Yonico Router Bits - Any Good?

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Jul 21, 2007
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Whilst searching for a router bit set for a specific application, I came across bits made by Yonico. They all seem to ship from the States.

I've never heard of this make before. Does anyone know what they're like? They seem to be quite cheap, and they do a set that I can't seem to find from any other manufacturer (15222).

Jonathan
 
Not familiar with them, but I did find a review of some. Not sure what is normally available in the UK, I have been using Makita and Freud bits for years, but have lately been leaning toward Whiteside.

 
I hadn't heard of Yonico either, I looked at them on Amazon and the few reviews that were posted were mostly favorable. Decent price too.

I use the Freud adjustable T&G set, they work pretty well for plain frame doors because the tongue runs a little longer than most - 9/16". They take a bit of fiddling to get them set up with lots of spacers, etc.
 
Thanks for the replies.

They look pretty good, I think it's worth a try. Like I said, I can't find the right bit for any of the regular sources here in the UK (Freud, Axminster, Trend, CMT, etc).

If the client goes for shaker style doors (which I think they will) then I'll order one of these sets. I'll try to remember to report back with my thoughts on these bits!
 
cliffp said:
Where can you buy them in the uk?

I found them on eBay UK. Shipping isn't cheap, but it's fairly reasonable. This is the set I'm getting: Tongue & groove set.

I can't find anywhere in the UK that sells a similar set with 1/2" wide cutters on the tenon bit. Trend do one with one 1/2" & one 1/4", then I'd have to buy an additional 1/2" groover to convert it. Cost for that would be around £75 total, and that's just with one arbour. I'd have to disassemble & reassemble it to switch from one operation to the other. CMT or Freud works out even more for buying the arbours & cutters separately.
 
They do look pretty reasonable. It would be good if there was a uk distributor to keep the postage costs down. I am tempted to try them for some of the bits I won't use too often. Thanks for pointing these out.
 
Just as a quick follow-up to this thread, I ordered the Yonico bit set. It arrived within a week which is pretty good.

I tried the bits for the first time the other evening, just with a few offcuts to make a mock-up of the joint, and so I could get the set-up right. Apologies for the lack of pictures, I forgot to take any!

First, I put the groove bit in my OF1400 (in my router table) and discovered that, with the bearing mounted above the cutter (with the router inverted) the shaft wasn't long enough to reach through the table & to the height I needed, so I had to disassemble the bit, & reassemble it with the bearing going onto the shaft first. This allowed me to set the cutter high enough to cut the grooves in a few pieces.

The bit is 1/4" (6.35mm), but the resultant groove was nearer 7mm. When I checked, the cutter wasn't completely 'flat', and had a slight wobble to it that caused it to cut a wider groove. I put this down to my reassembly of it (I didn't try it beforehand).

Next, I put the tenon bit in, and set the height as near as I could by eye. I made a sled to carry the rails securely, and ran a piece of scrap. The resultant tenon was less than 6mm thick. I checked this bit, and it also had a 'wobble' on both cutters. I hadn't altered anything on it, so knew this time that it wasn't me!

Yonico supply a couple of extra spacers (thin washers) so you can adjust the gap between the cutters. I fitted one, but it was still loose in the groove, and ended up fitting both. This resulted in a nice tight (but not too tight) joint, albeit with a slightly wider groove than I wanted.

The panels are going to be 6mm MR MDF, and whilst they don't want to be a tight fit, I don't want them loose enough that they can move. I'm in two minds at the moment whether to try to reduce the wobble in the bits to get a narrower groove, or just leave everything as is & go with it. I'm just worried that if I do try to alter it I might make the situation worse...

In general, the bits seem OK, but I've only run a couple of feet of poplar through them so have no idea yet how well they'll keep their edge. When I run all the final stock (which will hopefully be this weekend) I'll try to remember to take some pictures...
 
I grabbed a 3-set of the locking mitre bits from them on eBay for my kit and have been pleased with their performance so far. I have only used the ½" material bit and made about 50' of ½" MDF 'beams' for a tray ceiling in my kitchen. I was able to get them set nicely on the shaper table and was pleased with the fit. The locking mitre is very slick to work with in this application.

I do plan on trying to incorporate the ¾" material bit into my arsenal. I have a lot of  ¾" MDF builds that it could come in handy for.

Have a good one,  [smile]

Vi_k
 
Well, I machined the stock for some doors today using this set, but I decided to try to sort the wobble out first.

It turns out that the cause of the problem is the nuts used to hold the cutters onto the spindle. The spindle itself has a metric M8 thread, which surprised me for an American brand.

The nuts which are used are really badly made, as you can see below:

[attachimg=1]

This resulted in the nut not clamping the cutter evenly, causing the wobble. Replacing the supplied nuts on both cutters with standard M8 nuts solved the problem.
 
Sorry for bumping an Old thread but I am thinking om buying a set of these and I am interested in your experience with them... Thanks for any feedback!
 
The bits worked well, but they don't hold their edge long. They soon blunted, but I was able to get the doors made for that project before they got too bad to use. I think they're good value for what they cost.

Hope that helps.
 
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