How to enlarge dado chipper blade arbor opening
Hey Friends,
I’ve got a DeWalt dado set which I use on the Sawstop tablesaw. I finally got around to trying to use the 3/32 cutter and found it will not fit on the arbor. All the other components fit fine, a little tight, but that’s probably good.
I contacted DeWalt and my dado set is out of warranty and no individual cutter replacement is available.
The cutter almost fits the arbor, but I’m afraid if I try to force it on it may damage the arbor threads or I’ll never get it back off the saw. Does anyone have suggestions for enlarging the blade opening? A 5/8” dowel and wet-dry sand pepper? I don’t want to introduce unnecessary wobble. Luckily it’s a cutter I won’t need real often…it’s for those in between dado sizes like 11/32 and such but it would be nice to get it working.
Thanks for any advice.
Dave C
Replies
You might find a step drill similar to this of the correct size:
https://www.amazon.com/COMOWARE-Step-Drill-Bit-Titanium/dp/B07PPRDBM5/ref=sxin_10?ascsubtag=amzn1.osa.43579df1-f665-4e22-8b7d-d1708db6db15.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&creativeASIN=B07PPRDBM5&cv_ct_cx=reamer+drill+bit&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osa.43579df1-f665-4e22-8b7d-d1708db6db15.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_we=asin&cv_ct_wn=osp-single-source-gl-ranking&dchild=1&keywords=reamer+drill+bit&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B07PPRDBM5&pd_rd_r=bd2a0b7a-ed36-4d81-b60f-7c2dccaf4b7a&pd_rd_w=lkG73&pd_rd_wg=lCun1&pf_rd_p=53f37bb1-bef6-4b9e-be3a-0696c5f5ad01&pf_rd_r=YXCZTYRFSEK25158FZ18&qid=1611714490&sr=1-2-d9dc7690-f7e1-44eb-ad06-aebbef559a37&tag=askmencontent-20
Or a reamer similar to this:
https://www.amazon.com/WINMAX-TOOLS-AUTOMOTIVE-Tapered-Reaming/dp/B082PNHBKB/ref=sr_1_23?crid=1VFEZ0J75ED91&dchild=1&keywords=reamer+tool&qid=1611714977&s=industrial&sprefix=reamer%2Cindustrial%2C231&sr=1-23
If it is not bent, and not what you want to hear...toss the blade and replace it.
Thanks for the links and suggestion. I’ll check flatness. DeWalt won’t sell an individual replacement, so will do without it if it is truly defective.
Bilyo...the drill/reamer looks like a workable option and worth a try for cheap.
I recommend taking it to an engineering shop. They do this sort of thing all the time. They will easily be able to match an existing blade hole size and it will be spot on concentric, which is not likely to happen if you try to DIY. It will cost way less than a new dado set, I am sure. They may also be able to take .001 off your other blades while they are at it...
The reamer is the way to go. They are designed to make very slight hole enlargements. And you could, with care, use it on all your chippers but you do what them snug.
The step drill is too crude for your purposes.
Reamer for sure. Unless there is a burr, which can be filed away.
Do you need that thickness as a stand alone cutter or just as a spacer for plywood dados?
Freud has a variety of milled dado spacers that you might be able to get if you only need the spacing.
I haven't tried the spacers that came with the set; but the Freud spacers might be useful as well. I could probably get to desired dado width with those. I think on occasion it would be good to have the stand alone cutter. I bought the DeWalt set a few years ago because it was compatible with Sawstop's safety technology. Thanks for your reply.
Thanks for all the suggestions. The reamer sounds like it's worth a try.
I had that issue with a Forrest blade. Support said to wrap coarse paper around a dowel, insert into the arbor hole and spin it.
It worked. It was just small enough to not slip on the arbor but after a few minutes it fit just fine.
Mike
You could take the blade off, start the motor, and use a file on the arbor. I mean, that chipper would fit, right?
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