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5 router cutters for kitchen fitters
Hi Im KitKat and I run Fitters World ,
My day job is fitting kitchens for the sheds, which gives me a vested interest in the quality of the cutters I sell .The oakeater No. 1 is a 100 mm long cutter , 12.7 mm diameter , and the blade is 50 mm in length. It is only one of three cutters on sale at Fitters World / check out the instore listings ! It is sold as a Pack of 5 or multiples thereof , if you require large quantities and want to secure a permanent source please email me via the shop , we re not going anywhere , and we already supply a number of multi teams , but also Joinery shops .
Like I said , Fitters World is a Kitchen Installation business , working in the Domestic Market for the big Sheds . We re CORGI registered for gas and electrics , water regs is due to happen this year , and for my sins I served my time as a Cabinetmaker before going out on site as a Joiner .Ive worked in the Hotel construction business , house bashing , bench work , exhibitions , shopfitting , pub fitting , did "auf wiedersehen pet " to complete my "trade training" as a shuttering chippie , The last 10 years or so Ive been involved in Kitchen Fitting , firstly doing commercials /on site ,dry fits , before moving into domestics . We re all familiar with the names , Symphony , PaulaRosa , Moben , Kitchens Direct , Schreiber Contracts , and of course the big movers in the market today which seems to be Band Q , MFI , Homebase , with Wickes jumping in this year .
In a nut shell , we asked a number of manufacturers to provide samples , we tested those samples via the fitters online forum at "findafitter" and last year Fitters World started selling the cutters deemed by the guys who tested them , to be good enough. I supply the spec to the manufacturers , that is to say I ask for a specific grade of tungsten , diameter , length etc. An important criteria is also applied , that is to say we want professional quality cutters , but we want them at a price that challenges the price you would pay to have them sharpened . Its no accident in the last year , a number of well known manufacturers have followed suit and started selling 5 and 6 packs aimed at Kitchen Fitters . Trend for example launched a six pack / priced at £85 plus postage . My Tideways , Oakeaters No. 1 and 2 , are all around £3 each , or £15 a pack for 5 Oakeaters , £18 a pack of 6 Tideways .
Any cutter this size is best run at half speed , its cuts faster and lasts longer, you re best making 8 plus passes and when you re finished , knock your jig back a smidge (mark it first) and do one last pass taking a few thou off for a last sweet pass , if you hear the router spinning in fresh air !! knock it back again your joint is bowed .
Personally I use a trend combi 650 jig with a 1000 for doing curves etc as they re available on the jig . My router currently is the big Festool 2000 ? I think it is .
You ll also come occasionally across "tolerance stacking" , any petrol heads out there will have come across this in engines , its basically where you have a bunch of components that are plus or minus a few thou , some times its works out just right , other times the combination of a little bit here and a little bit there and you have gaps .
Personally , I look to change my router and jig every 150 kitchens , its the only way to eliminate the tolerance stacking . A quick check on your router can be done by grabbing the end of the cutter (carefully !) and listening for a knock , this is an indication of movement in the shaft and may be why your joints ar nt as perfect as you might like .
The Tideways / I reckon are unbeatable on laminate tops , the oakeaters seem to have the edge on solid , some of the guys would say its the other way around ?? horses for courses I say , different routers , different jigs , different ways of working .
You ll expect to get 3 mason mitres out of each cutter , again my personal preference is one cutter /one kitchen , if you have a question , why not email me , or sign up to findafitter , its free and its 300 odd kitchen fitters shooting the breeze and voicing opinions on just about everything .
We also have saw blades coming in this year /sign up for our news letter , same deal , replacement blades for the festool plunge saws , 250 mm flipover and the 305 mm flipover .
ps , The Tideway is 95 mm long , Oakeater No. 1 100 mm long and the Oakeater No. 2 is 110 mm long . all 12.7 mm diameter and 50 mm blade length .
