Whiteside 3360 – 45 Degree Lock Miter Router Bit – 1/2″ Shank

2 reviews for Whiteside 3360 – 45 Degree Lock Miter Router Bit – 1/2″ Shank

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   David Perfette (verified owner) – October 31, 2022

   I am very pleased with this router bit and with Whiteside. Please remember that I am referring to working with end grain in everything I discuss here. Firstly, these bits are intimidating. When I did my research before choosing the Whiteside miter lock, I came across other people’s accounts of miter lock bits being challenging to set up and use correctly, as any mistake can ruin your work or worse. From what I’ve read and from my experience, a miter lock bit is inherently more dangerous to use, especially when working with end grain. It has more significant potential to damage your work or send it flying.

   However, I disagree with others’ negative assessments of working with miter lock bits routering end-grain because you can significantly reduce the risk of damage or injury to the point that any chance is slight at most. The most significant risk is while running your material in the vertical position. When I looked at others’ setups for running their work vertically cutting end-grain, it appeared that their trouble and angst came from not having as good of a setup as they could and from using a lesser-quality brand. The edge on the Whiteside makes a difference.

   They all had the potential for too much movement when pushing the stock through the bit, and with a lesser quality bit, the risk increases further because it just doesn’t cut as easily and as well as the Whiteside. Experience leads me to believe that with a miter lock bit, small differences in the quality of the carbide and edge make a big difference in the ease of use and in mitigating the risk of damage, much more so than other typical router bits. This is not a bit that you want to skimp on.

   In my opinion, Whiteside makes the best router bits or is in that very top group of manufacturers. I’ve worked with many popular brands, and of those, there is a significant gap from top to bottom. With the Whiteside miter lock bit, I am easily able to run it at the slowest speed on my 3hp router. At the time, I was working with 7/8″ white oak and running the bit at 10,000 rpm. I had no burning, and with the setup I used to run the material vertically, I had no trouble avoiding damaging the wood. Nor did I have to creep up on the final cut, as others have said they needed to do with their brands. Honestly, after reading all of the trouble and aggravation that other people have experienced with miter lock bits, there was no way I was going with any other brand. I’ve been down that road before, with less formidable bits, so I was not going to experiment here.

   So, in summary, this is my experience versus others with different brands. While working with end grain, I can generally run it slower than they were. I did not have to creep up on the final cut. I experienced no burning, no issues with ruining my work, and the joint consistently looked beautiful. With this bit, it is a pleasure to work with once you get the hang of it.

   I looked at a couple of how-to videos to set up the bit. After that, the setup was straightforward and did not take much time. There is more than one way to do it, so pick whichever way you think works best for you. For running my stock vertically, here’s what I did. I was working with 6″ x 7/8″ white oak. For stability and security, I used two F clamps to secure two pieces together side by side and a third clamp to secure a third piece vertically across the seam to reduce the risk of buckling from the bit.

   Also, I did not cut the pieces to their final lengths until after I did all of my vertical cutting. The final lengths were 8″. Running pieces over 16″ long provided more weight and stability as I could attach the F clamps further apart. Beforehand, I tried running test pieces 6″ by 6″, and there was a noticeable improvement running them in the way I just described. My fence is 4″ high, so I attached the first clamp and the third clamp (the one over the seam) just above that. The second F clamp was attached higher up. Granted, it was only one project, but it worked very well for me. It felt very secure as I pushed the stock through the router bit.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jose Soto (verified owner) – May 29, 2023

   This bit is of top quality and it came right away when I ordered from B&B. Great online store.

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     Mj – June 5, 2023

     Thanks for the review Jose!