Wood Shaping Tool – Where To Begin?

When using cnc bits or router bits unfortunately the artisan must select from a wide array of possibilities today. This wood shaping tool comes with a power to cut in ways few others do.

As applied to art with wood most commonly these are used on wood panels or for engraving art. The right application by the artist will also allow 2.5 and 3d wood carving.

Router bits are an accessory of my essential tools list for new artists. There is a lot of money saving information in the next couple paragraphs that you do not want to miss. Your wallet will thank you later for reading.

What Brand of Router Bit to Buy?

If you go to Amazon or the local hardware store you will see a ton of garbage. The use of the word garbage is purposeful. Think of a bit spinning at around 16,000 rpm and as wood slides into it, just how much do you trust that bit in not becoming shrapnel?

Suddenly the budget bit from China seems less appealing. China has improved their quality on some things such as spindles for the cnc and motors, the right ones can be economically good. Yet the cost in the wrong bit will impact you in other ways as well such as the life of the bit and the finish to your artwork.

Don’t cheap out on the bit purchases. Yes there are “cheaper” alternatives to the best on the market. Nevertheless the cheaper ones are still not cheap when compared to the garbage sets. Additionally if one is looking for engraving solutions there are other options.

Here the elite wood worker may want to burn me at the stake. Nevertheless I consider a router or cnc bit a consumable. Therefore I want a happy medium between quality and price rather than the high end sports car. I want the economical way to get me there and look good doing it.

I use most consistently Whiteside but also Freud. Either of these brands will give the best performance for the dollar. If you read reviews online you will find mixed reviews for anything.

I am by no means suggesting that these two brands are miracle workers. Nor were they intended for high volume heavy load work. They are the Toyota Rav4 of the bit world. They get you to where you need to go reliably at an affordable cost.

What Router Bits Do You Need?

As you begin to shop online and see this affordable cost it suddenly begins to add up with just two or three bits and one can begin to choke. What do you do to make it more affordable?

Stay away from bit sets unless it contains multiple sizes of the same cut profile at an affordable price. In other words if you can get the several cheaper as a set than individually and you know you will use that profile in different size cuts, buy it.

This leads to the next money saver. Only buy the bit that you need, not what you think you will need. The starter sets contain many that are most commonly used yet that does not mean that you or I will use them.

I do many hours work with router and cnc, more than I can add up in my mind. To date I can count on one hand how many bits I use consistently over and over while there may be one or two specialty bits for certain projects.

For example there is a bit that is not listed in the information link I will give later that I use always. It is by Whiteside and it is a cnc surfacing bit. The most commonly used by me is not common to someone else.

Your work will always dictate what you need and most can be found on Amazon so shipping should be quick. Buying whole sets will cost you a fortune and you end up with most collecting wood dust.

One benefit to these bits is that not only can they be used on wood but also plastic wood. These composite materials allow for tooling such as cnc and router applications.

Router Bit Size to Fit Your Tool

If you are new to routers or spindles know the size required to fit the tool. The router shank will be either ½ inch or ¼ inch while the spindle will be able to be fitted by a different system.

Added caution is to be taken if using a router table. Ensure that the ring which is on the plate is at the specified width needed for that bit. You never want to go larger than what is required in this instance.

There are many cnc spindles on the market which really would require its own specialty article, nevertheless the most commonly used today are the Chinese spindles due to the cost of better spindles. These Chinese spindles hold their bits by the use of a collet.

These collets will come in different sizes which is nice as you can change the collet size allowing for a different sized bit. There is something to be wary of when selecting bits for these spindles, the collet needs to be balanced. Too often people just focus on what size collet they need.

Do not overlook the quality of it being balanced properly. The collet spins with the bit. If it is out of balance this creates a lot of issues none of which you want to deal with. Take the time to find and buy precision balanced collets you can afford.

To Sharpen or Buy Again?

Here is a debated topic and depending on who you talk to you will get different answers. Some like the better branded bits claiming that they can be resharpened and used again and again. If you have the ability to do this yourself then I could understand the philosophy for general woodwork. For artwork, I would never resharpen.

I have a dual philosophy for this. If it is a bit for my cnc, once it becomes dull I toss it. Even if it were to be resharpened it will never be the same again if for accuracy sake alone. As for the router, it can be resharpened as long as it remains within the specifications of its intended use.

