Experience with Ekstrom Carlson router bits?
#7
I'm in the market for a 1/2" carbide upcut spiral router bit. I have a Whiteside bit in my Amazon shopping cart. Looking on ebay, I came across an Ekstrom Carlson bit for 80% of the price of the Whiteside. Searching on Google, I can't find very much information about the bits, other than what's available on the Ekstrom Carlson website. I can't find any user reviews, comparisons, etc. 

Does anyone have any experience with Ekstrom Carlson carbide spiral bits? If so, I'd very much appreciate hearing your thoughts on the bits and the cut quality.
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#8
I've never heard of them. If you buy be sure to post a review. I use 85% Whiteside bits, and have always been pretty happy with their cut, and longevity. If these are that much cheaper and even close to as good, that would be something. But I keep hearing that "No free lunch" thing, goes right along with getting what you paid for
Big Grin


Knowing the lingo helps if they don't provide a key.

(SW) = Softwood, (HW) = Hardwood, (CW) = Composite Wood, (SP) = Soft Plastic, (HP) = Hard Plastic, and (SSP) = Solid Surface.

Looking I am not seeing an oranges to oranges comparison for any 80% differences in prices on bits I would use. Are you comparing specs, or pictures?

Plus make sure you are comparing HSS versus Solid Carbide. I am seeing a lot of HSS at Ekstrom, not knowing what bit you have in your basket makes it hard to say, but your description says carbide. If so that is your cost difference, now we need to determine quality, but for me Whiteside is a known quality item.

Plus if you are buying Whiteside you may want to go to Holbren, and get your Woodnet discount I find Brian very competitive, and with the discount then it's a no brainer.
Wink
Worst thing they can do is cook ya and eat ya

GW
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#9
Comparing this Ekstrom Carlson to Whiteside RU4900. The Ekstrom Carlson says it is solid carbide and says it is for SW, HW, CW, SP, SSP. 

The Whiteside sells for ~$50 on Amazon. The Ekstrom Carlson lists for $32 on their site but can be had for ~$26 on ebay.

So it's almost 50% the cost of the Whiteside. Sorry, when I said 80% before, I was comparing a 1/2" Ekstrom Carlson bit to the 3/8" Whiteside bit. I forgot I already bought a Whiteside 1/2" bit.

Thanks for the reminder about Holbren. I remembered someone offered a WoodNet discount but couldn't remember who.
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#10
I would consider one 

I have been around Ekstrom Carlson tooling  and they are good bits  just not widely known 

Joe 
Let us not seek the Republican Answer , or the Democratic answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future  John F. Kennedy 



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#11
Was about to pull the trigger on the Ekstrom Carlson bit when I realized it's a 3/8" shank bit, not a 1/2" shank. So, my price comparison above was not an apples to apples comparison.
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#12
With solid carbide spirals you have to be careful about that, the cutting diameter is often the same size as the shank.  It would cost a lot more to take a 1/2" carbide rod and machine the cutter down to 3/8" than it would be to start with a 3/8" rod.

Don't know how may of these you will use but if frequently, worth trying to get a 3/8" collet for your router.
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