I bought a Freud 75-106 upcut spiral router bit from a seller on eBay but it arrived with no coating and considerable rust on the shaft. I have never bought this brand before but all of the other router bits I have bought have had an oil or plastic-like protective coating. I sent a message to the seller about the rust.
Spiral bits generally don't have any coating, just solid carbide. However, that makes me wonder if it's a carbide bit, or HSS, since carbide won't rust.
Edit: I realize now you were referring to the plastic coating some bits ship with that you peel off. I honestly have no idea if Freud spiral bits ship that way. The rust is your biggest issue. If you paid for a carbide bit and received a HSS one, you need to get your money back.
Goofle of that bit info lands this one from Amazon. Does yours have this same red? Looks like they painted the shaft, like router bits need a flourish. If the rust is down there, that is the shaft, and likely is HSS with Carbide brazed to the top for the cutting.
Looking at the pic shown on the reveal it clearly has the number 106 at the bottom, is that the same on yours? Not saying any sellers at the famous auction site have been dishonest…...
I have over a dozen Freud router bits (made in Italy and China). None of them came with a protective coating, just a plastic case. I also have over a dozen Whiteside router bits (made in North Carolina). All of the Whiteside brand came in a protective clear rubberized or soft plastic coating, in plastic cases or clear plastic pouches. My Whiteside 3 1/2" panel bits also came with a clear rubberized coating and in a protective 4"x4" box. I do store all my router bits in their original pouches, cases or boxes. To protect the bit cutting edges, I don't set them in a router bit organizer. these are some of my extra bits, still with their rubberized coating I don't take the coating off till I need the bits.
Like Woodendreams said, the Freud bits don't come with a coating, but a very sturdy plastic case. You can compare that bit to the photo that SteveN linked and determine if it's conterfeit. The rust can be cleaned off, it sometimes happens on the end and unless it's too bad shouldn't be a problem. But if it's "considerable", you might want to return it (if possible).
Yes it was advertised as new but the bit and case appear to have been around for quite a while, perhaps "new" but unsold for quite a while. Anyway it appears genuine based on the photos above, and I cleaned the rust off from the shaft as best I could. It cuts fine in my router table. Thanks for the responses guys!
I complained to the seller and he/she sent a complete refund which I was not expecting and did not ask for. I cleaned it up and used it in my router table but today was a catastrophic failure - the bit broke! Fortunately I was routing at the time and the wood piece was completely covering the bit; the broken piece was trapped under the wood cut. I would hate to think what would have happened if it had broken at the end of a piece. The bit was free so I can't complain about warranty, but it scared the daylights out of me. I went and bought a brand new Whiteside bit from Woodcraft (same bit but different brand) and will treat it ever so gently. I don't think I will be buying any more router bits from eBay after this experience.
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