Katana Router Bit – First Experience
Hi All,
A little while back, we had a brief discussion about router bits. Some people asked about Katana. I said I was buying one and would report back. Well, here’s the story…
I’ve had good success with MLCS in the past, so when I had a file-cabinet project to do, I thought I’d give the Katana Raised-Panel bits a try. The cabinet is made of oak.
The one I bought is Item #18686, an 18-degree bevel with a 3″ cut diameter, 5/8″ cut height, and 1-1/4″ cut depth. I used it to create the edges on the oak drawer fronts. The drawer fronts are 16″ wide x 12″ high.
I’m pretty comfortable around my router table, but I’ll tell you I was nervous with this bit! Three-inch diameter is pretty large! I set the speed on my router as low as it will go. I set the fence back so the stock would just kiss the bearing. The first pass was 1/8″, then I raised the bit height 3/32″ for each subsequent pass, and I pushed the stock through slowly. I did a total of five passes (the first one plus four following ones) to get the final profile. Because of the profile, certain parts of the bit do not make contact until the third pass.
The bit never burned the wood. There was absolutely no chipping or tearing of the oak. It felt very smooth. I ran two test pieces, and I got no tearout, even when I ran the end grain! I did another couple of test pieces, because I couldn’t believe this. But it was true. I could run the drawer fronts through the bit, with no edge-grain tearout, which meant I could final-size the drawer fronts and rout all four edges in one operation!
I’ve attached photos showing the results of the routing, and some that show what the bit looks like.
Also, I thought people might like to see how much sawdust this bit creates! That pile beneath the table is almost 6″ high at its peak.
Katana puts a series of lines on the shaft of their bits. You’re supposed to use these to make sure the shank is inserted in your router to the correct depth. Well, I used them, but I don’t think they told me anything I didn’t know about installing the bit.
The bit really performed very nicely, and I was impressed by the quality of the cut. I would not hesitate to buy another bit from Katana.
Here’s a link to the page for this bit:
http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/katbt1.htm
For photos, see message number 5, below.
Edited 10/3/2005 2:14 pm ET by MatthewSchenker
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427+301+303+304+431+225+408 = 2399 = ~2.4MB
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
forestgirl,
Is that too much?
My first set of photos appears to be too large. Sorry!
Here are the photos of the Katana router bit and other related shots.
Ah, that's better Matthew, thanks. (What'll I do when we get DSL? Should I continue to compaign or leave the less fortunate to fend for themselves??)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
forestgirl,
Sometimes I forget what it was like to have dial-up -- I now have a cable modem!No, you should definitely tell someone when he/she is insensitive, as I was in this case.
I just recently purchased and used a matched set of rail and stile bits from MLCS - the standard bit - and was quite impressed with it. I have used several of theirs in the past and have had no problems at all. The price is right, no shipping, and no questions asked if need to return.
Thanks for the update Matthew.
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