Freud 99-036: 1-3/4" (Dia.) Adjustable Tongue & Groove Bit Set

The Freud 99-036 adjustable tongue & groove bit set is absolutely fantastic. Each bit is razor-sharp and cuts clean, precise joints with minimal tear-out. The adjustability makes it incredibly versatile, and the build quality is top-notch — solid, balanced, and built to last. I’ve used it on several projects with hardwood and plywood, and the results are consistently professional-looking. If you do any tongue-and-groove joinery, this set is worth every penny. Truly a must-have for serious woodworking.

I bought this to make some cabinet panel doors. It worked just fine and two bits (one for the tongue and the other for the groove) are much easier to use than a single bit that converts to both cuts. And it's beautifully made - it looked like it came from a jewelry store. Not cheap but I guess you get what you pay for!

I'm extremely happy with these router bits they have really helped us make shaker style cabinet doors and the blades stay very sharp

The negative reviews mention shipping damage from loose bits, carbide damage, and tear out in wood while using these. The shipping containers have been updated, I have 2 iterations of these updated containers, one was really tight rubber grips, I had to cut out of the container, not ideal, but no damage. The last set I received was the best because they were zip tied in, so no shipping damage, but also easy to pull out after cutting ties. The first set I got, one of the cutters chipped after some practice cuts, but I reached out to Freud and they replaced the damaged piece right away. I've actually experienced this with higher end carbide more than cheaper ones, I have to assume it's from harder carbide being used, but they took care of it for me. The upside is they should stay sharper much longer. Finally, the blow out. This always happens for me on deep router cuts with any bits I've ever used. The best way to deal with this is to oversize your piece width, router them (you will get chips), then take off about 1/16" on the face with the chips on a joiner or table saw to get rid of the chips, then do another pass on the router to get the depth again. There's much more expensive and complex bits with more blades that claim to stop this, but it's more about the grain than the cutter imo. The adjustability is nice and simple to set, they work great, and the company stands by their products.

Affordable and adjustable for the perfect cut. Works as advertised and easy to adjust for the perfect fit. Seems to stay sharp but after only a few dozen cuts more will tell what longevity it has. For now it's all I expected.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I have not yet used it in a true furniture piece. However I believe it will rate 5 stars when this is accomplished. I have only used this T&G set for practice so far. I did some tongue and grooves on a practice pair of boards as though I were going to make a wide glued up panel. The set worked fine. Read the little sheet that defines the thickness of the included spacers. Adding the appropriate spacers to both the Tongue bit and the Groove bit is very important to make the tongue fit snugly into the groove. The most difficult thing is to correctly adjust the height of the tongue bit for the second board to match the exact location of the opposing groove location on the first board. Otherwise you get a beautifull T&G that fits well but one board is offset from the other by however much you didn't correctly adjust the height of the cut. This is very tricky to adjust. Not a fault of the T&G bit set, just an inherent issue when using any router bit set pair. Maybe there is a good way to solve this. But I don't know what it is. For me there are two options to solve this problem: 1) Adjust, adjust, adjust with the same dimension trial boards before going to the real wood pieces: 2) adjust until fairly close then make the T&G. Then make a small 45 deg chamfer on the exposed edges before glue up. The chamfer hides small offset differences plus adds an interesting feature to the furniture piece. Conclusions - I am glad I bought the T&G set. I would do it again. Understand that there are difficulties to make exact matching booards, but they can be worked. The set cut very cleanly, no chip out.

I never thought I’d say this, but these router bits are so beautiful, I almost don’t want to use them. Before this purchase, I bought sets of 20 or more for nearly the same price as these two pieces. Never having owned professional-grade tools, I couldn’t imagine what justified the extra cost. Boy, was I wrong. First, the packaging makes you feel like you’ve won an award for craftsmanship. It’s like opening a trophy case. Then, I was surprised by the sheer weight of the package—I was curious how router bits could have the density of a dying sun. When I finally opened it, I realized the bulk wasn’t the packaging. These bits are massive. Imagine an anvil and a shipping container had a baby—yeah, that’s how sturdy they feel. Sharp? Let’s just say they could give an eagle’s eyes a run for their money. I’m grateful I read a review that warned me not to cut myself while unboxing. If I hadn’t, I might be typing this review one-thumbed. I usually store all my router bits in foam, but these? They stay in their own display case like trophies in my workshop—because they are! The quality is undeniable, and after a few cuts, I know I won’t be going back to the bulk sets. If you’re on the fence about investing in high-quality bits, take the leap. You’ll wonder how you ever worked without them.

Bought this set to turn a bunch of old hardwood floorboards into panelling. As with other Freud tools I’ve bought it did the job safely and easily.

The cutters must be of good quality, for my part I had to buy a 1/2 collar or 12.7mm tail diameter to adapt to my machine. Freud is and will remain a brand that has nothing to prove

Excellent quality & Super sharp. Many shims available to facilitate many size cuts. Best to have accurate calibers to measure each shim carefully many times before installing. None are labelled for sizing and there are many to go through. Small inconvenience for sure.

qualité / précision ! RAS

Probably, best spent money for a while. Amazing quality and ability to adjust accordingly to the various thicknesses of the wood. Highly recommended.