The Best Router Bits For Beginners

If you're new to woodworking and you're not quite  sure which bits to buy first let me show you the   five that i recommend the first bit and the one  that's easiest for beginners to learn with is   the round over bit roundover bits are designed  to round over or ease sharp edges roundovers   come in many different sizes and each one can be  adjusted in the router to remove as little or as   much material as the capacity of the bit will  allow for example here is one pass with a half   inch or 12 mil round over bit and here's that  same bit just now lowered slightly in the router   as you can see each bit can produce a different  look simply by raising it or lowering it in the   router when it comes to the different sizes it  helps to understand that roundover bits are sold   by the size of the radius that the bit can cut for  example if we look at a half inch round over bit   you can see that the half inch refers to the  measurement from this point to this point if   we compare that now to a 3 8 or 9 mil round over  you can see that the radius is slightly smaller   so how do you choose the right bit for you well  it helps to start by thinking about what types of   projects you're going to be working on are you  planning on building large projects that need   large round overs or maybe you're just doing  smaller projects that really only require   just taking off the very edge if you're  uncertain about what you're going to be doing   let me recommend either a quarter inch or a 3 8  round over bit both these bits are very universal   and work on a lot of different projects before we  move on i do want to quickly talk about the shank   size differences you've been seeing in the bits  we've looked at so far the shank is the part of   the bit which gets installed into the router the  shank sizes here in the us are either a quarter or   half inch most smaller routers except only quarter  inch while most other routers accept quarter and   half inch why you may choose one over the other  is mostly based on the size of the bit itself   and preference i personally order more half inch  shank than quarter inch simply because i find   that they actually function better especially when  you're spinning large bits but don't get worried   about it too much because over time you're  going to figure out what works best for you   and for the routers that you have the second bit  to look at is a straight cutter straight cutters   are mainly designed to cut straight dados grooves  or mortises in the middle of the wood straight   cutters cut on the sides of the bit as well as the  bottom what this does is it allows you to plunge   the bit into the wood first and then move in any  direction when it comes to sizing straight cutters   come in different diameters as well as different  lengths it just all depends on how deep you need   to be cutting the most common standard straight  cutter comes with two flutes or cutting surfaces   and you can see them here more advanced cutters  like the spiral upcut has three flutes which cuts   much more smoothly and cleaner than a standard two  flute bit up cut bits are unique as they actually   lift the waste material up and out of the groove  instead of leaving it behind to build up therefore   if you think you're going to be doing a lot of  mortising which requires deep cuts a spiral up   cut bit may be the best option for you if you're  just getting started and you don't want to spend a   lot of money right now i would recommend buying  a standard either quarter inch or half inch   straight cutter the third bit to look at is a  chamfer bit these bits like round over bits are   designed to be used on the edges of wood chamfer  bits cut 45 degree angles and what's nice about   these bits is that you can adjust the depth of the  bit to change the look or the amount of chamfer   the other type of bit worth mentioning here is an  edge bevel and i only bring this bit up because   it looks very similar to a chamfer bit and it  can easily be confused for one edge bevel beds   cut a bevel that runs the whole width of the edge  unlike the chamfer that only cuts a small portion   of the edge they're not as popular as the chamfer  bit but they do come in many different options   and generally they cut bevels anywhere between  7 and 30 degrees again this is not a bit that   i recommend you buy right now and personally  i've never had the need for one but i at least   wanted to make you aware of it when it comes to  buying your first chamfer bit the most common size   and the one that i recommend is a 5 8 or 16 mil  cutting length the length is this measurement here   so be sure that that measurement is noted on the  product before you purchase one the fourth bit to   look at is the rabbit or rebate bit this bit along  with the round over and the chamfer bits are all   designed to work on the edge of the material this  bit really has one job and that is to cut a rabbit   or a rebate which is a groove with two sides  that is open to the edge rabbits are great for   creating different types of joints and they also  can be used to conceal edges of paneling like this   the two bits that i have here both cut a 3 8 or 9  mil groove which is this measurement here the only   other difference outside of the shank size is the  depth of cut this bit cuts a 3 8 deep rabbit and   the other one cuts a half inch when it comes to  buying a rabbit bit some companies like freud sell   bits that come with multiple bearings so that you  can swap them out to change the bits depth of cut   other bits don't come with that option and what  you buy is what you get whatever option you decide   to go with i think you'll be just fine i do want  to tell you though that for the most part a 3   8 rabbit bit has been my go-to for 90 of my work  the last bit is the flush trim bit flush trim bits   are used to follow a pattern or trim off excess  material when working with veneers if you look   closely at the two styles i have here both of them  have bearings which are flush with the cutters   what this does is allows the cutters to cut  flush to the surface that the bearing is riding   on however what is different is the location  of the bearing the first one has the bearing   on the top while the other one has the bearing  on the bottom the difference is that one trims   with the template or pattern on the top while  the other trims with the template or the pattern   on the bottom why the difference well it just all  depends on preference and what types of operations   you're going to be performing the only downside  to using a top bearing flush trimmer is that when   you are following a pattern if you accidentally  tip the router slightly the cutter will gouge the   work piece but if you make that same mistake with  a bottom bearing bit the bit will actually move   away from the work piece which means all you have  to do to fix your mistake is to make another pass   if you're going to be making curves or custom  patterns or duplicating things like legs on a   table or parts of a chair the flush trimmer is the  bit to have there are a ton of options out there   for flush trimming bits including these amazing  spiral bits that perform really well but they're   also very expensive therefore i would recommend  starting with a standard two flute half inch   diameter bit the five bits that we just covered  in my opinion are the most commonly used but   that doesn't always mean that they're perfect for  you so i do encourage you to do your own homework   but regardless of what your future looks like in  woodworking if you continue with it i guarantee   these five bits will be in your shop i'll leave  all my recommendations below in the notes section   i'll also leave a link to my favorite bit set  which includes an extra bit from the one we talked   about today which is the cove bit and this by far  is my favorite bit set to buy be sure to follow   me on instagram if you have any questions or would  like to share videos of photos with me that is the   platform that has been working the best thank you  for watching i'll see everybody in the next video

Channel: Training Hands Academy

Views: 426,289

Rating: 4.9493341 out of 5

Keywords: Best Router Bits For Beginners, best router bits for begginers, router bits, beginner, best router bits, woodworking, Beginner woodworker, router, wood router, router basics, routers, using a router, router bit basics, router tutorial, round over bit, woodworking tools, woodworking router, router bit, straight bit, router 101, flush trim router bit, carpentry, router bit tutorial, roundover bit, chamfer bit, diy, freud router bits, router bits for edges, training hands academy

Id: FZ2Ia0EFYRk

Length: 8min 26sec (506 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 12 2020