Spent $200 on a fancy router bit set, and it was garbage

Picked up a 15-piece router bit set from a big box store last month, thinking I was saving cash. First cut on some cherry plywood, and the bearing fell off the flush trim bit mid pass. Anyone else stick to buying bits one at a time from specialty shops?

1 comments

1 Comment

ericp671mo ago

Bet you anything that set was one of those where they grind down the bearings to fit instead of using standard sizes, right? I fell for that exact same trick a few years back with a 12-piece set from a hardware chain, learned my lesson the hard way when the bearing seized up on a dovetail jig and ruined the whole piece. Was that flush trim bit's bearing seated in a little brass sleeve or was it just pressed onto the shaft with no collar at all? Specialty shops charge more per bit but at least you can call them up and ask what grade of steel they're using, or if the carbide is brazed on or just glued. Big box stores just want to move product off the shelf, they don't care if your cherry plywood ends up looking like a beaver chewed on it. What brand was that set, maybe I can steer you away from their other junk too.