Rant: My router bit set failure wrecked a whole afternoon

Picked up a cheap 20-piece set from the hardware store on Route 9 a few months back... yesterday the 1/2 inch straight bit just shattered while I was cutting dados in some oak. Shrapnel hit my safety glasses and I had to scrap the whole piece. Anybody else have bad luck with those budget bits from that place?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia_chen3527d ago

You got burned by those cheap bits too? Same thing happened to my 1/4 inch on pine.

noahcampbell27d ago

I read somewhere that those budget router bits from places like that are often made with lower grade carbide and the heat treatment is inconsistent. A guy on a woodworking forum did a test on a set from that exact store and said the 1/2 inch bit had a visible chip in the cutting edge right out of the package. Sorry you had to deal with that shrapnel though, I wear my safety glasses every time now since a buddy of mine lost an eye to a chisel. Makes you wonder if saving twenty bucks is worth risking your face, you know?