Freud 12-152: 3/4 (Dia.) Double Flute Straight Bit (Eclipse Grind) Red

The trick with router bits is to make sure they are clean and sharp. They are pretty good from factory, but I found if you clean them and give them a good honing with a diamond file card before first use. They work much better. Also important to use correct router speed and feed rate. But dull dirty bits along with incorrect speed and feed lead to burning. When used properly these bits work great. Unfortunately some undersized plywood from foreign producers sold at big box stores are now thinner than 21/32nds. So these might even be a little over sized for those ply goods. So if you buy from large retailers, check the actual thickness of the sheet stock.

Its a Freud. They make good products. Cant go wrong.

Quality piece of tooling. Ive used it with both a hand router and CNC so far and it moves through maple like butter. Cant yet speak to the longevity, but it has worked perfectly for surfacing the table Im workin on.

I use this almost exclusively to cut slots in small shelves. Like for a fastener or a lectern book sliding stopper or perhaps something adjustable. I could use the 1/4 straight bit that came in a set of various bits costing about what this one bit costs. So why would I buy this? Well, it cuts far more accurately. You can see by eye even that the slot is kind of perfect. The 1/2 shank transfers more power for any brand, but its still a feature. The cutter goes straight and it doesnt care if it suddenly hits where a branch was in hardwood or an odd spot in something, that just disappears. Thats where the free or multi-pack one fails. Something a little off and it wobbles and maybe you can see it, or the board moves a little, or the slot height is uneven, or even some little bits fly out, all of which leave the slot looking crummy. So being frugal I might very well use cheap bits sometimes where the holes will be invisible or Im just doing some random chopping. But for finishing stuff that the end user will see, you need to use a specialty premium bit. For me thats usually Freud bits because I get consistently good results with them. And again, not saying your whole set needs to be these--theyre not cheap. But even for a hobbyist who cant pass on the cost, the ones you really like and use frequently should be Freud.

The first thing that impresses you about this bit, is the size. It is really large. The cutters are huge and as such, require more care than usual, especially if you are using it in a hand held router. Ive been using the bit in a 2 1/4 HP router, with a D handle installed. I jointed and squared 2 large boards 8ft x 12 x 3, hand held. I butted the router base against long straight edges and took cuts of about 1/16 to 1/8. The bit performed flawlessly, giving me very smooth edges on the boards, which were laminated 3/4 cabinet grade plywood (3) with a 3/4 layer of solid red oak. Of course, the 2 1/2 cutting length wasnt long enough to do the whole board. After making about a 2 1/4 cut with this bit, I turned the boards over and used a 1/2 trim bit, bearing on the bottom, to finish off the cuts. The job turned out great, only requiring light passes with a smoothing plane to finish off the job. Im very pleased with the speed and ease that this bit jointed and squared these large pieces. Nothing else in my shop worked as well or as quickly. Now to the bad part. I got a little careless on the second board, while cutting one of the 8ft sides. I didnt keep the router dead flat on the surface and dipped into the cut. In a split second, that long cutter took a big bite out of the side and then climbed up and out of the cut, twisting me to the left. Fortunately, the D handle base is a very secure base, that allows you to have a very good hold on the router, so nothing happened other than scaring me half to death. But, if someone had been standing close to me on the left, the router would have been in their face in an instant. Ive been using routers for over 30 years and never had a router do that to me before. Of course, I usually use a router table when possible, which is the sensible thing to do with such large bits. Ive got other projects planned, where Ill be using this bit and router configuration again as a hand held jointer. But, the next time, Ill make and install a much larger router base plate that will keep the router flat on the work surface. That should make things idiot proof....

so far so good

High quality bit.

worked great, well made!

I wanted to flatten the end of a 6x6 reclaimed oak beam. The beam was just the right height to secure in my benchs tail vice, and I made a jig to control the path of my 2.25 HP plunge router. I chose this bit because of its size (1 diameter-- takes off a decent amount but not too scary-big) and because of its cutting depth, which was necessary for me to reach the piece with my jig, while a more typical slab-flattening bit was not able to do. Anyway, it worked great for that purpose!

Razor sharp as expected. High quality Freud tool. I see reviews here from people who used this for something other than what it is intended for- mortising, edge trimming etc. This 15/32 bit is used to cut perfectly sized dados for 12mm offshore plywood. I buy 1/2 inch birch plywood, finished one side at a great price from the lumber supply, but it is not 1/2 it is 0.46, or 12mm. Using a standard 1/2 bit to route dados for cabinet making etc makes a dado that is way too big, loose and sloppy. You can also get what is marketed as a bit specifically for undersized offshore plywood, but it is 31/64ths which is very close, but still makes a groove a little too wide (1/64th) if you do precision work. The 31/64 groove will fit together easily with that extra room but does not look good. If you use 12mm plywood and can route a perfectly straight dado, this is the one you want. Youll need to use a clamp to pop the joint together but with no slop or shadow line. For a particularly difficult joint, Ill sand the edges of the panel going into the dado slightly and it slides right in.