MEDA - SUPERIOR IMPORT 2150322 1/2" Mill Dia.1/2" Shank Dia.1-1/4" LOC x 3-1/4" OALHSS4 Flute

This is the third Amana router bit that Ive bought over the years, and all were flawless. Its hard to compare how long the steel blade lasts, but Ive already put a several hours of usage on it and its cutting just as good as it was when I first pulled it out of the boxcutting has been on framing lumber so softwoods with plenty of knots. The one thing of note is that the base of this bit appears to be longer than normal, likely due to its longer cutting length. On the router that Im using, the bit is all the way down in the collet and there is still nearly a 1/4 of an inch protruding before the insert line. Since the bit isnt inserted as far as Amana wants, Ive been careful with the bit and only cutting 1/2 inch of material at a time. While the router bit is nice and of good quality, its hard to get over the price which is like 2-3 time what other bits cost. However, as in all three of my Amana bit purchases, no one else made that particular bit that was able to be bought without a really long lead time (like a month ). Amana, good quality but you really pay for it.

Awesome

I've been a professional cabinet maker for 30 years. Amana makes great saw blades and router bits. Very sharp, precise cuts. Lasts a long time and can be re-sharpened.

Perfect for routing grooves for T-Track

This looks to be well built and should last a long time. I've used it to make dados in a few pieces of melamine with minimal chipping. It rips through quickly and easily!

This is undoubtedly a good bit and I gave it five stars on that account, but consider what purpose you're buying it for. It is characterized as a “plunge” cutting bit, and it will do that, but not as well as an up-cutting plunge bit will in certain situations. This because the bit throws chips sideways in a mortise, rather than evacuating them from the hole. An “up-cut” bit (usually solid carbide, three times as expensive) will pull the cutting chips out of the mortise and will allow a deeper plunge than you can get with a straight sided carbide bit like this one. If you're intending this for dados, wide floating tenon mortises or shallow ones, there's no issue because there's enough room in the hole for the chips to go. However, in narrow, deep mortises of the type you might use in a face frame or chair making, you'll only be able to plunger about 1/4” per plunge before removing the bit from the hole and manually cleaning out the hole. If you don't, the chips will clump together inside the mortise and begin to burn. If you're using a jig with a collar, they'll clog the collar. Any bit of this design will do that. I didn't understand this simple design issue when I bought this because my main motivation was saving a little money, however when I had to plunge a large number of deep, narrow mortises for floating tenons, the limitation shortly became apparent.This bit will join my collection and in future be used for plunge and straight cutting, and for narrow, deep mortises I'll buy another, a solid carbide, up-cutting bit intended for that purpose. I recommend this one for its correct use.