By Timothy Dale | Updated Jan 5, 2024 11:17 AM
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A router is a powered cutting tool that uses different bits to cut various grooves, angles, and shapes into wood. These handy tools are excellent for woodworking projects, including cabinet making, cutting molding, and furniture design.
However, a router is useless without a great set of router bits. You want to be sure that you have a variety of options for all the applications you plan to tackle, with the best router bits being made out of durable materials like tungsten carbide.
The best router bit sets below are some of the best in their respective categories and would be excellent additions to any toolbox.
We researched the best router bits in a variety of categories with high customer satisfaction. The list factors in material, shank size, number of pieces, and storage capabilities.
The top picks are constructed from tungsten carbide, carbide, and steel for durability and longevity. To accommodate different jobs, the chosen router bit sets come with ½-inch and ¼-inch shanks. Each set includes between 7 and 70 bits for grooving, trimming, edging, and more. The top picks also come with wooden or plastic storage cases to keep the bits organized.
No matter what type of router bits you purchase, you want them to be high-quality products. These router bits are some of the best available based on buying factors such as price, effectiveness, and reputation
The Hiltex Tungsten Carbide Router Bit Set is excellent for various projects, including edging, trimming, veining, and grooving, so it is an excellent option for working on door panels and picture frames. The ¼-inch shank bits are made from precisely machine-cut tungsten carbide that users can sharpen to maintain edges.
The 24-piece tungsten carbide router bit set comes in a wooden case that labels and shows an image of each bit. Styles included without ball bearings are a mortising bit, combination bevel, dovetail, 90-degree “V” groove, round nose, panel pilot, and a straight bit. The styles with ball bearings include trimming, flush-trim, radius round over bit, cove, 45-degree chamfer, Roman Ogee, slot cutter, and rebating.
Get the Hiltex router bits at Amazon.
This affordable router bit set comes packed in a wooden case with helpful index cards for easy bit identification and organization. The ¼-inch shank bits are ideal for new users while the machine-sharpened tungsten carbide-tipped edges will help keep the bits sharper longer. When they dull, users can take them to a professional sharpener or sharpen the bits themselves to return the edge to its former cutting ability.
The LU&MN Carbide Tipped Router Bit Set is great for edging, grooving, and trimming, and it comes with 15 different pieces. These include ½-inch, ¼-inch, ⅝-inch, and ⅛-inch straight bits, ⅛-inch and ¼-inch cover box bits, a ½-inch, 90-degree “V” groove bit, a ½-inch mortising bit, a ⅜-inch corner round bit, a ½-inch dovetail bit, a 1 ¼-inch, 45-degree chamfer bit, a ¼-inch panel pilot, a ¼-inch cove bit, a ½-inch flush-trim bit, and a 5/32-inch Roman Ogee bit, for a wide variety of applications.
Get the LU&MN router bits at Amazon.
This small set of Whiteside router bits includes only seven bits, but the quality of the bits and their material make the premium price for this modest set well worth the money. The set contains ¼-inch and ½-inch straight bits, a ⅜-inch radius round over, a ⅜-inch by ½-inch rabbet, a ⅜-inch radius cove, a 45-degree chamfer, and a ½-inch flush-trim bit in a durable plastic case.
Each of the seven ½-inch shank bits is made completely from carbide, so the edge’s sharpness and hardness of the cut are not based solely on the hardened tip. Instead, the entire bit can be relied on to cut smoothly and cleanly for a long time.
Get the Whiteside router bits at Amazon.
These Kowood router bits are intended for beginners, using more affordable materials and the most common ¼-inch shank sizes to ensure that just about anyone could pick up a router for the first time and be able to rely on this set. The versatile router bits are great for grooving or trimming, and the high-speed steel keeps them free of impact damage if they are dropped or knocked around in a tool box.
The 24-piece set comes in a labeled wooden box and contains the most common machine-sharpened bits for a variety of beginner projects.
Get the Kowood router bits at Amazon.
These Yonoco premium-grade micro-grain tungsten carbide router bits will keep the cutting edge sharp throughout a long work week. They can be sharpened repeatedly to prevent material burns and rough finishes. The ½-inch shanks keep the bits from jumping around during use, allowing you to get a professional finish every time, and then you can pack them neatly into the labeled, wooden storage case.
