Router sled / router planer - which router bit for the job?

[Sawdust=manglitter]

I will be making a router sled, firstly to try out by flattening the workbench top of the workbench I'm in the middle of making, but it will be used in future for a couple of natural edge slabs that I currently have drying out.

What specific 1/2" shank router bit would people recommend? I don't want to spend a small fortune (but something that would last is preferable), and obviously the larger the diameter the quicker the job would be, but what style bit would work best:
- spiral bit
- standard straight bit with flat bottom
- a wide flat bottomed cove bit (curves to edges would maybe reduce lines/marks?)

I recall seeing something somewhere where someone bought a HSS milling spiral bit with 4 flutes to use for this purpose, which made the bit a lot cheaper, but I cant find one with a 1/2" shank and a wider spiral bottom? (it may have been a yank that said it).

What are peoples experience?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[marcros]

i used http://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+woodworkin ... ands+tr178 when I did mine. You could also use a straight bit with a flat bottom. This was because it was in a set that I had.

I would avoid the HSS bit for this task- they will dull quite quickly. They are very good for other uses though- I believe that a 1/2" shanked bit will have a 1/2" cutter beneath it. That is my limited experience anyway.

 

[MattRoberts]

Not used it myself, but lots of people recommend http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Onl ... g_250.html

 

[Sawdust=manglitter]

Thanks both! I wonder if the Wealden bit is worth getting over the Rutlands bit!?

 

[Wuffles]

Speak to the chap at routercutter.co.uk - I have an excellent bit that came from there, but requires a powerful router to spin it.

 

[Sawdust=manglitter]

Speak to the chap at routercutter.co.uk - I have an excellent bit that came from there, but requires a powerful router to spin it.

Thanks Wuffles. Have just sent them a message to ask for suggestions. Which bit was it that you got? And in terms of power i assume my Trend T11 should be ok?

 

[Wuffles]

It was (at the time of purchase) not on the website. Thane should be able to point you in the right direction though. It's massive and not for the faint of heart. I'm away on hols st the mo or I'd go and take a photo for you. The Whiteside stuff is excellent though, if you're looking to put together an order.

 

[themackay]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000 ... UTF8&psc=1

This is what I used recently bought from Amazon.com worked well

 

[Eric The Viking]

Wealden do a six-wing trimmer.

I've got one and the finish is very good, BUT, you have to be very careful to have an ultra-rigid sled and rails to avoid swirl-marks. The surface trim ones have a rounded profile to the cutter (no sharp outside corners), and leave a better overlap than just using a rebate cutter or a straight bit.

I haven't used it for a benchtop, but I have used it to flatten things that won't fit in my planer - for that it's OK (Trend T11 powering it). It's a beast of a thing, and has an infeasibly-long shank on it. I can't get it into the collet up to the benchmark symbol, but have to assume that doesn't matter. At almost forty quid it's expensive, but I think I got mine as an introductory offer.

E.

 

[Beau]

Only used a sled a few times but just used one of these to do the job and worked great. http://www.machinery4wood.co.uk/product ... 127.11_MST Think I have the largest diameter one.

I can see the cutters with radius corners being nice for just your purpose but the above cutters are handy for lots of other work as well and presume you would finish with some planing anyway.

 

[JJ1]

I had my first go at router planing a few months ago on some long wide planks of Oak and Ash. I used THIS 3 wing cutter. It worked superbly and the finish it left was excellent, just requiring a little sanding prior to finishing.

 

[Sawdust=manglitter]

Some great advice and suggestions there

I have yet to find an excuse to buy myself a Wealden router bit yet (or atleast one with satisfactory justification for the OH), but I'm attracted by both Eric's 6 wing trimmer and JJ1's 3 wing cutter! Which one though?

Eric, with such a long shank did you find you had any wobble at all? (I also have a T11)

 

[Eric The Viking]

None at all.

The long shank is useful as it needs to project below the sled. I expect the three-wing one is just as good.

I should add that I was a bit lazy last time - I used the T11's trammel/fence bars and a couple of bits of box section steel tube running on lengths of PAR 2x2. It gave me easy x-y movement in stages across the piece I was planing, but it was slightly bouncy. That might account for the slight swirls I got. I'm sure having the rounded cutters (both 6- and 3-wing ones) makes it safer and gives a better surface.

E.

PS: I forgot to say: one thing I found it really handy for was trimming tenon cheeks. Call me a lazy old git if you want, but with the nice lift arrangement on the T11 I can tune a tenon nicely. You still have to nip out the very corner with a chisel (because of the roundover on the cutter), but that doesn't matter: "Want it 0.2mm thinner, sir? No problem!".

I haven't done M+T joints for a while, but I was doing half lap joints at the w/e, roughed out with a router cutter on the router table. They needed trimming as the stock wasn't consistent thickness, and I was embarrassed at how bad my use of a shoulder plane has become.

It's a big beggar though:

You can't see easily from my rough pic, but there's about 15deg forward rake on the carbide teeth. That and the big diameter together give a really nice finish. It's basically a small circular saw blade on a 1/2" shank! Max speed is marked on it as 16,000 RPM, but I use it at a lot less, although it doesn't seem to cause much burning. Apart from the number of wings, it's only 7mm tall (the carbide bits), whereas the 3-wing one seems to be a lot deeper. So if you want to take a lot in one pass, it's obviously not for you.