Blue Tornado Router bits

[ScouseKev]

Regarding the 66pc set which is currently on sale at Rutlands for £149. Seems a good deal and i'll only be using them for hobby use.

Can anyone tell me if this set is Tungsen tipped or Hss.

The reason i ask is....... the dovetail set and the kitchen cabinet set both state TCT on Rutlands site, but the this 66pc set doesn't.

Any info would be great. Thanks

On a different note, they also have the worksharp 3000 with the knife attachment at £219 if anyone is interested. The sale ends on the 31st

 

[Racers]

Its only a good deal if you use all the cutters, but you will probably only end up using the straight, round over and chamfer cutters, then it doesn't look like a bargain.

Buy what you need is the cheapest option.

Pete

Another thing is they are all imperial, so it you have metric ply its a problem.

 

[woodaxed]

i wouldnt give them house room you will find that the shafts are so short you wont be able to do much with them as stated buy the cutters you need

 

[rspsteve]

Or wait till its back at £99 ...I bought a set and thought as I wear the mains ones out I will replace them with better quality bits.

My step dad had a set and has had no issues with them and uses them quite a bit .

£1.50 ish per bit make them throwaway .

Steve

 

[marcros]

Or wait till its back at £99 ...I bought a set and thought as I wear the mains ones out I will replace them with better quality bits.

My step dad had a set and has had no issues with them and uses them quite a bit .

£1.50 ish per bit make them throwaway .

Steve

I agree on these, much as i hate rutlands. use a third of them and £4.50 a bit is still reasonable. When you wear one out, replace with a better version.

 

[Racers]

So struggle with a poor quality wrong size bit until it gets to bad to use then replace it? seems like you are making a rod for your back! just buy the good one first.

Pete

 

[shed9]

Agree with Pete

If you want to invest £150 in router bits, you will get a lot more investment in buying six good bits at £25 each.

They are likely to be the only ones you use and they will last a LOT longer, give better finish results and you won't have to spend more later to replace them - if you buy decent bits there is more rationale to have them sharpened and balanced as opposed to binning them.

Besides do you really want to trust £1.50 bits. Given the markup / profit margins along the supply chain in reality these are probably sub £0.75 bits anyway.

 

[Spindle]

Hi

I'm sitting on the fence at the moment - I can see the sense in buying quality bits where they will be frequently used but also appreciate that for infrequent use, (or for determining the rate of usage), a set such as this would be OK.

With regard to Pete's point indicating imperial cutters being unsuitable for metric boards - to which cutters in this set would it apply?

If I had to come off of the fence I'd go for the set, but wait for the reduction to £99.

Regards Mick

 

[Racers]

All the straight ones, the most used useful ones!

You could wait until Addi/Lidl have there £4.99 sets in.

Pete

 

[maltrout512]

I bought four or so years back a tornado vertical panel cutter, a set of stile and rail cutters, 20 + doors later (in oak) and they have had use in between and they still have a very good edge. So my personal opinion is that I think they are very good cutters at a good price.

 

[marcros]

i have found them to be of good quality- have you used any of them Pete?

 

[Spindle]

All the straight ones, the most used useful ones!

Hi Pete

Are you saying the above are only not suitable for cutting housings in a single pass - or are there other applications that they are unsuitable for?

Sorry if I'm missing the obvious

Regards Mick

 

[Racers]

12mm is smaller than 1/2" 6mm is smaller than 1/4" etc so sloppy fit and no easy way round it for the 6mm ply.
You could do multiple passes and adjustments to get the size right but why?

Pete

 

[Spindle]

Thanks Pete

So the straight bits are not ideal for cutting housings in a single pass, (as I said), - but for all other applications they are no less suitable than metric cutters.

Point taken re. 6mm material where the 1/4", (6.35mm), cutter will be oversize - but I suppose it would allow a little clearance for loose panels, drawer bottoms etc.

As an aside, how accurately are ply boards dimensioned thickness wise?

Regards Mick

 

[carlb40]

Not sure how consistent the boards are made, but axi used to sell undersized plywood bits under their perform range. I had a set of the 3 for the 18/12/6mm boards. They gave a nice snug fit. Can't seem to find anyone in the uk now who makes them.

 

[custard]

I used to get a bit sniffy about Blue Tornado bits, but I recently gave one of their spiral upcut bits quite a bashing, running it for several hours cutting oak and MDF. It did a very nice job and was cutting as cleanly at the end as when it came out of the packet.

 

[ScouseKev]

Thanks for all the replies, there's quite a lot to think about.

Perhaps i should have said why i was considering them. 2 reasons

When you look at the shape of a router bit, its not always easy to see how that profile would look on a decent piece of wood.
I thought i'd buy the cheapies and see which ones i liked and then replace them as necessary.

Second. I ordered a bearing guided straight bit from Wealdon a few months ago. £21.95
They rang me to say it wasn't in stock, but they could send me the Trend equivalent which is "much more expensive"
I greed and expected it to be the pro range, but it was from the craft range.
I rang up and was told that wealdon's are made in the same factory as trend craft, just branded differently.
I was surprised to hear such a confession.

Any views on this?
Thanks

 

[Grahamshed]

So are you saying that Wealden make Trend hobby bits or that Wealden do not make their own buts ?

 

[carlb40]

So are you saying that Wealden make Trend hobby bits or that Wealden do not make their own buts ?

Sounds like how the chinese machinery is made. All made in one factory, then painted to suit each retailers colour choice.

 

[Grahamshed]

If that were so ( and I hope it isn't ) it would make a bit of a mockery of us all recommending their cutters.