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Router inlay kit?

Sam Fleisher

Sam Fleisher

Joined
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Is there any brand being sold that I should stay away from or one that is better of the bunch? Spend the money on templates? better than average router bit?
 
For router bits, if you want quality and durability, can't really go wrong with Whiteside or CMT tools - My experience with the off-brands, as well as Freud bits has been 50/50 as to how well they do , look for brands that also offer replacement bearings, screws and shims (for pattern bits) which tend to be rather better quality, more consistent, more reliable, and know that bearing supported bits will eventually need new bearings, so getting a few spares can't hurt - not all bearings are alike so you may wish to find a good brand and stick with it, as they'll generally use the same consistent replacement bearings (and screws, shims, etc) I have yet to find a solid quality router template guide set (I did get one set from Taytools, but they don't fit well with my Makita palm router, and if they get loose in use they can easily tangle up with router bit! DAMHIK) as for pattern templates pretty much any of them would be fine - the important thing is a good fitting pattern guide bushing set and quality router bits (and preferrably you'll have a cone centering tool to center everything on router shaft) For pattern following I do find that spiral upcut/downcut bits get best results (straight bits tend to clog up in the template bushings)
 
Well, I was thinking bowties for strengthening cracks but I've run across a couple of videos that claims they are more for looks than anything but I take that with a grain of salt. I'd like them to be pretty thick but another guy says the bit limits you to about 3/8 depth.

So now I don't know where I'm going to end up. I just picked up another 22x22x2 ash slab for another platter but it has a couple of checks from drying. Maybe I'll just see how deep I can mortise and fill them with epoxy. I don't want to put a thin bowtie in and end up turning it away.
 
Take a look at Big Island Engraving. He's got patches and matching templates of various sizes and patterns. There's also instructions and a video etc with good info. That's where I get all my stuff.
You can also make your own patches and templates - I don't do that so can't help. There was an article about this in the Aug 2022 American Woodturner.
 
How come when reading about router bits the talk is the up cut bit is good for clean out but I find the inlay kits come with down cut bits which I read somewhere is for tenons? What say YE?
 
Sam Fleisher said:
How come when reading about router bits the talk is the up cut bit is good for clean out but I find the inlay kits come with down cut bits which I read somewhere is for tenons? What say YE?
Click to expand...

I'm no expert, but I think a downcut is generally meant for thru cuts, so chips go down and away. If doing shallow inlay, I'd probably just use a sharp straight flute and work slowly.
 
Sam Fleisher said:
How come when reading about router bits the talk is the up cut bit is good for clean out but I find the inlay kits come with down cut bits which I read somewhere is for tenons? What say YE?
Click to expand...
downcut bits will leave a crisper edge if you are routing the face of the project (for inlays) - Think of why you want a supported cut at the lathe - cutting edge is pushing wood down and layers of wood underneath will support the first layer, so it cuts cleanly instead of bending over and breaking - Upcut bits don't have that support (but will clean out waste far better) - However, they also make double cut (Both downcut and upcut spirals) which have the advantages of both (but not as "perfect" edges left behind) downcut bits will push the waste down into the cut (which isn't great for tenons- chips and waste can jam up the bit resulting in heat & burning) - not usually a problem when routing out shallow inlays but once I got a hold of the double cut bits, they quickly became my preference for wide variety of uses.
 
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