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@runchadrun: No...as a geek "router" makes me think networking first, then woodworking. :)

As an aside, anyone getting into woodworking would be recommended to score books by R. J. Decristoforo who wrote from the 1950s through 1990s under the Popular Science banner. I say this because the books can be scored fairly cheap in used or 2nd hand bookstores and have heavy value versus spending $19.99+ on a modern glossy, graphic intensive woodworking book. He wrote, took the majority of the pictures, and built the jigs/projects himself. Another thing is that most all of his books focus on woodworking without specialty tools or on how to build jigs for special applications.

Sadly he passed away in the early 2000s but apparently he has a son who builds artistic furniture.
[www.woodworkinghistory.com]

I scored a copy of this book for $5.00 used:
[www.amazon.com]
and could not believe the info it contained...

@coan_net: A "pro-consumer" issue! I have hit some weird stuff like this also on closeouts. I was looking for a model car kit for #1 son and I to do. Single kits go for $14.99 to $24.99 now ouch! Then I went to look at a craft store that usually has kits on the upper side of the cost spectrum. They had a two kit holiday package close out that said marked down from $25.99 to $14.99- cool says me- two for $7.50 each. I take it to purchase and it rings up at $4.99! I asked if this was correct and it was as the register person said it was a close out. Turned around and bought two more twin packs at $4.99 and then sold one of the kits alone for $5.00. #1 son and I now have 5 possible kits to build and I've only spent $10 plus the taxes.

@jvanbrecht: 1" not 1/2"? Are you serious? I don't know of any handheld routers that use 1" shanks, and if they do exist they surely aren't common.

If something has a 1" shank it must be for a shaper table, not an actual router. Are you sure you didn't mean 1/4" vs 1/2"?

As to the Ryobi bits, I have a set of the 1/2" shank bits and they are ok. I probably wouldn't have bought them myself but they made a nice gift, and frankly since I'm just a DIYer and not a serious woodworker, they have worked very well for me. The bearings are doing good, I don't see any chipping on the carbide, and the bits I have used have remained sharp thus far.

Can't really complain even if it they are "cheap". Sometimes cheap tools are all a person needs.

As a novice router-er, I intend to buy a cheap Ryobi set!

I know they're crappy and won't last long, but I don't really know what types of bits I will need. I'll get a Ryobi set for the price of a single good router bit, and whatever bits get worn out, I'll replace with good bits.

And if it really does shatter and kill me, at least I've got life insurance. :-)

There is a perfectly reasonable explanation why a 10 and 20 bit set could be the same price.

First off, I have not looked very closely at the bits in question, others have stated they appear to be the same, however, there can also be some small subtle differences in the profiles of each of the sets bits.

Router bits in general can be pricey, your standard profiles are pretty cheap, but once you get to more exotic or odd shapes (which may only differ slightly form your standard profiles), the prices go up, way up.

I have a $250 set of profile bits (6 of them) that are designed to create molding (crown and floor), picture frames, and a bunch of other odd shapes. I also have a $50 set of standard cove, bullnose, etc bits, then there is the $200 set of rail and stile.

The point being, different profiles have different costs, hence why a 10 set could be the same as a 20 set, but in this case, as has been pointed out, it could be the 20 set includes the same bits as the 10, and its just a matter of clearing out old stock.

@FatLynn: Both sets are Carbide, but it was difficult to tell whether all of the bits in the 10 piece set are included in the 20 piece set. If the exact bit that I needed to complete a woordworking job was only in the 10 piece set, I would buy the 10 piece set.

Actually I probably would have thought at least LAN setup but I've been building a desk lately so router bits for edging have been on the brain.

[www.homedepot.com]

Sounds like either a sale or a price drop that hasn't affected the 10 piece set.

For example, I was purchasing Dragon software for where I work. I had the choice of just the software for $199, or I could get the software bundled with headphones for $99. Now I really don't need the headphones, but I asked why, and it was a overstock issue that they needed to sell a lot of those.

It happens, not really a consumerist issue I would think.

The model numbers are near identical, too A25RS10 vs A25RS20 (probably 10/20 for quantity).

If your going to purchase router bits for more then a single project, pay the extra cash for a quality product, Whiteside (these are also made in the USA), MLCS have some nice bits, hell, even the Porter Cable bits (1" not 1/2" shank) at home despot are okay....

Seriously... avoid cheap router bits, little bits of carbide flying off a spinny blade of doom at 30k rpm are deadly....

The 10-piece set. I threw the 20-piece set on the ground!

Wait, did Home Depot really drop the "free shipping" requirements to $49. I like that. I hate that Target always has these deals running for free shipping on $50 orders, and everything I want is $49.99.