Replies

1. 
   jazzdogg | Mar 15, 2005 02:28am | #1

   Toolfreak,

   I bought one a few decades ago after a brief flirtation with a wobble head (aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!). It's OK, not great. I recall liking the ease of adjustment, particularly with undersize plywood. However, it didn't produce clean cuts - lots of torn fibers and ragged-edges.

   I have heard good things about Freud's version, but have never used one. I am now using a Forrest dado set and, aside from messing with shims, I like it a lot.

   Good luck,

   -Jazzdogg-

   Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.

2. 
   FastEddie | Mar 15, 2005 05:41am | #2

   Toolfreak,

   I did it,  would not do it again.  Too much clean up after the fact.  Still haven't found the perfect dado set up, but still looking.

   F E

3. 
   forestgirl | Mar 15, 2005 06:20am | #3

   If you want to skip the shims and still get a high-quality cut, you'll have to bite the $$-bullet and get a Freud Dial-a-Width stacked dado.  It'll run you $200-$230 or so.

   You can get a quality cut in a shimmed dado set for under $100.  I would not recommend the Excalibur simply based on my experience with their regular Excalibur 10" saw blade.  A bust for the money I paid for it.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

4. 
   CharlieD | Mar 15, 2005 09:09am | #4

   I recommend a Freud SD-208 (or better yet a DD-208, same thing with a PermaSHIELD coating) for, I believe, about $10 more than the Sears. I got mine at Home Depot for $98 2 weeks ago. It's fabulous. The Sears is OK--I inherited one with a Sears radial arm saw--but as others have mentioned, the cut is marginal; also, the bottom of the dado is not perfectly flat. That might not be an issue with dadoes, but I use mine for some things where flatness matters enormously, most notably, tenons. The extra $10 and the slight inconvenience of using shims are more than offset by the quality of the flat-bottomed cut that the Freud offers.

   Charlie

   I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
5. 
   mvac | Mar 15, 2005 02:40pm | #5

   'Freak,

   I have an Excalibur bought about 7 years ago. Great for hardwoods & jigs, but as you've heard here from FG & others, it's rough on plywood. I really like the dial-a-width feature, so I'd second FG's recommendation and, assuming you cut  lot of dados, go with the Freud. I still like the Excalibur, but at the end of day, it's still two wobble blades, which is better than one, but far from a stacked set, shims or not.

   That said, I've never seen the item Charlie's referring to - if it's a true stacked no-shim dado set for only $10 more, that would sound like a pretty good deal to me.

   When I need to cut a bunch of dados with precision, I rout them with a shopmade jig and solid carbide spiral upcut bit. Like "buttah." I built it from a plan featured in - dare I say it - Popular WW. It accomodates any width from 1/2" to 2", and uses the mating piece to size the dado exactly - no measuring. If you're interested, I can probably get the plans scanned in and sent on (If anyone from PopWood is reading this, I never said that...).

   Hope this helps,

   Mitch

   "I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."

1. 
   bladeburner | Mar 15, 2005 03:29pm | #6

   I remember seeing that and thinking it would be clumsy. But I'll head over to their site and try to find it again since hearing it actually works well.

2. 
   bladeburner | Mar 15, 2005 05:33pm | #7

   I went to their site and couldn't find it. As you know, they post a lot of their plans and articles for download. I'd like to see it again if not too much trouble.

   Joe

1. 
   mvac | Mar 15, 2005 11:00pm | #10

   Your wish is my command. Let me get it scanned in, and I'll e-mail it outside the thread. I'll also leave a number so you can feel free to ask questions.

   Regards,Mitch

   "I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."

2. 
   mvac | Mar 16, 2005 01:09am | #13

   Dear Joe,

   "I went to their site and couldn't find it. As you know, they post a lot of their plans and articles for download. I'd like to see it again if not too much trouble."

   I'm at a loss to understand why, just because I said the jig was from Popular Woodworking, you didn't immediately recognize that I meant ShopNotes...(Picture large red-faced man running away with tail between legs...). Man, if I'm this out of it in my late 40's, what am I gonna be like a couple or three decades from now? I better start working on that Advance Directive...

   I checked the site, and you can't get the plans online w/o paying for them, but you can see a video of how the jig works by going here and scrolling down to Online Extras for Issue No. 76.

