Shopsmith Forums

I'm a novice woodworker. I bought a router bit set on ebay that was advertised as "brand new, never been used". I was disappointed when they arrived. The cutters look good but the shanks are very rusty. I'm not sure whether or not to keep them. I'm wondering if the rusty shanks will effect the performance of the bit.

Thanks for your help,
Dale.

Dale,
I would send them back. Even if they are not pitted and you remove the rust there is still the possibility the collet will not grip them properly and pose a safety risk. Maybe I am being a bit over cautious, but when something sharp is spinning at 20,000 rpm, I want that sucker held verrrry firm.

You could try cleaning the shanks with a little naval jelly and some steel wool. As long as they're not pitted they should be fine.

You could also try electrolytic rust removal (Google for it) although that may be more trouble than it's worth for such a small piece.

- Chris

Hi Dale! I don't know how much this set cost you, but with the extremely large selection of good router bit sets available at a number of sources, I'd send these back immediately. No question! Reason? They are unsafe! Even if you could clean them up, there is absolutely no reason to buy rusted shanked bits, when there are so many shiny new sets available.

Use your refunded $ to buy a reasonably priced good set (about 24 of them) of bits. Make sure they have the anti kick back feature Look for carbide bits, or carbide tipped bits. Just Google "router bits" and you can do a lot of shopping. This might point you to a local source that will meet your needs.

You ought to be able to find a good set of starter bits, to which you can add new singles as needed. With a set like this you will not feel bad about tossing a worn or broken bit and replacing it with a better one.

Dale,
Check out mlcswoodworking.com. They are good bits and moderately priced with free shipping. That's where I get most of my bits from.