So for bits used on the router some will get tossed while others could be sharpened. The real determining factor for me is cost. If I can get a new bit for 20 dollars then I am just buying a new bit. If it was considerably more expensive then we can look at sharpening.

There is a little tip I will give you here too many overlook when woodworking. The first time an artist thinks their bit is dull, it usually is not. This is especially true with cnc bits which see more abuse.

Take your saw blade cleaner and clean the bit. A lot of times crud buildup will keep the bit from performing at its peak and can lead you to believe it may be dull. Once it is cleaned it should perform once again.

It is also best to protect your bits when laying them down or from accidental drops. One can use a shop carving board for this purpose. They are easy to make and use as a protective top surface.

Router Bits for Multiple Tools or One Tool?

If you are new to this then you have seen me talk about the router and cnc spindle. If you are debating between which way to go know that the router is the most likely tool you will need first and its a lot cheaper than building a cnc.

Nevertheless many router bits can be interchangeable with cnc spindles, others are not desirable to interchange, although I would not recommend multi tool use. A couple examples of bits that are interchangeable would be the surfacing bit and V bit.

There is still a lot to know in this department. For example if a bit has fewer flutes for cutting it will need slower speeds for it removes more material with each pass. A bit which has more flutes will need faster speeds to prevent burning.

Cnc bits can come in up cut or down cuts each having its own benefit. Routers used with tables or freestyle by hand do not require some of the options cnc bits offer due to a cnc being able to be controlled by feed and speed via a computer.

For those who use a router on a cnc gantry to mimic what a spindle will do, I understand the method and what you are doing. Nevertheless let me say upgrade to a spindle as soon as you can. It will help you by offering more bits for use with proper speeds and feeds enhancing your work. Ditch the router gantry as soon as you can.

Due to the different uses of each tool I keep bits for each tool rather than interchanging the same bits for both. While up front this may seem like added cost in the end it is not. A router is either on or off.

A cnc spindle speed can be controlled by whatever rpm you tell it to run at. While both cut with bits they are two different tools for different purposes. The focus should be what does the tool and its application need rather than the bit that can be used in different tools.

Don’t Get Overwhelmed

Lastly do not let the massive volume of bits and information about them overwhelm you. My brief guide here is heavily focused on how to save you money while trying to point you in the direction you need.

I promise you that eventually you will find some wannabe elite wood guy bragging about an insanely priced brand and you can only turn wood if you use that brand. A consumable should never break your wallet.

The end goal is to always do two things. Create beautiful wood art while keeping you safe. If you can achieve that then you have done your job. Keeping more money in your wallet while doing so is a major bonus especially in the higher priced world today. Take your time and go one step at a time one project at a time. It is easier to learn this way.

Router Bit Cut Profiles

Finally we get to the bit profiles. Normally this is where people run to first when talking about router or cnc bits. I saved it for last for good reason. As you look through the profiles you will begin to notice different needs for your work.

Each bit profile will come in different size cuts. Essentially you could end up buying the same cut profile in three or so sizes depending on your work.

First determine what you actually need in profile then focus on what you definitely need in size cut. For a router that is the biggest worry. Use common sense and safe practices when feeding your material into the router at speed. The router only has one speed so you must control how the material is fed into the bit.

As for cnc applications, when you gain experience you can worry about other factors. This includes knowing how many flutes the bit may have for cutting and needed speeds and feed rate.

If you are using a cnc your development software, if it is decent software, should have basic pre programmed speeds and feeds for various bits. It can be a good place to start and adjust with a new tool profile in the software as needed.

Experience is the Best Teacher

If you are brand new to this then there is an education curve that just cannot be overcome by reading alone. Experience will be needed but you will get there. Some bits you can cheat with, others you cannot. I will share an example from my past to explain how what you think you need can change.

When I started making wood hinges for my wood art boxes I wanted the barrel of the hinge to be as small as I could get them. Thankfully I bought a bit set rather than a single bit that time. In my mind I had it all laid out yet I forgot the one variable I should have known better about.

Wood is temperamental and doesn’t always like to play nice. The smaller profile bit I now never use because too often when making the pin hole the wood would crack for there wasn’t enough wood left to support the barrel.

In this case I needed a larger cut profile than I initially believed for the overall end result to be sturdy enough for its intended use. There will be things you discover along the way that just cannot be explained unless someone experienced is there with you.

Keep in mind you will always pay for your education, just try to avoid the wasteful spending along the way as you fund that tuition in your shop or studio.