Best router bit sets for beginners: starter sets picked by shank size and profiles

01What should a beginner's router bit set have?

A beginner's set should have a shank that fits your collet, carbide cutting edges, a straight bit for grooves, and a few bearing-guided edge bits such as a round-over, a chamfer and a flush trim. Those few profiles cover most first projects: shelves, boxes, picture frames and trimming one piece flush to another. A set's piece count matters far less than whether those core bits are in it.

Shank: match the collet first

The collet is the split sleeve and nut that clamps the bit shank, and its bore must match the shank exactly. Compact and trim routers from DeWalt, Milwaukee and Makita ship with a 1/4 in collet, so they take only that shank size. Mid-size and full-size US routers usually come with 1/4 and 1/2 in collets. In Europe, Bosch supplies its POF 1400 ACE DIY router with 6 mm, 8 mm, 1/4 in collets, so metric shank sets are common there. Our guide to router collet sizes lists more models.

Cutting edge: carbide-tipped

The picks are carbide-tipped, meaning carbide cutting edges brazed to a steel body. Whiteside describes that construction as a balance of quality and cost with a rigid steel shank, while solid-carbide bits are made entirely of carbide. All five starter sets here use that construction, where the maker states it.

Profiles: a short list that earns its keep

A straight bit cuts grooves, dadoes and mortises. A round-over softens an edge and is the most popular edge bit. A chamfer cuts a bevelled edge. A flush trim bit, with its bearing at the tip, trims one piece flush to the piece below it, such as a face frame or a template. A rabbeting bit cuts a recessed shoulder whose depth changes with the bearing. If a set includes these, it covers most beginner work. The full list of shapes is in our guide to edge-profile router bits.

02What rules a router bit set out for a beginner?

A set is ruled out if its shank does not match your collet, if its bits are rated below your router's top speed without a speed control to slow it, or if its largest bits exceed what your router's maker allows. Those three checks matter more than brand.

• Shank and collet. A 1/2 in shank set will not fit a compact router. A 1/4 in shank and the nearest metric shank are different sizes, so they are not interchangeable in the same collet, despite the common belief that they are close enough.
• Rated speed. A bit's rated maximum speed must be at least the router's maximum speed. Larger-diameter bits carry lower ratings, which is why routers have a speed dial.
• Bit diameter. DeWalt says not to use bits larger than 1-3/8 in across on its DWP611 compact router, and Milwaukee lists 1-1/2 in as the maximum for its M18 FUEL compact router. Each figure comes from that maker's own manual and applies to that router only.

Router bit sets are also easy to confuse with driver bit sets. A router bit has a round shank for a collet; a driver bit has a hex shank for a quick-change holder. If you were looking for screwdriving bits, the impact-rated bit sets guide covers those.

04How do the beginner router bit sets differ?

The sets differ first by shank size, then by which profiles they include, and then by how many bits they hold. Four of the five use the smaller shank, which fits both compact and larger routers.

Freud 88-100 vs Whiteside 402: joinery or edges?

Freud's nine-bit set adds a dovetail bit, a mortising bit and a Roman ogee to the core straight, rabbeting, round-over and flush trim bits, so it suits a beginner who wants to try simple joinery. Whiteside's seven-bit set leans toward edge work, with a cove, a round-over, a chamfer and a rabbet bit beside two straight bits and a flush trim bit. Whiteside lists every bit by part number, which makes replacing a single worn bit easy.

Bosch RBS006 vs RBS015MBS: few or many?

Both Bosch sets share micrograin carbide tips and an anti-friction coating, and Bosch lists both for hand-held and palm routers. The RBS015MBS holds 15 bits against 6 in the RBS006. Bosch's Canadian page lists the smaller set as two straight bits, a trimming bit, a round-over, a chamfer and a dovetail, which covers grooves and simple edges but has no rabbeting bit. The larger set adds a cove, a Roman ogee, a V-groove, a slotting cutter, a rabbeting bit, a second round-over and chamfer, and two trim bits: one flush laminate trim and one top-bearing straight trim for following a template on top of the work.

Freud 91-100 vs 88-100: is the larger shank worth it?

Where your router accepts it, yes. Manufacturers advise using a 1/2 in shank bit whenever the router takes one, because the larger shank gives more stability and less vibration. The 91-100 also has the widest profile list here. The catch is fit: it suits mid-size and full-size routers and router tables, not compact trim routers.

05How do you get clean first cuts with a new set?

Clean first cuts come from the right feed direction, a steady feed rate, light passes and a speed suited to the bit's diameter. Each habit below comes from router and bit makers' guidance.

• Feed direction. Seen from above, a hand-held router bit turns clockwise, so move the router from left to right along an edge in front of you. Go counterclockwise around the outside of a workpiece and clockwise around the inside.
• No climb cutting. Feeding the router in the same direction the bit rotates can pull it along and cause loss of control.
• Several light passes. Take deep cuts in passes of increasing depth instead of one heavy pass, which overloads the motor.
• Steady feed. Feeding too slowly leaves friction burns, which corrects the belief that slower is always cleaner.
• Speed by diameter. Use lower router speeds for larger-diameter bits and higher speeds for small ones. Small bits carry high ratings: Whiteside rates its 1/4 in RU2100 spiral bit at 18000–20000 rpm recommended and 24000 rpm maximum, and wider profiles are rated lower.

If edges still burn or chip, our page on router tear-out fixes works through the causes in order.

06When is a starter router bit set the wrong buy?

A starter set is the wrong buy when you need one specialist bit, when your router takes a shank the set does not have, or when the job calls for a large bit that belongs in a router table. In those cases a single bit bought for the job serves better.

• Raised panels and cabinet doors. Large raised-panel bits use the larger shank and are meant for table-mounted routers at reduced speed. No starter set here includes one.
• Metric routers. European routers supplied with metric collets need metric-shank bits. The five picks are inch-shank sets.
• Template routing from above. A flush trim bit has its bearing at the tip and follows a template underneath. A pattern bit has its bearing on the shank side and follows a template on top. They are not the same bit. Of the five picks, only Bosch's RBS015MBS lists a top-bearing trim bit beside its flush trim bit; the other four list no top-bearing bit, so template work from above means buying a pattern bit separately.
• Clean edges in sheet goods. Compression spiral bits are the type made to leave clean edges on both faces of sheet material, and down-cut spirals give a clean top edge. None of the picks includes a spiral bit.

For other comparisons, the buyer guides index lists every category, and you can check the collet your router takes by brand and model.

07Questions readers ask