router help

[yunvme666 10+ year member]

i got a porter cable 690 at a garage sale for 30 bucks , i went and got a edge guide and 1/2 inch straight bit with bearing on it, at the ho . what else beside a 3/4 round over and the straight bit do you guys use ?? im goin bit shoping tomarrow gimme some suggestions...

also as far as jigs , im gettin a circle jig . but i seen letter jigs, any good? i wanna play ....

im lookin for the plunge attachment also, its on egay for bout 35 bucks .

so beside this stuff what ya think ill need ???

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[bjfish11 5,000+ posts]

1/4" straight bit would work better for you. It will put less stress on the router because it will be removing less material. For the round over, you will actually want to get a 3/8" r.o. This way, if you router both sides of a single edge, you will get a perfect roundover. 3/8" + 3/8" = 3/4"

 

[yunvme666 10+ year member]

yea i get ya. ill grab some of them also . so basicall if i wann fully round over a peice. i was just gonna start off with some basic top edge rounding on a box

figure i payed 30 bucks im way ahead in that aspect so itll all go towards bits sooner...lol....

 

[roarzorz 10+ year member]

An upspiral bit is good for cutting circles. Its worked better than a straight bit. Te only other ones I use are the roundover and flush rout bits.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

yep spiral upcut is the shit...

 

[bjfish11 5,000+ posts]

yep spiral upcut is the shit...

Very true. And someone mentioned the flush cut bit, that is a good one to have also.

 

[CrazedCat 10+ year member]

x4 on the 1/4" upcut spiral bit. and $30 for the 690 PC is a good deal that router works with all jasper jigs.

 

[W8 a minute 10+ year member]

I have a 690 and it has plenty of power to run that 1/2 inch straight bit. You can cut 2x4's in half with it if you drop the bearing down. hehe

 

[yunvme666 10+ year member]

ok im goin after work today ill grab a spiral bit i found a 1/4 inch spiral w/ 1/2 inch shank so i should be good there. im grabin a 3/4 round over also any certain one tto get??

 

[CrazedCat 10+ year member]

that router only came with a 1/2" collet? It should also have a 1/4" collet for smaller bits. With the 1/4" spiral upcut bit just do your cuts in a 2-3 passes...don't try to go through 3/4" in one pass and don't force it. You don't want to snap bits they're not cheap. Let the bit do the work...you're there to simply ease and guide it along. PC, Bosche or Freud bits are all good.

 

[yunvme666 10+ year member]

yea no 1/4 inch collet in the box with it , hey its a garage sale item for 30 bucks what ya expect....lol.... ebay has one tho ill probably order it

 

[yunvme666 10+ year member]

yea no 1/4 inch collet in the box with it , hey its a garage sale item for 30 bucks what ya expect....lol.... ebay has one tho ill probably order it

 

[yunvme666 10+ year member]

yea no 1/4 inch collet in the box with it , hey its a garage sale item for 30 bucks what ya expect....lol.... ebay has one tho ill probably order it

 

[yunvme666 10+ year member]

wow i dunno what happened there , lol.... someone wanna delete 2 of those posts

 

[InhumanAcura 5,000+ posts]

i prefer 1/2" bits over 1/4" personally..

chamfering bit (variety of sizes)

roundover (variety of sizes)

flush cut (variety of sizes) I spent $120 on a spiral flush-cut bit after breaking multiple bosch and amana bits and it's worth every penny..by far the most important bit you can have for building boxes or pretty much any wood work imo.

rabbeting bit set (cmt makes a bad-*** "grand rabbet set" that has like 25 different sizes)

3/4" roundovers are not cheap, expect to pay $45 for the bosch version and upwards of that for something higher quality..Ive picked up a 3/4", 1", and 1 1/2" whiteside bits off ebay for dirt cheap..just gotta be patient.

i wish I would have bought all quality stuff from the start..cheaping out on bits ruined a few of my projects and cost me more in the long run..whiteside and cmt are the way to go imo.