The beautiful patterns you see on most wooden tables and other furniture pieces are made with one tool known as a router. Routers are power tools that spin at high speeds to not only shape but also trim and cut wood to a certain extent. You can find routers used mainly in woodworking but they are also useful in carpentry and joinery applications.
Some routers are even used for the shaping of plastic and even softer materials but most are used on wood which is the material they were initially made for. A router allows you to round off edges and add details to picture frames and finish corners the way you want them to look thanks to a plethora of different wood router bits.
Types of Router Bits
Round Over
There are different categories of router bits and a round-over bit falls under the category of edge-forming bits. This type of bit is extremely common as it allows you to make a rounder profile on a 90° edge. Round over router bits for wood are quite smooth and reduce the chances of injury because of that.
Spiral-Plunge
Much more complex than round-over bits, spiral-plunge bits make use of both a shearing action and an augering action so that they produce clean and accurate cuts and take care of chips. Both the bottom and top edges of the cut are clean since the wood fibres are pulled up as the bit turns.
Straight-Plunge
A straight-plunge bit is a go-to option for many woodworkers as it can make precise cuts in a straight line with a flat bottom and straight sides. Because of this, straight-plunge router bits for sale are also used for making dadoes, grooves, rabbets and edge trimming.
Core Box
If you're not a fan of flat bottom grooves then you'll like the core box bit which creates round bottom grooves instead. If you want to be able to hollow out areas for inlays and make decorative fluting and grooving then a core box bit is the one to get.
V-Groove
As its name suggests, a V-groove bit is able to make a V-shaped groove in a workpiece. This type of bit makes the workpiece look more decorative and it can also be used if you want to make for a more architectural look. If you want to make chamfered edges, signs and lettering, a V-groove bit should be part of your arsenal.
Flush-Trim
When you need to make an edge flush with the surface of a wooden piece, a flush-trim bit is what you should use. This type of bit is, simply put, a straight-cutting bit but it has a ball-bearing pilot that guides the router along the cutting path. Trimming overhanging edges, laminate and veneer can also be done with a flush-trim bit.
Slot-Cutting
These self-explanatory wood router bits are able to create channels or slots. Because of this, slot-cutting bits are commonly used to make biscuit holes, T-molding grooves, spline joints and more specific decorative effects.
Rabbeting
Recessed edges or what are better known as rabbets in the woodworking community are made with rabbeting bits. Rabbeting bits are also used to create a decorative effect on the edge of a panel or shelf as well as for joining pieces of wood.
Cove
A cove bit produces the exact opposite of what a round-over bit does. That's why cove bits are used to decorate the edges of window seals, tables and stools while they're also used to create mouldings. If you want to make quarter-circle indentations in an edge, know that cove bits are the best at it.
Ogee
The ogee or Roman ogee bit is known for its elegant profile and one that is used to create decorative edges with either a convex curve or a concave one. These are often called S-shaped edges since the shape of the bit looks similar to an “S”. You can find double-ogee wood router bits that have two S-shaped profiles on them.
Chamfer
A chamfer bit is used exclusively for the making of bevel cuts on the edge of a wooden piece. These cuts can be used as a form of decorative touch, to serve a purpose or both. You can find chamfered edges on counters and table tops as they can also help make the furniture piece look more modern without making it look complex.
Dovetail
With dovetail router bits for wood, you can make long-lasting and robust dovetail joints. These joints piece together with the help of pins cut along one workpiece which has a matching tail with another piece of wood.
Specialty
While not as common as some of the above router bits for sale, specialty bits are made to be used for one specific purpose, hence the name. Be it for sign making, dish carving or to shape the edge of a door panel so that it can fit in the frame's stiles and rails, specialty bits are the answer.