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I keep seeing on YouTube people using these spiral/compression pattern bits. They look really beefy and have inspired tool lust. I’m not sure who makes them or where to get them.

I’m looking for a good pattern bit for the usual solid body stuff of routing the profile to a pattern, etc. The ones I’ve seen on YouTube seem to remove a lot of material AND leave a good finish, which is router bit nirvana.


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eagleamerica.com or mlcswoodworking.com

Infinity cutting tools sells nice ones too.

Dave

I have been using the Whiteside "ultimate" compression bit for some months now with good results... unless I make a careless mistake. I run a 3HP table router at 13,000 rpm and one time when I was pattern routing a bridge of rosewood I got a little distracted and bumped the blade on a rounded corner that hadn't been trimmed flush with the pattern yet. Since these bits tend to cut down on the top portion of the bit, it pulled the piece down slightly into the gap between the bit and the table insert, shooting the piece across the shop. Fortunately I had safe hand and body position so I wasn't hurt, but scared the crap out of me.

And now for the interesting part. After I got settled and went to cut another one I noticed the bit was vibrating. I said some things (assuming I had bent a nearly $200 bit) and replaced it with a flat blade bit of the same size and length. It was vibrating too... So I assumed I had not only bent the bit but destroyed the router as well.

I ordered a new router and an off-brand imitation of the same bit (can be found on amazon). When they both came in, I set it up and tried again. Bit was vibrating in the new router with the new "cheap" bit. For fun I threw the original Whiteside bit in the new router and it worked perfectly.

Two lessons learned. The Whiteside compression bit was stronger than my router, and the off-brand bit was unsafe to use and was promptly returned. I'd say the $180 bit was worth it... just be careful with it.