1/2" Solid Carbide Spiral Upcut Bit

[woodPixel]

I've used all three extensively. My absolute favourites are Freud, but I'm prejudiced towards the company as I love their circular saw blades. Aldavs Jinoo bits are FANTASTIC.

The Jinoo 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" almost every day .... but the 1/4" is used many times a day. My business makes kids toys and furniture on commission and many of the designs call for highly precise construction methods and quick, accurate machining. The studio is busy most days and most weeks are pretty full on.

Over the last 24 months I've bought many Jinoo 1/4 and 3/8 to accommodate for wear and breakage (I get the sweats when there aren't spares when its busy), but I've NEVER broken one or worn on out enough to toss it out.

The prices are excellent, delivery is super fast and as Xanthorrhoeas says, they are very sharp when delivered.

The Jinoo bits are used for edge routing using templates, dados and using the Incra (and wonderfence) as a "jointer". Woods mainly used are Oak, Walnut, Qld Maple, Blackbutt, Pine and MDF. The last is used extensively - this is one of the prime reasons to moving to spiral carbides as regular straight ones wore far too fast and were too noisy (I hate noise).

For some reason the blackbutt I use burns like a bastard on regular tools, but does not with the spiral carbides.

The Freuds and Jinoos are very quiet and give an absolutely superior smooth finish.

I buy the Jinoos as price is important.

[Belstaff1464]

Thanks for sharing your experience with these bits.

Regarding compression bits, are they a compromise ? In other words, will an upcut bit produce a cleaner bottom and a downcut bit a crisper shoulder with less chip out than a compression bit ? I'm having trouble deciding what type of spiral bit to buy. Is there any reason why I should buy an upcut and a downcut instead of just a compression bit?

[aldav]

Unfortunately it's not one type fits all, it really depends on what type of work you're intending to do. If you want to cut deep mortises buy an upcut bit, make sure you use the right technique and you'll get a nice clean shoulder. If you intend to use the bit for shallow mortices (like hinge mortices) and dadoes and rabbets use a downcut bit. You will get a very clean bottom (sounds like an advert for toilet paper doesn't it!) with any quality solid carbide bit, doesn't matter whether they have fishtail or straight cut ends (router bits versus end mills).

Compression bits are designed to do a superior job at edge jointing, you wouldn't believe the finish when used on double sided laminates. Since I have all three types - why wouldn't I - I've never used a compression bit for morticing or dadoes. Must have a go at that tomorrow just to see what happens. Should be good for dadoes and rabbets provided they're deep enough to get both cutting spirals in to action but might not be pretty for deep morticing with the lower section upcutting and the upper section downcutting - the chips have to go somewhere!

If you want an all-rounder start with an upcut.

Cheers,
David

[woodPixel]

The age old discussion!

There are others far wiser, but I do have personal preferences.

Most of my work is done with standard upcuts.

There is a Special Reserve downcut kept for a particular client whose work requires beautiful finish in Ash. It makes a beautiful dado 1/4" wide and a perfect flat bottom.

The upcut also gives a beautiful bottom. The edges aren't bad or shabby either.

This article makes more sense than my rambling: How To Use a Router - Up vs. Down Cut Bits - NewWoodworker.com LLC

I use an expensive combo up/down from Freud (from Aldav too) for doing jointer duties on the router table, but that really isnt necessary - the 1/2" Jinoo does a fantastic job. The RT does a great job of refreshing edges for panel glueups, especially if the boards were prepped the day prior (or earlier). You always want a fresh edge for panel glueups!

The Freud combo is incredibly sharp. It is also a pricey beast.

(I'm nothing more than a customer of Aldavs and receive nothing in return or discounts - but choose to use him as he has accommodated my needs in the past, has good prices and posts the next day when I put in a late order).

[Belstaff1464]

Thanks guys. At this stage I'm doing mainly dadoes and rabbets so looks like I'll be needing downcut bits.

[aldav]

Good article woodPixel. The warning about chip build up when using downcuts is deserving of attention. When cutting a dado of even only 6mm depth the chip build up is quite dramatic so multiple passes are the way to go particularly with smaller diameter bits.

[pippin88]

Thanks for sharing your experience with these bits.

Regarding compression bits, are they a compromise ? In other words, will an upcut bit produce a cleaner bottom and a downcut bit a crisper shoulder with less chip out than a compression bit ? I'm having trouble deciding what type of spiral bit to buy. Is there any reason why I should buy an upcut and a downcut instead of just a compression bit?

Compression bits have an upcut section and a downcut section. There are designed for full thickness cuts with optimal finish on bottom and top face. They are not for partial thickness cuts.

[pippin88]

I should correct my last post. You can do partial thickness cuts with a compression bit. The important thing is to make sure the cut or pass is deeper than the length of the upcut section, so as to have the downcut section in contact with the top surface.

Being mostly downcut, compression bits do not have good chip evacuation.