The Yonico Router Bit Set comes with 70 bits, including eight straight bits, four flush-trim bits, a panel pilot bit, five dovetail bits, three round-nose bits, three mortising bits, six round over bits, six cove bits, four chamfer bits, three rabbeting bits, and more.
Get the Yonico router bits at Amazon or Walmart.
Sign-making requires router bits that can create engraving and lettering, meaning that the ideal set should include a wide variety of bits that can create unique shapes and fonts. The Stalwart router bit set has 24 pieces, including grooving, round, and round over bits, common go-tos when making signs or doing general woodworking projects.
These ¼-inch shank bits are also made with carbide for durability and long-term use, and they all come in a labeled wooden box for safe and organized storage. For more versatility, this option also comes in a 15- and 35-piece set.
Get the Stalwart router bits at Amazon.
This router bit set includes 35 different pieces that allow both beginners and experienced DIYers to benefit from the wide variety of router bits. The ½-inch shank bits are tungsten carbide tipped to hold their edge longer and can be sharpened multiple times so that they won’t need frequent replacement.
The aluminum carrying case has a labeled place for each router bit, including ⅛-inch and ¼-inch core box bits, a ½-inch 90-degree “V” groove, ¼-inch round nose, ½-inch mortising, ½-inch, and ¼-inch dovetail, ⅛-inch, ¼-inch, ½-inch, and ¾-inch straight bit, and many others to round out this high-value variety pack.
Get the EDMBG router bits at Amazon.
While looking for a new set of router bits, shoppers will want to educate themselves on the essential features. The considerations below will help them decide what router bits are best for them.
Routers use a large number of bits, each of which is intended for a specific purpose. The most common types of router bits include straight, flush-trim, rabbeting, edge-forming, molding, stile and rail, raised panel, joinery, and chamfer bits. The best choice for you will depend on how you plan to use the router and the material the bit needs to go through.
The straight router bit is one of the most frequently used of all bits, and it’s available in a variety of diameters from 3/16 inch to 1 ½ inches. A straight bit is primarily used to make a groove or dado straight down into the material. It can also be used to hollow out an area of the material for a mortise or inlay.
Flush-trim router bits have a pilot bearing that guides the bit during cutting. The pilot bearing is the same size as the bit’s cutting radius so that flush-trim bits can be used to trim the edge of one material so that it is flush with that of another. Examples of this bit in use include trimming a veneered surface to sit flush with an underlying layer or to trim shelf edging.
Rabbeting router bits are used specifically to cut a rabbet (notch or shoulder) into the edge of a material. These bits use a pilot bearing to guide them along the material’s side so that the rabbets produced are accurately and equally cut. Most router bit sets will have a range of pilot bearings so that one rabbet bit can cut a variety of rabbet sizes.
Chamfer router bits make angled cuts across a corner to remove a 90-degree edge and create an attractive design or to remove a banged-up edge and return the material to a straight edge cut. Chamfer router bits can also form a beveled edge for use in joinery.
Edge-forming router bits come in a variety of profiles, each designed to cut a decorative edge into a material. Popular edge-forming bits include:
Molding router bits are a larger version of the edge-forming router bits. They are used to create architectural molding profiles and may incorporate multiple edge-forming profiles into a single bit. Due to their size, they are best used with a table router.
Stile and rail router bits are primarily used for frame and panel construction. The bits feature a decorative edge profile and a straight profile for cutting a slot in the stile (or vertical piece of the frame). They also make a corresponding cut at the end of the rail or horizontal piece of the frame so that the rail can slot into the stile. These bits are sold as a pair to complete both cuts or as a single bit that can be used for both cuts.
Raised panel bits are frequently used with stile and rail bits to create a profiled edge on a door panel. These bits come in either vertical-use or horizontal-use.
Joinery router bits are specialized to produce a precision joint that can easily attach two materials such as the joints in a drawer or coffee table. Specialized joinery bits include dovetail router bits, drawer lock router bits, finger joint bits, and lock miter bits.
The type of project that you’re working on is always going to indicate the kind of bit required. Whether you are building a door frame or giving a new profile to the edge of a wooden table, the bit that you need will either be a stile and rail router bit or an edge-forming router bit.
