Bosch RBS030MBS Review: a no-nonsense 30-piece router bit kit to learn what you actually use

I picked up the Bosch RBS030MBS 30-piece carbide-tipped router bit set as a “catch-all” kit for the shop. I already had a few better single bits for heavy work, but I wanted something with variety for small furniture projects, shelves, and random jigs. My expectations were pretty moderate: these big sets are often cheap steel, dull fast, and live in the case more than in the router.

After a few weekends of use, I’d say this one is better than a typical starter kit, but you still have to know what you’re buying. It’s a 1/4" shank set with a wide mix of profiles, clearly aimed at DIYers and hobby woodworkers, not people running a router table all day for production work. If you stay within that use case, it makes sense.

In practice, I mainly used the roundover bits, a couple of straight bits, the flush trim, and the chamfer. Those are the workhorses for me. The rest are more situational, but it’s actually nice to have them on hand when you want to test a profile on scrap without driving to the store. The set helped me figure out what I actually reach for versus what just looks nice in a catalog.

Bottom line from the start: it cuts clean, stays reasonably sharp, and the case isn’t junk. It’s not perfect – there are definitely better individual bits out there – but for the price of one or two premium bits you get a full menu to play with. If you’re just getting into routing, this is a pretty solid way to learn without blowing your budget.

On value, this set makes sense if you look at how much individual carbide bits cost. Buying even 5–6 decent standalone bits can easily cost as much as this entire 30-piece kit. Here, you get a wide selection for about the price of one or two premium bits. Of course, the trade-off is that these aren’t top-tier, long-life industrial bits, but for a lot of users that’s a fair compromise.

Where the value really shows is in the learning aspect. If you’re new to routing, you probably don’t know yet whether you’ll use a cove bit every week or only once a year. With this kit, you can actually try the profiles on scrap, see what you like, and then later upgrade the 3–4 bits you use constantly. That’s basically how I’m treating it: this is my test bench, and the all-stars get replaced with better versions once I wear them down.

The other side of the value question is lifespan. For a weekend woodworker doing projects here and there, these bits should last long enough to justify the price easily. If you use a router daily for work, you’ll chew through them faster and you’d be better off buying fewer, higher-end bits right away. So the value is very good for hobbyists, just average for pros.

In practice, I feel like I got my money’s worth already just from a few projects: a kids’ bookshelf, some shop storage, and a couple of edge-profiling jobs. The cuts were clean enough that I didn’t have to redo anything, and I didn’t feel like I was fighting the tools. That’s really what matters. It’s not a miracle deal, but it’s good value for money if your expectations are realistic.

The design is pretty straightforward: 1/4" shank, carbide-tipped cutting edges, anti-friction coating on the bodies. Nothing fancy, but the basics are done right. The 1/4" shanks tell you immediately who this is for: handheld routers, trim routers, and light to medium work. If you’re running a big 1/2" router table and chewing through hardwood all day, this isn’t the right format anyway.

From a practical standpoint, the bits are easy to identify and grab. The shanks are clearly machined, and I didn’t run into any weird fitting issues in my router collets. No noticeable wobble, no drama when tightening. The profiles themselves are standard: the roundovers have sensible radii, the chamfer has a useful angle, and the flush trim bit has a bearing that actually tracks cleanly along a template. I tested the flush trim on 3/4" plywood to duplicate a jig, and it followed the pattern without chatter or burning, as long as I kept the feed rate reasonable.

One thing I liked is that the anti-friction coating actually seems to help with cleanup. After running a couple of passes on pine and MDF, there was some dust and light resin, but it wiped off pretty easily. Cheaper uncoated bits I have tend to build up gunk quicker, especially in resinous woods. It’s not a miracle feature, but it keeps them from turning into a sticky mess right away.

The only design downside for me is that some of the more decorative bits feel a bit like filler. They work, but I don’t see myself using them often. That’s not a defect, just reality with big sets: you’ll probably live on 6–8 profiles and ignore the rest. Still, as a design choice, Bosch clearly tried to give a broad spread so beginners can experiment without buying individual bits one by one.

Bosch advertises micrograin carbide tips and hardened steel shanks, and in use, it lines up with that. The carbide edges out of the box were sharp on every bit I tried – no chips, no rough grinding marks, nothing that made me want to sharpen them before first use. I tested mainly on pine, cedar, and some maple offcuts. On all three, the bits cut cleanly with minimal tear-out when I respected grain direction and didn’t try to hog off too much in one pass.

The shanks themselves feel sturdy. I didn’t see any bends or obvious machining defects. I ran the roundover and flush trim bits a bit harder than I normally would on a small trim router just to see if there was any scary vibration. The router made more noise, but the bits stayed stable. That’s usually where the really cheap sets start getting sketchy: you feel roughness or see visible runout. Here, it felt controlled.

On the wear side, I’m not going to pretend these are industrial bits, but after several projects, the edges still feel reasonably sharp. The straight bit I used to cut dados in plywood is still cutting clean grooves without burning, as long as I match the speed and feed. If you’re expecting them to hold up like premium Whiteside or Freud bits under heavy daily use, you’ll be disappointed. For weekend projects, they seem more than adequate.

Overall, the materials are good for the price bracket: real carbide tips, not just painted steel, and shanks that inspire enough confidence to actually push the router a bit. Long term, I expect the most-used profiles will dull first, and at that point I’d just replace those individual bits with better ones. But as a base kit, the material quality is solid enough that you’re not throwing money at disposable tools.

