These router cutters have V-shaped bodies of different angles. They're designed to produce V-shaped grooves, chamfers, and bevels for a wide range of applications.
Design
Flutes: Chamfer and V-groove cutters can have one, two, or three flutes.
Bottom cut: Some models have cutting edges that extend to the tip of the cutter, allowing them to be used in a plunge router to cut into the surface of materials. Self-guided cutters can not be used to plunge, or bottom cut, as they are designed for edge-forming rather than plunge-cutting applications.
Guides: Chamfer and V-groove router cutters that do not have a guide pin or guide bearing require a side fence, back fence, or another device to guide them, though they can also be used freehand for some specialist applications. Cutters that have a guide attached are often referred to as self-guided. This guide is most often a bearing guide that's attached at the tip, although cutters with tip-mounted pin guides and shank-mounted bearing guides are also available.
Applications
There are four main types of Chamfer and V-groove cutters: chamfer cutters, bevel cutters, V-groove cutters, and engravers, so each type is usually used for slightly different applications. Common applications for these cutters include:
V-shaped groove: A V-groove bit, as the name suggests, can be used to make V-bottomed grooves on the surface of materials. Chamfer and V-groove cutters that don't have tip-mounted guides have the bottom cut facility, so they're suited to general purpose V-grooving tasks.
Plunge-cut: Most V-groove bits can be used to plunge-cut (cut into the material from above) as they have a pointed tip. Plunge-cutting should only be done with a plunge router.
Engraving or lettering: By making very shallow cuts with a V-groove bit, you can complete very delicate applications such as engraving or lettering. This can be done freehand or with the aid of a template.
Chamfer cut: With the aid of a fence - a kind of guide rail that keeps the router parallel to the edge of the workpiece as it moves along - you can use a V-groove bit to angle the edge of materials. This is known as a chamfer cut. A cutter with a guide will allow you to make a chamfer cut without the aid of a fence. These bits are referred to as chamfer bits. When working, the non-cutting guide rides along the edge of the material, keeping the router bit cutting at a consistent depth throughout.
