Blew out a router bit on a $900 piece of walnut last Friday

I was doing a final pass on a customer's custom kitchen island in Maplewood and my brand new Whiteside 1/2 roundover bit just shattered. Took a chunk out of the edge that I couldn't even patch. Had to tell the homeowner I needed to start over on that slab, cost me an extra 4 hours and $200 in material. Anyone else had a good bit fail on them out of nowhere?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciah511mo ago

Walnut's tough on bits even when you're not pushing hard. That sudden shatter sounds like a manufacturing defect or micro-crack from handling. Check the batch number on that Whiteside and call them - they might cover it if it's a known issue.

sean7821mo ago

I see it different - "out of nowhere" sounds like you might have pushed that bit too hard on a final pass.

the_elliot1mo ago

Honeslty, check how you stored that bit between uses. I had a similar thing happen with a brand new Amana bit a few years back. Turns out my tool box got left in the truck during a cold snap and the bit must've gotten a hairline crack from the temperature change. When it warmed up and I fired up the router, that tiny crack turned into a full shatter on the third pass. Your expensive walnut might've just been the unlucky victim of a bit that was already compromised from storage conditions, not from pushing it too hard.