Recommendations? Warnings?
Thanks.
Pete
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Replies
Have you ever used one?
Not really. Just kept making incremental passes with table saw.
Habilis, As for recommendations I will base it on what I own and use. On the high end you can not go wrong with the Dado king set from forrest, perfect flat bottom cuts, minimal crosscut tearout on difficult veneers, you get what you pay for. My other recomendation would be The Freud Dado sets , I have (not sure of the model #) Sd208 as well as the adjustable set, Both are great values and very good performers . As for the other brands I cannot speak although I am sure there are many that are on par with the brands I have have mentioned.
As for the Warnings, When making grooves / housings, ect... in panels control is everything. I am fortunate enough to have small sliding table saw as well as a standard cabinet saw. I prefer using the slider for dado cuts, It has hold down clamp for the material being processed. When using a cabinet saw for these cuts I would say keep surface of table as friction free as possible (wax), use push pads with handles to push material , avoid large panels as they are difficult to control and use feather boards when ever possible. If you have ever had a piece of material drift away from the fence when ripping or crosscutting, A dado set will amplify that experience exponentially ( Speaking from Experience).
Hope this info is helpful, Tom.
Hey Pete,
My recommendations are pretty much the same as what Tom says. You get what you pay for . I have one of the Freud sets and I'm happy with it. But I also recommend the table slide when I use the dado.
Bill D.
I have a DeWalt set I'm very happy with.
I've also had a sears brand wobble dado set what a mistake that was!
Chaim
I've got the Delta and I'm really pleased with it.
I have the delta, works well for a low cost set. What kind of saw do you have? Some saws won't take dado blades, others the arbor is long enough but the power isn't there.A six inch set will do most work. I personally hate wobblers and any dado sets that you dial in the width.
mike
Stick with a good quality carbide tipped stacked set. Avoid the wobblers.
I've owned the Freud SD208, DeWalt DW7670 (now sold as the Delta 35-7670 and DW H7200 also), Systimatic 42T/6T Superfine, and the Infinity Dadonator. All are good sets. The DW7670 has twice as many teeth as the Freud SD208, and offers what I feel is the best bang for the buck....on sale from Grizzly for $90. The Dadonator is the cat's meow and will be tough for any to eclipse at any price.
http://www.epinions.com/review/Infinity_Tools_Dadonator_Dado_Set_SDB_800_epi/content_450572553860
http://www.epinions.com/review/Dewalt_DW7670_8_Inch_Stacked_Dado/content_314538299012
Started over 30 yrs. ago with a Craftsman 32 tooth wobble dado blade from Sears (back when the stores in Canada were called Simpson Sears), & used it (carefully!) for years building furniture & cabinets. Upgraded to an 8" dado set from Oldham Saw - tried it out at a wood show on my own oak plywood, & used it for about 12 years. As face veneers have have gotten "semi-transparent" I purchased a 6" Freud dado set (since a 6" set will cut dados or rabbitts deeper than I have ever needed) & it works great. Can't remember the model # but it was around $100 US, 2 or 3 years ago. Worked so good in Oak plywood I bought a 2nd set for my shop at our cottage.
I have the Dewalt set, and it has worked very well. Around $100. Very good results for the price.
Another vote here for the Freud.
