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

Let me just say I love freud cutting tools. I rate things in consideration to the price range they are in along with what it is supposed to do and how it actually performs. Usually everything I purchase that is made by freud gets the highest rating in my book, because the performance quality at the price range their products are in are always on par if not better. I have a large selection of freud saw blades, forstner bits, and router bits and they all perform to the highest standard of the price range they are in. Now with this 1-3/4 straight bit. My experience has been a little different which is why I gave it 4 stars only. The bit is a beast and for the most part it performs great, but I purchased this bit to plane wood down flat and level. Seeing as I do not have a jointer or a plane. I will say it that this is the first time for me to plan wood in this manner, but this bit leaves uneven lines in the surface of the wood that I am planing. Which is why I gave it 4 stars. The lines are easy to sand out with some heavy grit sandpaper or a smoothing plane, but this is a straight bit that is supposed to perform as a bottom smoothing bit. So it should not leave lines in the wood surface. I am thinking that maybe I could have received a slightly defective bit. So I ordered one of the Amana 1-3/4 straight bits. I am going to give that a go and see if it does the same thing. Even with the lines .I would still recommend this bit, because the lines can be sanded out afterwards and freud bits usually last a long time. Plus this particular bit is large enough to eat away a lot of material in one pass and it is sharp as hell.

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.

Go through the material slowly.

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.

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 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!

High quality bit.

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....

You do the math... this should produce a very tight fit. It does. Pliers were required to force the 1/4 shelf pins into the 15/64 holes. But, that was the recommendation of the shelf pin jig maker (Rockler). I dont think I will be making frequent changes to the shelf positions. (I have used the bit only one time to make 16 shelf pin holes so I wont comment on either longevity or value for money.)

This bit cut as expected, and I have high expectations. Freud products continue to impress me. I use their saw blades almost exclusively. This is a great bit at a very fair price. Also, on one other note, the first bit received was the incorrect bit. The packaging wrap around the bit had the correct number and description, but the actual bit in the Freud container was not the bit I ordered (Freud package was correct, just not the bubble wrap label around the bit). After many (100s) Amazon orders, this was the first real issue I have had (small shipment damage on a few orders but nothing that damaged the product to a return level). So, I contacted Amazon inside my account, and checked the issue that I had received an incorrect item. I was contacted by email, before I could get over to my email account. They had the info to ship the wrong bit back,with free shipping label to print and attach, and stated that a replacement bit was being shipped that day. Now listen to this folks, I received the replacement the next day by FedEx, and the next day was Saturday. I repeat, a Saturday. For a $20 router bit. I havent received customer service like this since the 80s. Wow! Knowing this type support is backing up my orders, gives me a real piece of mind (and I have no stock in Amazon, just a satisfied customer). And yes, since this is what this review was mainly about, I like the bit too. Go Freud!