Upright in a drilled block, one hole each, shank down with the cutter clear of everything. A bit rolling loose in a case gets its edges knocked by its neighbors, and the damage stays invisible until the cut starts burning.
Router bit edges are thin carbide at the very tip. They survive hours in hardwood and do not survive being tipped out of a case onto a bench.
The drilled block
Bore a piece of hardwood or plywood with holes matched to your shank sizes — a 1/4 inch and a 1/2 inch bank — deep enough to hold the shank steady with the cutter standing proud and untouched. Space the holes so no two cutters can reach each other. It takes twenty minutes and it is better than most bought cases, which hold bits by the cutter or let them roll.
Keep the bearings out of it
Guide bearings are the other casualty of loose storage. Dust and resin get into them, and a bearing that has stopped turning freely burns a stripe down the edge it is running against. Check them by spinning with a finger before use, and put a drop of light oil on the seal occasionally, not into the bearing itself.
Rust and resin
Wipe bits clean after use rather than at the start of the next job, because resin hardens. Shanks rust, and a rusty shank does not seat properly in the collet, which is one cause of a bit creeping down mid-cut.
Store bits somewhere dry, not on an open rack under a cold roof.
Last reviewed 2026-08-12