The 10 Best Router Bit Sets

For most home shops, the Bosch RBS015MBS covers the jobs that come up first: trimming, rounding and chamfering edges, cutting grooves and simple dovetails. Every bit has a quarter-inch shank, so it fits palm and trim routers as well as full-size ones. An independent trim-router comparison found these the smoothest quarter-inch bits it tried, with the least vibration. A slick coating slows pitch buildup. Thin shanks can flex on wide profiles, so take light passes.

Bob Vila's reviewers named the Freud 91-100 their best overall after cutting with it in a router table and by hand, and they noted clean edges with little vibration. The kit runs from straight and mortising cutters to an ogee, a cove and a flush trimmer, all on stout half-inch shanks. A red coating fights pitch, and the case hangs on a wall. Bits sit tight, so pulling them out takes effort, and trim routers can't take them.

Seven bits sounds thin, but the Whiteside 401 holds the ones woodworkers reach for most: two straights, a flush trimmer, a roundover, a cove, a chamfer and a rabbeting bit. Whiteside makes its bits in North Carolina, and these half-inch shanks hold firm without chatter. A printed card in the lid shows each shape. Decorative profiles have to be bought later, and a trim router can't use these; the 402 is the quarter-inch version.

A first router pairs well with the Skil RTB7501, which brings a full spread of edge and groove shapes from a known tool brand at a modest cost. The bits are carbide tipped on heat-treated bodies, and their shape limits how deep each pass can bite, which helps against kickback. The clear-lidded case locks onto other Skil cases. It came out recently, so long-term feedback is thin, and edge life in hardwood is still unproven.

If you're learning to rout, or you mostly work pine and plywood, the Hiltex 10100 is a low-risk way to try every common shape. It has been sold for years and has a very large owner base. Cuts in softwood come out clean enough to sand and finish. Durability is the trade-off: the carbide is thin, so edges dull faster in oak or maple and leave little to resharpen. Replace favorite shapes with better bits later.

Woodworkers who want one box for nearly every edge shape should look at the Bosch RBS030MBS. It uses Bosch's coated micrograin carbide and adds extra coves, ogees, slotting and core-box cutters, plus spare bearings and a hex key. A printed map inside the lid shows where each bit lives, so finding a profile is quick. A hobbyist will leave many of these bits unused, and the quarter-inch shanks limit how big a cut can go.

Owners of compact trim routers get four of the handiest small cutters in the Whiteside 404: a flush trimmer, a template bit with a top bearing, a small roundover and a chamfer. Each one is narrow enough to pass through the small base of a laminate trimmer. They come from the same North Carolina shop as Whiteside's full-size bits and hold an edge well. Four bits is a short list for the money, with no decorative shapes.

The Yonico 17702 suits a router-table owner who would rather have a shape on hand than order it later. Its 70 bits include dado, slotting, dovetail, beading and core-box cutters on half-inch shanks, all stored in a labeled wooden box that hangs on a wall. The tips use micrograin carbide, and the guide bearings are sealed. Most hobbyists will use a small fraction of them, and the big ones need a router with variable speed.

A hobbyist who wants variety on a tight budget gets wave-edge, ogee and a long run of straight bits in the LU&MN 35-Piece. Everything rides in an aluminum carrying case with a spot for each cutter. Cuts in softwood and plywood are clean enough for shop furniture and crafts. The carbide is thin and dulls quickly in hardwood, and these shanks can creep in a standard collet unless the nut is snug.

Bought as a gift or for a tidy shop, the Bosch RBS010 sits on a wooden base under a clear cover, with color bands that sort the bits by job. Inside are two straights, a mortising bit, a core box, a V-groove, a roundover, an ogee, a chamfer, a dovetail and a flush trimmer, all with quarter-inch shanks. The carbide is ground sharp. It has no rabbeting or cove cutter, and ten bits make a small kit for the price.