The type of material will also help determine the bit you need. You can easily tackle softwoods with a high-speed steel or carbide-tipped router bit, but some hardwoods and metals may require a solid carbide bit to provide a clean finish.
Beginners who are new to using a router can expect the possibility that they will break the first router bit used relatively quickly. The proper pressure to apply will come with experience, but if this is the case, then the project might matter less than the price. Beginners should first try an inexpensive router bit until they become more proficient with the tool.
In general, almost all router bits feature either high-speed steel (HSS) or carbide.
The shank on a router bit is the cylindrical part of the bit that goes into the collet of the router. All router bits come with either a ¼-inch shank or a ½-inch shank, and most routers have interchangeable collets to accept both sizes, though some only accept ¼-inch shanks.
The sharpness of a router bit dictates the ability of the bit to cut through the material easily. A dull bit will reduce a router’s effectiveness, cause burns in the material, and leave you with a poor finish that you’ll need to smooth with sandpaper or a file. A sharp router bit cuts through quickly, operating optimally, without leaving scorch marks behind.
All new router bits should be factory-sharpened, but this can be difficult to see when purchasing a new set. However, you can research router bits to find ones you can repeatedly sharpen to maintain a thin cutting edge. This will allow you to either sharpen yourself or take them to a professional so that your bits are always sharp and ready for your next project.
Before selecting any product, make sure you know what you are getting. The router bit set should identify the number of bits in the kit, the size of the bits, and the bit types included.
Knowing this information allows you to select a reasonably priced set for the number of bits that come in the collection. You will also know whether a 24-piece set comes with 20 straight bits and four rabbeting bits, or if it includes a proper variety of router bits so that you can tackle your next project with confidence.
If you still aren’t entirely confident about which kind of router bits you need, take a look at these popular questions and their answers below.
To use a router bit, you need to properly attach it to a router and work on the material and project that the bit is intended for to ensure the best results. Using a router requires precision and patience to adequately align the router and slowly feed it through the material, allowing the rotating router bit to operate at its optimal power.
Forcing the router through the material may get the cut done faster, but you risk snapping the router bit off due to excessive force, and you are likely to char the material and give it an uneven edge that will need to be sanded or smoothed. Instead, use shallow, slow passes to get the best cut, working your way deeper into the material with each pass.
Router bits can quickly become coated in resin when working with woods, like pine, that is naturally very resinous. You are also likely to get tar, dust, and other miscellaneous debris baked-on to the bits, interfering with the router’s operation and the finish on the wood.
Regular cleaning of the bits takes care of this issue. Begin by picking up a router bit and resin cleaner online or from your local hardware store. The solution should be properly prepared according to the manufacturer’s recommendations and then sprayed or brushed liberally all over the cutting edges of the router bits. Let the bit stand for 10 to 15 minutes with this coating, then proceed to scrub the bit clean with a toothbrush or brass wire brush under a stream of warm water. After washing, dry the bits properly and consider using oil to coat the bits and protect against corrosion.
To give router bits the best edge to get the job done, take them to a professional sharpener. They will be able to maintain the proper cut and shape of the bit while returning it to like-new sharpness.
However, if you cannot take the bit to a sharpener, you can use diamond hones to remove a thin layer from the cutting blade’s two edges. Lubricate the diamond hone with water and lay the flat side of the bit against it. Stroke the bit back and forth across the hone, removing thin layers of the bit with each pass until the cutting edge is returned. To keep the bit balanced, be sure to stroke both sides of the bit an equal number of times.
Bob Vila has been America’s Handyman since 1979. As the host of beloved and groundbreaking TV series including “This Old House” and “Bob Vila’s Home Again,” he popularized and became synonymous with “do-it-yourself” home improvement.
Over the course of his decades-long career, Bob Vila has helped millions of people build, renovate, repair, and live better each day—a tradition that continues today with expert yet accessible home advice. The Bob Vila team distills need-to-know information into project tutorials, maintenance guides, tool 101s, and more. These home and garden experts then thoroughly research, vet, and recommend products that support homeowners, renters, DIYers, and professionals in their to-do lists.
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