The set comes in a rigid plastic case with a clear lid. Inside, there’s a molded tray where each bit snaps into place vertically. The first impression is positive: it looks organized, you can see everything at a glance, and there’s a printed guide that shows each bit’s profile and size. For someone just getting into routing, that guide is actually useful because you can match the drawing to the edge you want to create.

Day-to-day, the case does what it’s supposed to do. I’ve opened and closed it a bunch of times, and the latch still feels firm. The bits don’t pop out of their slots when you move the case, which is more than I can say for some cheaper kits that turn into a mess as soon as you tilt them. I’ve stored it horizontally on a shelf and vertically between other tool cases; no bits wandering around inside so far.

The downside is that the plastic isn’t indestructible. One of the user reviews mentioned the case being damaged during shipping, and I can see how that would happen if the box gets crushed. It’s good enough for shop storage, but I wouldn’t throw it loose in the back of a work truck with heavy stuff on top. If the hinge or latch breaks, the set instantly becomes less convenient.

Overall, I’d call the packaging and storage practical but not premium. It keeps the bits sorted, you can actually find what you need quickly, and it’s compact enough to live on a shelf. Just don’t expect a metal case or foam-lined luxury. It’s functional plastic that gets the job done, which matches the whole vibe of this kit.

In terms of durability, I looked at two things: edge retention on the bits and how well the case and organization hold up. After several sessions over a few weeks, the bits I used the most (roundover, flush trim, one straight bit, and the chamfer) are still cutting clean. I can feel a tiny difference if I compare them to brand new premium bits I own, but for a set in this price range, they’re holding up better than I expected.

The anti-friction coating also helps with durability in a roundabout way. Less buildup on the bit means less heat and less scraping with a wire brush later. I still wipe them down after use, especially after MDF, but they don’t look cooked or caked in resin. That’s usually what kills cheap bits fast: they get hot, gum up, then start burning everything. These haven’t gone down that road yet.

The case is decent but not bulletproof. My copy arrived intact, but I’ve seen people mention damaged cases from shipping. The plastic is thick enough for shop use, and the bits snap into their slots firmly. I’ve carried the case around, laid it flat, stood it on its side, and nothing came loose. If you’re rough on your tools or toss this in a truck bed all the time, you might eventually crack it, but for normal garage or basement use it seems fine.

Realistically, if you’re a pro carpenter or cabinetmaker using a router every day, these bits will probably dull faster than you’d like. For occasional to regular hobby use, they seem to have a good lifespan. My plan is simple: use this set as my general pool, then replace the handful of profiles I burn through with higher-end standalone bits. As a durable starter base, it does the job.

Performance-wise, I judged this set on a few concrete tasks: edge profiling on a kids’ bookshelf, trimming plywood shelves, and cutting some dados and rabbets for small shop storage. In all those cases, the Bosch bits did the job cleanly. On pine and cedar, the roundover and ogee bits left smooth edges that needed only light sanding. On maple, I had to take shallower passes, but the finish was still decent, with only minor fuzz in tricky grain areas.

The flush trim bit was probably my main test. I used it to copy a plywood template for a jig and to flush edge-banding on a shelf. The bearing ran smoothly along the template and the cut surface looked straight with no visible steps. I did get a bit of burning when I cranked the router speed too high and moved too slowly, but that’s user error more than the bit. Once I dialed back the speed, the burning went away.

For joinery, the straight bits and rabbeting bit were fine for light work. I cut a series of 1/4" and 3/8" dados in plywood for dividers. The grooves were consistent in width, and the bottom of the cut was reasonably flat. Not CNC-level perfection, but perfectly usable for shop furniture. I wouldn’t use these bits to cut deep mortises in hardwood all day, but that’s not what this kit is really for.

Overall, performance is solid as long as you respect the limits: don’t force deep cuts in one pass, match your router speed to the bit size, and use scrap to dial in your settings. Do that, and you get clean edges, controlled cuts, and a finish that doesn’t need you to fight with sandpaper for an hour. For hobby and light furniture work, that’s plenty.

Out of the box, you get a plastic storage case with a clear lid and a molded tray that holds all 30 bits. The layout is simple: each bit has its own labeled slot, and there’s a visual guide inside so you don’t have to guess which profile is which. Compared to the random plastic clamshells you get with some cheap kits, this one feels more like something you’ll actually keep on a shelf and use.

The bit selection is fairly broad for a 1/4" shank set. You get the usual suspects: straight bits in a few diameters, roundovers, chamfer, flush trim, rabbeting, and some decorative profiles like ogee and cove. It’s not a crazy specialized set, but it covers pretty much everything a new router owner will want to try. I didn’t feel like anything critical was missing for basic furniture, shelves, and trim work.

A small but nice touch: the printed profile chart is clear enough that you can quickly match a bit to the kind of edge you want. When I was working on a bookshelf for a kid’s room, I just opened the lid, pointed at a couple of profiles, and picked one that looked right for softening edges. You don’t need to know all the names, you just look and choose.

Overall, the presentation is practical and not flashy. The box is a bit bulky, but at least everything is in one place and not rattling around. If you’re used to buying single bits on cards and tossing them in a drawer, this feels a lot more organized. It’s not perfect storage, but it’s good enough that you’ll probably keep them in the case instead of scattering them around the shop.