter-Cable and Bosch.  

I have a small set of cheap bits for when a neighbor wants to borrow a router to put an edge on his/her latest project (usually a pine bookcase or a shelf).  I don't loan tools, but they can come by the shop and I will give them a hand.

 

[nickao]

I do not think I can tell you who makes most of my drill bits. I think I have some DeWalt and a bunch of Chinese made. Beleive it or not I sharpen or dress up those cheap drill bits and they work fine for me. I think I care more about my router bits too.

Maybe I will give those Festool drill bits a try. Who makes them?

 

[tbellemare]

Nick:

I'm not sure who makes the drill bits but I understand the router bits and saw blades are made by Leitz.

I don't even know if they make drill bits. I'll see if I can find out definitively.

Tom

 

[nickao]

I just looked at some Festool drill bits. They have some neat looking bits that I am unfamiliar with  in the style that is shown here:

Festool 492520 CE Countersink, D2-8mm

Is that hole to eject the saw dust and shavings? That looks cool, does it work?

It reminds me of my manual hand counter sink cutter.

 

[JayStPeter]

I think Nick covered the bases on most of the router bit brands I use.  One exception, I've found Infinity to be a good deal.  They almost always have an overstock sale going on.  If you can find the bits you need in that sale, the quality is as good as most of the others (remind me of CMT in quality and durability) for a lot less money.  But, still pricier than the discount brands.  I'm a believer you get what you pay for in router bits and saw blades.  Whiteside or Onsrud for anything solid carbide.

For drill bits, all the Lee Valley bits I've used have been excellent quality.  I will admit that my regular twist bit set is something from Lowes, but came in a nice metal box.  All the bits below 1/4" have broken and been replaced by bits I buy at a nearby welding shop (don't remember the brand, but not common).  I have a Drill Dr. and recommend it.  Even the excellent quality bits ($$) I get from the welding shop need sharpening occasionally.  Sizes over 1/4" from the welding shop are too much money, so I use Lee Valley when a replacement or odd size is needed.  I've learned to avoid the bits True Value sells as singles, I think they're made of plastic that looks like metal (too bad since the True Value is 1/4 mile from my house).  Craftsman bits used to be excellent quality, but I don't have a nearby Sears anymore so haven't bought there in a while.

 

[mwhafner]

I just looked at some Festool drill bits. They have some neat looking bits that I am unfamiliar with  in the style that is shown here:

Festool 492520 CE Countersink, D2-8mm

Is that hole to eject the saw dust and shavings? That looks cool, does it work?

It reminds me of my manual hand counter sink cutter.

It does work pretty well.  I still prefer a countersink with a pilot bit.

The Hook Driver has come in handy a couple of times. 

 

[JeromeM]

I just looked at some Festool drill bits. They have some neat looking bits that I am unfamiliar with  in the style that is shown here:

Festool 492520 CE Countersink, D2-8mm

Is that hole to eject the saw dust and shavings? That looks cool, does it work?

It reminds me of my manual hand counter sink cutter.

Yes they do I have just got mine from LeeValey who do the same kind but they are 1/3 the price.
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=3&p=32308&cat=3,41306,41328
3/8" Countersink  06J50.03    $9.80

1/2" Countersink  06J50.08    $10.80

 

[Jimhart]

Flyboy,

If you're an extreme novice, I would recommend the big wooden box of router bits from MLCS. Something like 70 bits for $170. The bits are OK and they will give you an assortment that will let you figure out the bits you're going to use most. Then go get better ones of those.

Jim

 

[nickao]

Jim I had that set. I used a total of 7 of the bits in 3 years then I just sold it off. I purchased about 75 others I need in the meanwhile.

I personally do no think big sets like that are the way to go, but at 3.00 a bit you really can not go to wrong.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Most of my drill bits and most of my router bits come from Lee Valley.  I am very happy with them. 

I do have a few Festool drill bits (about 10) and 2 Festool router bits.  They are even better than the Lee Valley bits, but are a whole LOT more expensive.

 

[flyboylr45]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Looks like I'll be ordering the 29 piece set from Lee Valley. I'll buy the Freud router bits as I need them from my local Utter Guys store. Thanks.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Jim I had that set. I used a total of 7 of the bits in 3 years then I just sold it off. I purchased about 75 others I need in the meanwhile.

I personally do no think big sets like that are the way to go, but at 3.00 a bit you really can not go to wrong.

Sure you can go wrong if you don`t use them  ;D (and maybe  ??? even more wrong if you do attempt to use them)

 

[nickao]

Well thats why I sold them. I think maybe a round over set  and a cove set and a cabinet door set and things like that are more useful than a big misc set like that. When I sold it I did recoup almost everything I paid for it so It worked out for me.

Think of it this way, thats 3 Festool router bits, in that regard I still say you can not go wrong spending 3.00 a bit becasue even if you use only three bits you break even if you were to buy and use 3 Festool bits. And you still have a boat load of bits in addition.

Those MLCS bits were not bad and out of the Seven bits I used I did not wear out even one of them.

 

[RJNeal]

For drill bits my good sets are Lee Valley for brad points and Snap On for reg twist bits You can't beat the warranty.
Good luck, Rick

 

[JayStPeter]

I'm also not a big believer in big sets of bits.  I haven't had great luck with MLCS anyway, but many others have.  I buy my bits based on need and am working on my 2nd or 3rd generation for commonly used bits.  I have a few sets in my drawer from my early days that have gone unused.

A couple of magazines did articles in the past few years with titles like "The 10 essential router bits".  There are a few vendors that sell sets based on these articles.  If I had nothing, one of those sets might be a reasonable starting point.  But, even after reading the articles, I still think everyone develops their own way of doing things.  I think if we all listed our 10 essential bits, we'd have lots of overlap, but I bet we would never agree on half of them.