Replies

1. 
   nikkiwood | Jun 05, 2004 08:56pm | #1

   Woodcraft has their own branded line, which is the cheapest I have found. They also sell a higher priced line from CMT.

   I have also used those from Leigh.

   I don't exactly use the Leigh jig every day, but as near as I can tell, the Woodcraft house brand works as well as their more expensive brethern.

1. 
   sharp | Jun 06, 2004 06:39pm | #2

   8mm...? i dont think woodcraft has them.. did you see them there??

1. 
   nikkiwood | Jun 06, 2004 06:57pm | #3

   I just did a search on the Woodcraft site, and there are indeed no 8 mm bits listed under "Leigh Dovetail Jig bits."

   When I can tear myself away from this wonderful forum, I will check the item numbers on the bits I have in my shop, and look again.

   Perhaps I have something mixed up here, but the local Woodcraft outlet did stock the CMT 8 mm bits and another (cheaper) line which I thought was packaged under their house brand. And I bought a bunch of the latter.

   More later.

2. 
   nikkiwood | Jun 07, 2004 02:21am | #5

   I got the item number from one of the bits (which does carry a "Woodcraft" label), and it did come up on the following link:

   http://shop.woodcraft.com/Woodcraft/search_results.asp?mscssid=FBBF5ED767EB4923BA6F19C65FBFDA30&Gift=false&GiftID=

   So, I can't explain why they won't come up on a search either for "8 mm rtouter bits" or "Leigh Dovetail Jig router bits." But they are there in the web site, and I have seen them in the print catalog.

1. 
   sharp | Jun 07, 2004 08:32am | #6

   i should have been more specific, i meant i was looking for more than just the bits for the leigh jig...

   ie flush trim.. round over.. rabeting.. spiral carbide.. etc

   thanks though

1. 
   nikkiwood | Jun 07, 2004 08:51am | #7

   Now I understand why you're looking for a "European connection". Except for the Leigh bits, I have never myself seen 8 mm bits offered by US based suppliers.

   Maybe some of the forum members from abroad will find this thread and offer suggestions. Calling Sgian Dubh ..........................................

   Also though, I'm curious what the 8 mm bits have to offer that you can't find among bits with a 1/2" shank.

2. 
   Adrian | Jun 07, 2004 02:46pm | #8

   Try some of the tooling suppliers listed at the CNC forum at http://www.woodweb.com; lots of knowledgable tooling people on that forum.cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, N.S

3. 
   billsams | Jun 08, 2004 02:26am | #9

   Try http://www.festool.com they have 8mm routers and bits. Their site even comes up "choose your country"

   Bill

2. 
   Michael6255 | Jun 07, 2004 12:03am | #4

   I know that Whiteside Machine and Tool had 8mm dovetail and straight bits for the Leigh jig.

   Mike

3. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Jun 08, 2004 05:40pm | #10

   Have you considered a collet adapter?   It is a sleeve with a 1/4" ID and a 8 mm OD, and a slit on one side so that the collet's compression can clamp the bit.   I used to have one which came with a Makita router, and adapted 3/8" bits to a 1/2" collet.   ("3/8 bits?" you ask?  Yeah, 3/8".  This was 20-some years ago.)

   I don't know where you could buy such an adapter.   You might have to get it made by a machine shop.   

1. 
   Ole | Jun 09, 2004 11:27am | #11

   Hi !

   I am in Denmark, Europe and over here routerbits are normally 8 mm or 12 mm shank. You can get 6 mm as well. I list some links to look at.

   http://www.p-v.dk/eng/Index.htm click "special offers" and "offer 2" - a complete set of CMT 8mm shank routerbits. They stock most CMT bits and I'll guess they'll be happy to ship overseas. If you got the CMT catalogue you can find the productnumbers for the bits you want and email a request.

   Unfortunately you do not find that many online toolshops in Europe, most in the UK, but they all carry bits with 1/4" or 1/2" shank.

   I can list some manufactures homepages and hopefully the can tell how to get the bits you want.

   http://www.wallko.dk/wallko/wallkodo.nsf/all/ukindex.html Unfortunately they do not display their product range on the english page, but the make good quality router bits. They can tell you if they are available in the US. Find the attached PDF-document. The text is in Danish, but the illustrations can help you out, any questions just ask...

   Metabo has a line of routerbits (in Europe) I can not find them on their website http://www.metabo.com but they are in their printed catalogue.

   Festool, perhaps the best and easiest solution when in the US ??  - http://www.festool-usa.com/ - got a full range of routerbits, great quality. You can see them displayed on their American website as well - online catalogue - routing - bits. You can even find a local dealer on the website.

   Bosch Europe carries a full range of router bits, hard to find on their European websites, only a few displayed, if any. Same thing with DeWalt Europe. Don't know if they are available in the US.

   What kind of router do you have ? If not available in the US a collet for 1/4" or 1/2" bits might be available in Europe.

   If everything else fail.... I might get you some and ship them to you. Drop me an email if that's an option.

   BRGD, Ole.... I Love the smell of sawdust in the morning....

   
1. 
   sharp | Jun 09, 2004 07:50pm | #12

   thanks for the leads.. my router is festool which takes 8mm at largest.

   ill try your leads..

   j.

1. 
   ian | Jun 10, 2004 02:06pm | #15

   I think the Woodrat people also sell 8mm shank bits. 

