Freud 12-106: 5/16" (Dia.) Double Flute Straight Bit with 1/2" Shank

The bit is very sharp and accurate and makes a good first impression. I wanted to use it to cut slots in the end grain of 1 foot length , 8 inch wide cherry boards. The boards are well supported in a good fixture for the cut. Cut depth at 3/8 inch may have contributed to the failure. I have used this bit twice before. On each occasion, it cut smoothly and met my expectations. On the third use, the bit was cutting smoothly and I had cut a slot about an 1 1/2 inches long when the sound changed. There wasn't a bang or anything like that. The work was not damaged either. After shutting off the router, I found that the bit had snapped off about 1/4 inch outside the work piece. I have faith in Freund Bits and bought an up-cut bit from them to replace the broken bit. I think chip build up in the slot after it was routed contributed to this failure and hope the up-cut bit will eliminate that problem. My advice when using the straight bit would be to make small cuts and use several passes to get to your desired depth. I would use 3/16 as the maximum cut depth on each pass, especially in hardwoods.

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 it's still a feature. The cutter goes straight and it doesn't care if it suddenly hits where a branch was in hardwood or an odd spot in something, that just disappears. That's 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 I'm 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 that's usually Freud bits because I get consistently good results with them. And again, not saying your whole set needs to be these--they're not cheap. But even for a hobbyist who can't pass on the cost, the ones you really like and use frequently should be Freud.

I made a cherry table and used it to cut mortises as well as groves the length of 6 planks. I made groves 1/2 inch deep for splines to locate the planks. The total distance would be roughly 55 feet of cutting. The bit was still sharp and cut 10 mortises 1 3/4 inch deep on the ends of the table.I believe there's a possibility that those who broke the bits tried to cut the full depth in a single pass and at too great of a speed. To cut the full 1 3/4 inch mortise I made 3 passes, which is more or less standard procedure.Using digital calipers I checked the floating tenons that fit the mortises and they measured .373 inches. .375 is 3/8 of an inch.

So far so good. Used to make a prototype mortise and tenon with a plunge router, bushing guide set, this bit, along with a template i made outta birch ply. Tenon is 1 1/2" long and this bit handled the deep end grain cut easily and accurately. I hope it lasts for about 25 more joints at least and i'll consider it worth the money. If It doesn't, i'll edit the post.

Razor sharp as expected. High quality Freud tool. I see reviews here from people who used this for something other than what it is intended for- mortising, edge trimming etc.This 15/32" bit is used to cut perfectly sized dados for 12mm offshore plywood. I buy "1/2 inch birch plywood, finished one side" at a great price from the lumber supply, but it is not 1/2" it is 0.46", or 12mm. Using a standard 1/2" bit to route dados for cabinet making etc makes a dado that is way too big, loose and sloppy. You can also get what is marketed as a bit specifically for undersized offshore plywood, but it is 31/64ths which is very close, but still makes a groove a little too wide (1/64th) if you do precision work. The 31/64" groove will fit together easily with that extra room but does not look good.If you use 12mm plywood and can route a perfectly straight dado, this is the one you want. You'll need to use a clamp to pop the joint together but with no slop or shadow line. For a particularly difficult joint, I'll sand the edges of the panel going into the dado slightly and it slides right in.

I used this with a bosch router and router sled to flatten my walnut/resin desk. I tried a couple of the cheap bits on amazon and they went dull way too quick. I did 3 passes on a 72x36" desk and it is still sharp.

I made 104 plunge cuts with this bit to create 52 mortises over the course of two days. I’ll say it held up to the abuse. However, the router was not the easiest to plunge as the bit does not clear to hole like an up-spiral bit would.The bit is the diameter as advertised and is sharp out of the box. Be careful when unboxing the plastic lid was on pretty tight. And the bit was snug in the base.

I am making a white oak nightstand for my niece's wedding present and needed to put 22" long mortises in the legs so I could slide a panel in. Because they would stop 4" from the bottom of the legs, I couldn't use the dado blades on the table saw. So I got this bit and used it in our overhead router and it made beautifully cut mortises. This is my third Freud router bit and I am pleased with the performance I get from them.

Do I buy a jointer for several hundred dollars or do I buy this router bit? No-brainer!I have a planer and a router/router table. I think it is important to note that the router I have mounted in my router table is on the heavier duty side. It may make a difference if the router being used is not as powerful. However, I was tossing around the idea of purchasing a jointer as I have an expensive planer already. Looking for a cheaper alternative to jointing, I came across a lot of people using their router tables with a large straight bit. Albeit, the wood that is being jointed cannot be really large on the edges, this truly gets the job done. I plane the boards down to a perfect finish and then run them past this bit on my router table finishing the job. Smooth and perfectly squared!!

I cut 3/4" deep dados across 51 2x6 studs on both ends for a barell sauna build. I would line up 14 of them and run across them with my edge guide. It chews through them like nothing in a single pass. Chips thrown everywhere!!! I do recommend a heavy duty router for this bit. I had purchased a 2HP 11Amp router for this job, but edge guides were out of stock for about a month. So I had to use my smaller 1.75HP 9Amp.Chewed through easily on a most of the boards. However it would stall continuously on a few of the denser boards. Not sure if those perhaps had more moisture (kiln dried dimensional lumber from big box store) but they were a little heavier, and in some case had streaks of a different colour also so perhaps it was just the part of the tree those were cut from. For my last few groups I did it in two passes to save my back and had zero stalls on the smaller router.

I bought this bit for use in a router sled, for flattening large rough stock. The process works really well, but leaves lines on the workpiece where the bit edges pass. Of course the issue could be caused by any number of things, but I have adjusted everything possible and it won't go away. Googling suggests this is a common phenomenon with the sled process, but you should be aware this is likely to happen to you if sledding if your aim.The lines are persistent, but can be sanded out. You just have to plan for a little extra work and material loss. I also find I could have used a 1 1/2" bit that was more readily available. The last 1/4" would not have made any difference to me.I do get a little tear our on the edges of the workpiece as well. If you are counting on sharp edges prior to a glue up, you will need to take precautions or plan to joint your work after sledding.Overall a great bit I am glad to have in my collection.

I got this for a single purpose which was to trim some wood off a 2x4 that I used to build a fence gate; the wood dried/warped, whatever and the gate would only close if pushed hard (i.e. 1,2 mm too wide). I used this with my router to trim off that 2mm, easy peasy. Freud bits speak for themselves. Came in a plastic container, well protected on the sides. this bit at it's size can be pretty versatile.Would love it if it was cheaper.

I will be using this to flatten very wide boards. I expect it will be a top quality bit so no qualms there. However, I have never had such a hard time removing a bit from the case. I finally built two small towers of boards to support the edges of the case so the case was upside down, I put a #2 Robertson screwdriver in the hole in the bottom of the case and beat very hard with a hammer. Once the bit fell out I tried various methods to get the rubber gasket off without slicing my hands. Finally I got a good grip on the sides of the bit and twisted the gasket. It slowly made its way down the bit and came off. Hopefully this will help someone else get their bit out of the case and keep their fingers intact.