   I'll have the plans to you in a bit...

   Yours in senility,

   Mitch

   "I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."

   ...and I thought my signature was just a funny little quip...

   Edited 3/15/2005 6:11 pm ET by mvac

3. 
   forestgirl | Mar 15, 2005 06:31pm | #8

   Mitch, the SD dados mentioned above are regular shimmed dadoes.  Freud's no-shim dadoes are called Dial-a-Width and are models SD606 and SD608.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   mvac | Mar 15, 2005 10:58pm | #9

   Jamie,

   Yeah, I figured $100 for a shimless dial-adjust Freud dado stack was too good to be true, and in fact Charlie did say in his post that the model he referenced had shims...

   Btw, did you say somewhere that you actually have a 7-year-old grandchild? If so, I've gotta tell ya, you are one fine look...Oops, that's inappropriate. I should probably go to the cafe...;-)

   See ya,Mitch

   "I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 15, 2005 11:29pm | #11

   Hi Mitch, yep, we can only dream about $100 shimless dado sets, right? 

   Ohhhh, I don't mind a compliment now and again.  Keep in mind though, (a) that pic was take awhile ago and (b) I managed the grandchild without having any children myself, LOL!  He is Nick's daughter's boy.  Had to drag Nick, kicking and screaming, into grandfatherhood, but he loves it now!

   Here he is, practicing his flight pattern.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

   
1. 
   mvac | Mar 16, 2005 12:57am | #12

   Now that's one good-lookin' 7-year-old. If his stance is indicative of his interest and he likes things that fly, Nick might want to look into those two-handled acrobatic kites - the ones that turn on a dime and do figure 8's and all that fun stuff. It's pretty easy to learn to fly 'em, and I'd bet my bottom dollar that Nick and Andrew would have a heck of a time bonding with it. I used to use mine all the time, and as soon as my 4 1/2-year-old is a little older, we'll be out on the Capital Mall flying together.

   Of course, being on an island and all, there's probably no wind... ;-)

   Cheers,

   Mitch

   "I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."

   Edited 3/15/2005 5:58 pm ET by mvac

6. 
   billballeza | Mar 16, 2005 05:21am | #14

   I've owned one for about three years and have no complaints about it's performance although it did produce a cleaner bottom when it was new.

   My problem with the excalibur is that you can't really "dial" it because it's very stiff and the tool that comes with it bends the first time you use it.

   Also, once you have it mounted you can't dial it because the arbor is too short and if you have a dust shroud under the blade it's impossible.

   You have to fiddle and tweak it alot to get it to the nominal 3/4" width of sheet stock.. lots of test cuts and tweaking and test cuts etc.

   I finally bought a router bit designed to cut dados in 3/4" plywood and built myself a pair of straight edge router guides.. one long and one short.

   I'm tempted to try the Freud dial but I'd want to futz with it in the store first.

7. 
   duffer | Mar 16, 2005 11:23am | #15

   Hey Toolfreak!

   I never had much luck with the Craftsmen Xcaliber blade, it was difficult to adjust, and splintered cross grain cuts in plywood.  Taping the plywood with some blue painting tape helps solve that problem a little.  I use a Freud 8" Super Dado, it does a fine job, and costs less than the Freud Dial-A-Width Dado blade.  To speed up setting and shimming the blade to the correct width, use a fractional dial caliper.  It is much easier, and faster to set up the chippers and shims off the table saw than on it.

   It also may be worthwhile to consider getting a dado jig for your router.  I have a jig from Accurate Woodworking that fits onto my Bosch router.  Used with a downcut spiral bit, you will acheive splinter free cuts.  I also find it much easier to use the router jig on long, or wide boards because they tend to get a little unmanagable on my Delta Contractors saw.  

   Hope this helped. 

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 16, 2005 06:05pm | #16

   "use a fractional dial caliper"  Best $20 I ever spent was for the inexpensive(!) digital calipers at Harbor Freight.  If anyone reading this thinks "....but I can't afford dial calipers" put in an order!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

8. 
   Tomknixx | Mar 16, 2005 11:09pm | #17

   Check e-bay.  I was able to get the Freud 8" for under $80 with shipping.  I'm a beginner also and have found it to be simple to set up and gets nice results for the little bit that I have used it. 

    

   Tom