6-Piece Bosch 1/4" Carbide-Tipped Router Bits Assortment

Once.

I also find a top-bearing flush trim bit to be more useful for the way I work, but I've used both. It just depends on whether the reference surface is below or above your cut, right?

Not to discount your experience, but following your same advice, I had the opposite experience. Buying a cheap 10 or 15 or 20 pc set (I bought at least 3 sets of different cheap brands, fwiw) was a complete waste of money. They worked so poorly that it almost put me off routing.

But I think we need to level set here. In the world of router bits, at around $10 each, you can call these Bosch bits nothing if not "reasonably priced". You can easily spend $50 to $100+ on a single spiral up-cut bit. In that context, your advice of purchasing reasonably priced bits of a few common profiles (ones that you will find a use for) is spot on, and *this* set would be a nearly ideal example.

Besides, unless someone does the same exact thing day in and day out, no one "prefers" a 1/2" roundover to a 1/4" roundover, they both have their place. Indeed, few will cut enough mortises to ever justify buying even a cheap up-cut bit. But almost anyone with a router will eventually want to make the shapes formed by this selection of bits in this set.

It may sound like I have a dog in this game... I don't. It may sound like I own a bunch of Bosch stock, I don't. I actually prefer Whiteside bits. But when I first started playing around with routing (only a few years ago, I will admit), it was *this* set that saved me from throwing the whole endeavor into the trash. And it is this set that I still often return to when I want to, for example, run a quick roundover on a piece of stock. You mileage may vary, this is just my $.02

Bosch makes great tools but I would not trust these. When it comes to router bits you really get what you pay for. Ask any professional woodworker and they'll tell you there are 5 brands to pick from when it comes to router bits, in order - Whiteside, Infinity, Amana, Freud, CMT. Bits & Bits is fantastic with the additional coating they add but they source from Whiteside.

If you're a hobbyist and will only end up using it once or twice a year you can probably get away with cheaping out with a set like this but just know that cheap bits get dull really fast, or worse, are much more likely to break. I have a 2in 4 blade surfacing bit I bought from Whiteside about 5 years ago and have used it in my router sled to surface countless end-grain cutting boards, slabs, table tops, etc. It still cuts like a hot knife through butter and it has never once needed to be sharpened.

Nov 2022 bought a SKIL 30-Piece Carbide-Tipped Router Bit Set from a deal posted here for $50 but now regular price is more than double. Been fantastic to practice on scrap wood to figure out which ones I prefer and keep them around to show family/friends should they want something for their projects. Have used a few for shed and coop projects. I hope this deal returns again.

imo, if you are looking at this and unsure if it's something you should buy, you probably shouldn't. It is a good price for carbide bits. But if you're like me when I was really new to woodworking and had no idea what to buy, the best advice I got was to buy a reasonably priced set and figure out what bits were useful to my woodworking. You'll have less buyer's remorse over a $2-3 bit after you figure out you prefer a 1/4" to a 1/2" roundover, or you didn't realize a spiral upcut bit is far superior to a straight bit for cutting mortises, etc.

I bought a 15-bit set from MLCS (now hvalleytools.com) that's going strong years later... there are several bits I've never used. or used very infrequently, and for the price they work fine. And it made it a lot easier to spend $50-100 for high-end carbide bits that cut like butter after I knew more about what I was buying.

Not to discount your experience, but following your same advice, I had the opposite experience. Buying a cheap 10 or 15 or 20 pc set (I bought at least 3 sets of different cheap brands, fwiw) was a complete waste of money. They worked so poorly that it almost put me off routing.

But I think we need to level set here. In the world of router bits, at around $10 each, you can call these Bosch bits nothing if not "reasonably priced". You can easily spend $50 to $100+ on a single spiral up-cut bit. In that context, your advice of purchasing reasonably priced bits of a few common profiles (ones that you will find a use for) is spot on, and *this* set would be a nearly ideal example.

Besides, unless someone does the same exact thing day in and day out, no one "prefers" a 1/2" roundover to a 1/4" roundover, they both have their place. Indeed, few will cut enough mortises to ever justify buying even a cheap up-cut bit. But almost anyone with a router will eventually want to make the shapes formed by this selection of bits in this set.

It may sound like I have a dog in this game... I don't. It may sound like I own a bunch of Bosch stock, I don't. I actually prefer Whiteside bits. But when I first started playing around with routing (only a few years ago, I will admit), it was *this* set that saved me from throwing the whole endeavor into the trash. And it is this set that I still often return to when I want to, for example, run a quick roundover on a piece of stock. You mileage may vary, this is just my $.02

Bosch makes great tools but I would not trust these. When it comes to router bits you really get what you pay for. Ask any professional woodworker and they'll tell you there are 5 brands to pick from when it comes to router bits, in order - Whiteside, Infinity, Amana, Freud, CMT. Bits & Bits is fantastic with the additional coating they add but they source from Whiteside.

If you're a hobbyist and will only end up using it once or twice a year you can probably get away with cheaping out with a set like this but just know that cheap bits get dull really fast, or worse, are much more likely to break. I have a 2in 4 blade surfacing bit I bought from Whiteside about 5 years ago and have used it in my router sled to surface countless end-grain cutting boards, slabs, table tops, etc. It still cuts like a hot knife through butter and it has never once needed to be sharpened.

Agree w/ everything you said... especially about Whiteside. The starter MLCS set I purchased has carbide bits and have worked very well for me, but are not Whiteside quality.

What would be an interesting twist is if these Bosch bits are the same as random generic / lesser known brands but "badged" with Bosch-blue paint. Who knows?

Bosch owns Freud, so if anything, these are Freud bits painted blue...

May or may not be accurate. Volkswagen owns Bugatti, but a Chiron isn't just a Jetta painted blue.

Read my comment in context... Heck, I even quoted what I was responding to.

May or may not be accurate. Volkswagen owns Bugatti, but a Chiron isn't just a Jetta painted blue.