I’m slowly learning basic techniques in joinery.
One project that I’m devising requires a series of dado cuts. Without a dado blade, I achieve the width with a series of adjacent cuts on the table saw. When finished, the area is nicely cleaned out. However, given the grind of a standard blade, I’m left with an uneven plane at the top of the cut. Can I carefully slide the cut across the blade to clean out the peaks in that surface? Or is this unsafe?
Replies
try a rabbet plane or a router with a rabbetting bit to get the desired finish. The bit is probably the less expensive option unless you don't have the router (doubtful). But, if that's the case, you could buy the dado set for about the same cost.
Couldn't agree more. Do 90% of mine with the router. Cleanest way to do them.
Mat,
If you have a rip blade for your table saw, then it will leave a flat bottomed cut due to it's flat top grind. But it wouldn't leave a nice clean dado if the dado goes across the grain. A staight cutting router bit may be your answer.
Jeffrey
Clean up the cut with a chisel.
Mat,
I have done what your attempting and if done slowly it's not dangerous. However, as the others have indicated it dosen't work very well and a router works much better. I made a coupla jigs for the router that makes doing dados a dream. I took some staight grained fir and attached it to a 6" x 4' piece of 1/4 " hardboard. I then ran the router up against the fir with a 1/2 bit along the edge of the hardboard. When ever I need a half inch dado I can just lie the hardboard edge along my cut line, secure it and let the router do its thing. Ditto with the 3/4 router bit.
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