Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Core router bits…also called core box bits…are round-nosed cutters with edges that curve up the sides and meet at the tip. Unlike cove bits, which ride bearings to carve rounded grooves along an edge, these go straight into the face of the board…and actually make coves.
They’re mostly used to cut shallow grooves or flutes in the face of a board. But they can be a challenge to use on router tables...since dust collection works through the fence, not inside the table, chips don’t always clear well. To be safe, make light, shallow passes.
To make a cove, mark out the area you want to remove. Take the radius of the core bit and find where it meets the deepest part of your stock. Hog the center section out with the table saw and bring it back to the router to finish it up.
Now this part’s important: router bits cut safely when you’re feeding into the bit, not with it. That means we need to leave the hogged out gap we made between the bit and the fence. If we do it with the gap on the other side of the bit, the bit can pinch and become dangerous as it's sucked in. Make a light pass on your first cut, then move it for the final profile cut.
Core router bits…also called core box bits…are round-nosed cutters with edges that curve up the sides and meet at the tip. Unlike cove bits, which ride bearings to carve rounded grooves along an edge, these go straight into the face of the board…and actually make coves.
They’re mostly used to cut shallow grooves or flutes in the face of a board. But they can be a challenge to use on router tables...since dust collection works through the fence, not inside the table, chips don’t always clear well. To be safe, make light, shallow passes.
To make a cove, mark out the area you want to remove. Take the radius of the core bit and find where it meets the deepest part of your stock. Hog the center section out with the table saw and bring it back to the router to finish it up.
Now this part’s important: router bits cut safely when you’re feeding into the bit, not with it. That means we need to leave the hogged out gap we made between the bit and the fence. If we do it with the gap on the other side of the bit, the bit can pinch and become dangerous as it's sucked in. Make a light pass on your first cut, then move it for the final profile cut.
