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Straight bits are perhaps the most frequently used type of router bit since they can be used in a wide variety of applications. While in a class of their own, straight bits are usually used for cutting different types of square-shaped grooves. These grooves can be cut with the wood grain (the technical definition of a “groove”), against the wood grain (called a “dado”), or along the edge of wood to produce an L-shaped shoulder or “rabbet”. All of these cuts are often used for joining two pieces of material. For example, the mortise and tenon joint is a very popular and sturdy joining technique that can be easily made with a straight bit. Aside from joinery, straight bits can also be used for mortising in door hardware, or for grooving a channel where a decorative inlay can be inserted. They can even be used in place of more specialized bits (like rabetting, described below), which contributes to their impressive versatility. The chamfer or bevel cutting bit is commonly used for shaping the edges of objects such as book shelves, work tops and table tops and any other object where a sharp 90° edge needs to be removed.
As they effectively cut a 45° bevel edge, they are also commonly used to ‘bevel” the edges of two adjoining surfaces to create a mitre joint so that they meet to form a right angle. V-bits as with most other decorative cutting bits come in a range of different shapes and angles that can be used to form everything from a deep thin channel to a wide shallow one. The straight cutting router bit is arguably the most commonly used type of router bit. As the name suggests it’s used for cutting straight cuts with a flat base e.g. the channels at the side of drawers that the drawer bottom sits in and certain timber joints such as a lapped joint.Flush trim bits come in a variety of cutting arm lengths and diameters, but the most common are ½-inch diameter by a 1-inch length with a ¼-inch shank. The majority of router bits that feature a bearing normally also include bearings of different sizes with the bit or in the kit. As the bearing follows the object your are working on, the size of bearing dictates the depth of the cut, so for a different depth of cut you can simply change the bearing for a different size. When it comes to the business end of a router bit, the cutting edges or teeth, most bits these days should be made of at minimum high-speed steel (or HSS for short) but if you can always go with carbide-tipped bits.
They’re available in cut diameters ranging from 3/16-inch to 1½ inches and have either one or two ‘flutes’ (cutting arms) depending on how large or fine of a cut you need. But it’s just a rabbet!” my students sometimes complain. Why overthink it? After all, most folks follow the standard protocol: on the tablesaw with a dado head buried in a sacrificial fence. However, the first approach is not necessarily the best. While there’s no doubt the tablesaw works, there are factors that might encourage an alternative method. The key question is, what matters more: what’s removed, or what remains? Two ways to cut a rabbet The final main element of a router bit is the bearing guide that normally features at the base or tip of a bit but can sometimes appear at the top.
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The rabbet cutting router bit is specifically designed for cutting rabbets, not the small cute furry ones found in most gardens but the rabbet joint or shoulder joint as it’s also known ( find out all bout rabbet or shoulder joints in our project here). Or I could use my new table saw to cut twice and get a rabbet like that... but I was wondering why I'm finding it difficult to source this - usually there's a reason, right?
To be fair, I've only really used my router for putting nice edges on right-angled pieces of wood, plus my latest attempt at a rabbet. What I would like to do, though, is (realising that I must bite the bullet for building some jig / sled type thing) build myself a crosscut sled so I bought some 18mm plywood last night, and some wood for the runners and some for the fences... I do my work in the garden so if the weather holds out I'll give a crosscut sled for the Bosch GTS 10 J a go later today... Actually with a side fence and, say, a 20mm 2-flute straight cutter you could do straight rebate - the thing is you'd need to do it in incremental depth passes of 1 to 3mm (assuming in MDF or ply). This is at best tedious, but depending on the base you have in the router it may prove very difficult to get two cuts of the same depth. Is it because most bits are sized for a US market and therefore the 1/2" is most widely used? But 19mm is pretty much 3/4"... I can't really seem to find router bits that go there... maybe I'm not looking hard enough? There are some specialised ones from the US "mega rabbet" it seems. However their main purpose is for creating decorative edges commonly used on tables, doors of various types, shelves and the similar. More often than not, these are generally shaping or moulding bits that are used to create specialist moulding’s and shapes, sometimes two in a single pass.
On its own, the router is useless, but coupled with the correct bit you can create a masterpiece! To these ends here is a run down of the most popular router bits and different shapes or mouldings they cut. Straight Cut Router Bits There are several different parts that make up a router bit and understanding each of these and what they do is integral to they’re use. The main router bit parts to note are the shank, the body, the cutting edge and if it has one the bearing guide.
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