Freud 75-102: 1/4" (Dia.) Up Spiral Bit

I first ordered this bit to use in a hobby CNC machine to route the inside of my wood project boxes for a small home based business. Now, about a year later I have gone through 14 of them and every one has withstood many hours of difficult routing of exotic woods, many of them rosewood and ebony. I must run them much slower than the recommended chip rate to get absolutely clean cuts and they get hot and need to be cleaned at least hourly. Even with the abuse I throw at them I have only ever had two break and both breakages were me failing to properly debug my CNC program and attempting to grind through 1" of exotic hardwood sideways at 60 inches per minute! Oops! Virtually every aluminum clamp I own has a gouge, divot, hole or in one case is nearly cut in two by miscalculations and far too many hours staring at a CNC machine while trying not to doze off. No damage to any of the bits as far as I could see and the amount of aluminum shavings left behind was impressive. There may be better bits out there, but the price vs longevity is just right for me. They arrive individually packaged in plastic tubes, which is good as they are sharp! Two empty boxes of band-aids can attest to that fact. Safety first! EDIT: 8/25/2013 Update. I have now used perhaps 75 of these bits as my business has gotten much busier. My original review still stands except that I would like to add that I have tried a couple of the Amazon competitors bits in the same price range and have found these are superior. They last longer and cut better. I have cut various ebonies, rosewoods and other extreme exotic hardwoods and while the bit may not last more than a couple hours of use they still last longer than others I have tried. I am hell on bits but these are still my 'Go to' bit.

I stand deflowered as this was my first spiral router bit. 1/4 inch - perfect. Shoulders - no tear out, sharp edges. Valley - flat. And the best part, the feed rate - it doesn't matter. I can go fast, I can go slow - the end result is perfection. I can't say if Freud is better or worse than the other brands out there, but I can't imagine wanting more from what I got from this router bit. There was a scene in a recent movie Ford VS Ferrari in which Mr Shelby takes Mr Ford out for a spin in their prototype race car. Mr Ford hops in the car, like I know cars, punch it. Shelby guns it around the track, turning and accelerating around the track. Under the acceleration, Mr Ford feels his guts getting pulled back, his eyeballs against the back of his head.. his body jerking around on turns. At the end he is hit with the realization of what a Ford is capable of, the possibilities, the brilliance. He knew OF the race cars, but at the that moment he came to know ABOUT race cars. If only his father could be there. He broke down in tears. I didn't cry, but that was what it was like when I Freud 1/4" spiral upcut bit in my router for the first time.

This review is for both the bit, and Amazon. I bought this bit to rout slots in some really hard oak, for various jigs I was making for the shop. I've had several Freud bits for years, and have generally been pleased with them, but have only a few solid carbide spiral bits, and they're either too small, or too large for the task. I would prefer 1/2" shanks for all my router bits, but because of what I wanted to accomplish, this bit was the answer, because of the constant 1/4" diameter, the whole length of the bit. This one looked nice, so I ordered it. First, it's extremely well machined, and extremely sharp. Very accurate. My first experience was going well, and I was very happy with the cut quality. I was using the bit in a router table trying out a new Kreg router fence. I wanted to move the wood slightly, to widen my first set of slots to 5/16" instead of leaving them at 1/4". For whatever reason, (I think it was poor technique on my part) I started the router, and when I started to move the wood, the bit grabbed the side walls, (it was simply doing it's job) and the wood chattered violently, because I wasn't holding it well enough. I shut back down. This bit is so hard, being solid carbide, when I examined the edge, it was trashed. Several chips out of both edges, and I decided to quit at that point, until I got a new bit. Amazon promply replaced my bit, no hassles, and it didn't cost me a thing for shipping, either way. I was pleased. Now, fast forward, second bit. Same quality as the first one, excellent. Back to making my jigs. Things were going well, and again, the bit grabbed hard, the oak moved, and the bit snapped in half. I found it laying horizontally in the slot, covered in chips. By this time I was getting frustrated, and ticked off. I initiated another return, and Amazon promply replaced the bit, again, only this time they must have used overnight shipping, because the bit came really fast, again, at no cost to me. I honestly feel that both times I had issues with this bit, it was entirely my fault. A lot of folks would probably have given up at that point, and bought a different bit, but I knew this bit was good quality, and would perform well, if I did my part, which is the reason I went through two replacements. This bit is a little gem, and if you use good work practices, you will be pleased with the cut quality. This bit will do what is was designed to do. And Amazon has never let me down with their customer service. I've been a customer for years, and will continue to be.

I bought the 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 inch. They cut so clean for box joints, currently have the 3/8 on the router table. I love Freud bits, fantastic quality.

Used product twice and it broke off.; Freud was contacted and received reply - replacement bit has been received - customer service is excellent if there is an issue - therefore, will change my review

I know there are some hardcore woodworkers out there that say Freud isn't top of the line, that there are better router bits out there, but IMHO, Freud is simply the best. Granted, I personally haven't used the $100 1/4" bits, but I can't imagine they would be that much better. This bit cuts a razor sharp line with zero burrs and thus far has stayed extremely sharp. I use this bit in a CNC router that requires an ultra sharp, ultra precise bit, and the Freud delivers. I've personally routed MDF, acrylic and aluminum with this bit and it still looks like the day I bought it. As both a warning and a "this is how sharp it is story", I once overtightened the bit in the router and was having a tough time getting it out. I thought, boy, I really should wear some gloves or I'm going to end up slicing my finger. Sure enough, I put on my leather work gloves, gave it a tug and what do you know, the bit stayed in place while my gloved hand slid right down it. The bit sliced effortlessly through the leather and into my thumb. Luckily, because of the glove it was only a flesh wound...but be careful, this thing is sharp!

Update: I installed the bit into my Porter Cable router. I used it to route a dado in some Sapele wood. Worked like a charm. The bit looks to be in good shape. However, the case was more of a sleeve and not the regular Freud clear box they usually use. I will try out the bit and then update my review.

... bits are a commidity. I ask my sawyer what he likes. Has worked with me over twenty years. He likes these and that's all Ineed to hear. We use these in a CNC to cut solid surface materials. He says they cut smoothly with little flex and last at a pace above the average. That's all I need to hear. After doing this job over forty-five years I;ve learned to listen to my people. This is a fine product.