   As well as some 8mm bits, get yourself a 1/4in collet for your router.  If it's an OF 1000 the part should be SZ-D6,35-OF 1000  part number 488761  Make sure you get a SZ-D6,35 collet (6,35 is the way most Europeans write 6.35mm which is 1/4 in) and not a SZ-D6 (a 6mm or ~15/64 in) collet

   Ian

2. 
   user-5880422 | Jun 10, 2004 05:39am | #13

   when are you guys going to come to your senses and give up that metric business. You gave it a good go, but it's clearly been a failed experiment :)

1. 
   Ole | Jun 10, 2004 09:34am | #14

   The metric system is used in most of the "civilized world" :-) Some are still stuck with fractions of inches, feet and other inconvertible units.

   The metric system eliminates the possibility for errors when calculating and converting different units. If you understand how it works and start using it I am sure you'll see the light. There are woodworkers in the US using the metric system - perhaps a growing tendency ;-) - because it is so easy to use. Every unit is dividable with 10 - 10 mm on 1 cm - 10 cm on 1 dm - 10 dm on 1 m or 100 cm on 1 m - it's all in the abbreviations. mm - millimeter, cm - centimeter, dm - decimeter, m - meter, km - kilometer (1000 meters). Same thing with volume - L (liter) = 1000 cubic-centimeters and weight - gr. (gram) ex. 1 liter of water = 1000 gr. The system is well thought out and makes all kind of calculations so much more easy to do.

   The reason why you - sadly enough - are still stuck with the imperial system is because the British brought it with them to their colonies. The metric system was invented by the French (Napoleon) and war was going on between England and France, so the British missed the opportunity to implement the metric system. The British still drive in the "wrong" side of the road, but on this matter you have come to your senses :-).... I Love the smell of sawdust in the morning....

1. 
   ian | Jun 10, 2004 02:17pm | #16

   The British still drive in the "wrong" side of the road

   don't be too smug about that one.  I'm sure I read somewhere that it was The Pope, no less, (but obviously not the current one) who handed down a Papal Decree (as you do when you're The Pope) stipulating that vehicles must keep to the left when passing and it was that athiest Napoleon (yes, the French again) who as part of his conquest of Europe reversed the Church's law

   Ian

2. 
   Ole | Jun 11, 2004 09:26am | #19

   Hi !

   I might be getting something wrong here... "vehicles must keep to the left when passing "... but if you are supposed to keep to the left when passing (ex. other vehicles) I guess you are supposed to stay to right when not passing ???

   Otherwise you will keep to the right when passing !!! Am I totally wrong or misunderstanding something?? I don't know anything about a Papal Decree, so don't get me wrong, I am not trying to offend anyone !!

   Ole.... I Love the smell of sawdust in the morning....

3. 
   ian | Jun 11, 2004 12:36pm | #21

   I might be getting something wrong here... "vehicles must keep to the left when passing "... but if you are supposed to keep to the left when passing (ex. other vehicles) I guess you are supposed to stay to right when not passing ???

   Otherwise you will keep to the right when passing !!! Am I totally wrong or misunderstanding something??

   To answer you seriously, I suspect that most roads of the time were only a little wider than a wagon, and the traffic density was in the order of 50 to 100 wagons per day, so there was no concept of keeping left or right as you trundled along.  The Pope's "keep to the left" requirement would have only been applicable when two vehicles approached each other and would have applied to the slower vehicle if it were being overtaken and to both vehicles if they were travelling in opposite directions.  Interestingly, the same approach continues to this day on very low volume country roads, especially in England which are too narrow for two lanes of traffic.

4. 
   user-5880422 | Jun 10, 2004 07:38pm | #17

   I was only making a joke...

5. 
   Ole | Jun 11, 2004 09:13am | #18

   I know :-D

   Just trying to send back and extend your joke, with a friendly thought and tone, not meaning to offend anyone !!

   BRGD's, Ole ;-).... I Love the smell of sawdust in the morning....

4. 
   Christian | Jun 11, 2004 12:15pm | #20

   Here are a couple of links to European companies which produce 8mm router bits:

   http://www.cmtutensili.com/ or http://www.cmtusa.com/splash.ihtml
   http://www.edessoe.de/englisch/index.html
   http://www.fisch-tools.com/index_en.php
   http://www.guhdo.com
   http://iwo-tools.de/
   http://www.kwo.co.uk/
   http://www.leitz.org/leitz_english/index.html
   http://www.leuco.de/english/index.html
   http://www.stark-werkzeuge.de/
   http://www.stehle-germany.de/deutsch2/index.html
   http://www.stern-werkzeuge.at/

   As far as I know Bosch, Festool, Metabo, ... don't make router bits. I'm almost sure that Festool gets their bits from Leitz.

   Hope this helps,

   Christian Aufreiter, Austria

5. 
   SRToolguy | Jun 12, 2004 06:06am | #22

   You could try a 3/8" collet adapter in a 1/2 collet

   3/8" or  .375" / .04 = 9.375mm (approx). If the fit is too loose you could enlarge the gap in the adapter slightly so that it clamps to the bit shaft tighter. From a visual of the adapter, I think the gap is sufficent to make up the difference between 3/8 and 8mm.

   BTW a 1/4" collet works fine with a 6mm (.240") router bit and a 1/2" collet works with a 12mm (.480") bit.

   The only problem that I might see is that the collet will become compressed over time and you wont be able to open it wide enough to accept the SAE sized bits.

   Sincerely;

   The Tool Guy