Cheers
Steve
Woodworking jig DVDs and The Ultimate Tablesaw Tenon Jig from http://www.workshopessentials.com
I had (still do in a drawr) a wobler, the thing scared the bejeezus out of me and I would not use it. I've had cheap sets and then bought the forrest set and that set with the magnetic shims is a joy to use excellent cuts. To be honest, I don't use it much as I find it easier just to use a router.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Just bought the Delta 7670. Have never used a dado blade set before. It's good to hear this is a reasonable set, as I had no basis for judging and the price was pretty good ($99C). The suggestions as to what to watch out for have been helpful too (thank you). The instructions with my set are adequate I suppose, but skimpy. They point out that table insert has to be changed. I suppose this is to clear the width of the blades. Is it a good idea to make your own insert? The instructions also note "required width, combination required" and "key". Most of this is straightforward. For 1/4 inch dado, for example, you need blades A+B as the combination, i.e. the two outside blades. The "key" is listed as "Left Outer" and I'm not exactly sure what it means. The "key" changes as the intended dados get wider. They also note that the outside arbour flange shouldn't be used, but the arbour nut should be tightened against the dado head set body. Is this to avoid the blades slipping? Thanks in advance for any answers here. Fred
I have a Freud 8" Super dado. If I had to replace it, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. Dead flat bottoms and perfect cross cuts in oak plywood. I also have a wobble dado that I use sometimes for rough work that I don't want to use my Freud for. It pretty much sucks. I wouldn't buy a dial-a-width either. I have read that they are a pain to dial in. If you buy a great stacked dado set, you will get years of use from it.
<<I wouldn't buy a dial-a-width either. I have read that they are a pain to dial in.>>Quite the contrary. I have the 8" one and believe me it sure beats the shim route. Following their procedure with a caliper it is dead on. Recommended.Cheers,Peter
Better life through Zoodles and poutine...
WHat's your budget? I have a Freud set bought many years ago, before the Freud Dial-a-Width stacked dado came out. If I were buying one today, I'd try to squeeze out the $$ for one of those.
Forestgirl and PeterDurant,
you two are the only ones rooting for the dial version. My budget, not sure Freud set for $100 looks good. Not planning a lot of dado needs at the moment but you never know and I hate buying junk. Wobbles don't sound too good. Right now I'm getting ready to make a half dozen shoji doors, could do it with a router, many ts slices, ras, by hand, but dado seems easiest. Also want to make a bunch of box end joints for another project. Once again, dado and simple jig seems best option.
I would think you'd want very clean cuts for those shoji's. As far as box joints go, the Freud box joint cutter is realllllllly nice, assuming you'd mostly be doing 1/4" or 3/8" box joints. Other companiees have come out with BJC's also.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Well, my power tools are for remodeling, like a contractors saw. I tweak them to get pretty good results, but use them mostly to do the heavy work, then break out the nicer hand tools and hone my skills. Will make an insert for the dado blade. As my work improves I'll buy the dream machines.
The Freud dado set promises a flat bottom, why the need for a special box joint set?PeteEdited 3/15/2009 11:38 pm ET by habilis
Edited 3/15/2009 11:40 pm ET by habilis
"The Freud dado set promises a flat bottom, why the need for a special box joint set?" A dado set leaves what are called "bat ears" at the corners of the groove, teeeeeny things -- they're an artifact of the angled teeth of the outer dado blades. These blades shear nicely both with and across the grain. [I hope I'm explaining this correctly!]
Box joint cutting doesn't require that shearing action, so the teeth can be square, and therefore do not leave any bat ears, just a nice square notch. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hmm. Thanks.
So, if I understand correctly, the angled teeth help in cutting across the grain. And the box cut blades assume you are cutting with the grain on the sides. What if you want to make box cuts in plywood?
"What if you want to make box cuts in plywood?" I've only made box joints in plywood, it works just great.
View Image
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 3/16/2009 12:06 pm by forestgirl
I mentioned plywood because on alternating layers you'd be cutting with the grade and across the grain. I was assuming the bat ear causing bevel on the regular dado teeth was to aid in cutting across the grain on the sides. Or is it more the case that the box cut set can do w/out the bevel due to the relatively short cut? Hope I've clearly explained my confusion and not also confused my explanation.
I don't think I can fully explain why the box cutter gets away without having some bevelled teeth. I do know that you can use that set (the BC) to cut grooves (defined as with the grain, as opposed to a dado, which is across the grain), which I've done a couple times when I needed a 1/4" groove. The BC is quicker to set up and there's no guessing about the size of the groove.
