CMT Router Bits
Pro Router Bits by CMT
CMT Router Bits – Defined as “a cutting bit used in a router”, these multi-tasker tools are a very important part of our lives. You may scoff at such a thought, but consider the number of things in our lives that we come into contact with everyday that a router bit has touched… CNC router bits are used for the sign on the front of your workplace and the numbers or name on your mailbox, stile and rail router bits are used to make the windows of your house, and dovetail router bits are used to make your dresser drawers.
Router bits have been used in some kind of mechanism used to create a high speed spinning action for many years, but it was only recently that routers and the router bits that are designed to be used with them came together in a marriage that has made this tool combination so useful to the woodworking tools craftsman of today.
Typically made of HSS, or high speed steel, router bits are designed to withstand very high temperatures and still maintain a sharp cutting edge that enables the router bits to glide through the material it’s cutting with relative ease. Most routers and the router bits they use have recommended RPM ratings to help insure tool longevity and safety to the user. Carbide tipped router bits have the cutting surface covered with carbide, and some router bits contain no steel at all being made completely of carbide. These carbide router bits are slightly more expensive than the traditional HSS router bits, but offer a longer, sharper tool life and are designed to be used when cutting composite woods such as MDF, plywood, and other manmade materials.
It won’t take long to realize that there is no shortage of router bit manufacturers to choose from, so how do you know which one is right for you? Some of the best known names in the industry such as Freud, MLCS, CMT, Amana, and Jesada were put to the test and the results may shock you. In all, 17 different company’s router bits were put to the test known as the Router Bit Matchup. When the sawdust had cleared, CMT Router Bits emerged the winner proving to stay sharper, longer and producing the fewest imperfections in the material used for the test.