As far as the plywood goes, all those layers but one (the bottom one) are "backed up" as it were, with the layers behind it. Kinda like built-in auxillary fence (...no, that's stretching an analogy.
The one thing that will happen with a BC is that the last layer of veneer may not actually cut completely off, perhaps because those layers are so thin? So you can end up with little, thin flaps at the bottom of the notch you just cut. I was disconcerted by this the first time I used the cutter (which was also the first time I'd cut box joints). Someone suggested that I score the plywood right along where the bottom of the notches would be and then cut. Simple solution!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
BTW, the Freud dial a width leaves a flat bottom.Cheers,Peter
Better life through Zoodles and poutine...
Hi, Peter. No doubt, it leaves a flat bottom, but it must leave the teeeeeeeny bat ears at the corners, as it has the same bevelled tip on the outer blades as the other sets do:
View Image forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I just had to go and make some cuts for ya. See attached pics.The teeth on the outer blades are not the same as the drawing. Note the alternating flat teeth.Next are 3 sample cuts..I made them in different colored woods to avoid light bias. And yes, when I used a magnifying glass along with my readers, I could see a small bat ear.Good enough for my modest skills and purposes however.Cheers,Peter
Better life through Zoodles and poutine...
"Good enough for my modest skills and purposes however." Hah! good enough for most of us, I suspect. But you'd be amazed at how many people get a dado set, run their first dados, and then start posting in a forum, or reviewing at some place like Amazon, complaining that the dado isn't flat because of that little nick at each corner.
Your dados are gorgeous, Peter, not to worry. ;-)
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
My thanks to the both of you; I've learned a lot.
"Flat" from a glance, but not "perfectly flat" across the entire width. As FG has stated, the outside ATB teeth leave tiny grooves on the outside..."bat ears" seems to sum them up well. Most dado sets have the ATB teeth to help reduce tearout, and all of those with ATB teeth do leave a slightly deeper cut. Some dado sets alternate at least some teeth with a flat top grinds (FTG) to reduce the bat ears effect. The box cutter sets are typically all FTG which do leave a perfectly flat bottom, but are more likely to have some tearout when cutting across the grain and in things like melamine. Never a free lunch!
Edited 3/16/2009 2:17 pm ET by Knotscott
you two are the only ones rooting for the dial version.
Uh, make that three.
I bought the dial version and like it very much. With plywood thicknesses being approx. these days the dial comes in real handy, amongst other uses.
Oh and did I say flat bottoms,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
P.S. Also have the box cutters and forestgirl has written the book on those.
Edited 3/15/2009 9:40 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
I don't see any mention yet of what kind of equipment you plan on running a dado set on; it should be on no less than a contractors' saw, don't use it on a table saw that is little more than a circle saw mounted upside down on a bed. Also, very important, you will need to have a dado blade insert as it obviously won't work with the one for a single blade. You can buy these but they almost always are for 3/4" (full stack) and many times you will need one for 1/2", etc. In which case you might want to make your own inserts, one for each size. Here you have to be careful as there is danger of a dado blade grabbing the workpiece and pulling it down through the insert plate, if it is of insufficient strength, and taking the operators' hand with it. Does Sawstop@ work on dado blades?
"Does Sawstop@ work on dado blades?"Yes, you need to put in the dado cartridge (about $10 or so more than the regular) and you can only use an eight inch blade set. I had a nice 10" set I used on my old saw and can't now, so will get a new 8" set when I need them.
So, I would like to know...who owns one and posted that they hate it? And for what reason?
Better life through Zoodles and poutine...
The Freud SD608 "Dial-a-Width" has the same configuration as their better SD508 set, but note that the adjustable hub ads some width, and many arbors can't handle the full stack plus the hub. Also, note that the SD208 has half as many teeth as the SD508 and 608, and doesn't leave as clean of a cut.
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