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Thread: Best way to make a dado by hand?

  1. #1
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    Best way to make a dado by hand?

    I need to make a dado about 13" long, 3/4" wide by 5/8" deep. What's the best hand tool way of doing it?

  2. #2
    Hand held router????

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  3. #3
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    You can do it with a chisel, too.

    You find somebody with a router and say, "I'll give you this nice chisel if you'll make a dado in this board!
    Veni Vidi Vendi Vente! I came, I saw, I bought a large coffee!

  4. #4
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    Hi,

    A chisel, backsaw, marking knife and a router plane is required.
    You'll find a step by step within this tutorial by Derek Cohen.
    HERE
    I've used this technique myself with great results.

    Cheers,
    Stu

  5. #5
    Best way by far is to use a 3/4" dado plane. 3/4" planes are fairly rare, but they do exist. Dado planes are fun to use and work fast. Can't imagine a router could go faster.

    Adam

  6. #6
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    There was a stairmaker's saw years ago. Thet turn up on Ebay,or are easily made. They have about an 8" or 9" blade that isn't very tall,and is inlet into a handle that is wooden,and runs the full length of the top of the blade. This holds it nice and straight. If you clamped a piece of wood across the board you intend to dado,and saw each edge,you can chisel out the wood in between.Possibly finish up with a hand router.For an electric router,I'd also clamp a board parallel to the dado for the router's base to run against. Sawing the edges of the dado probably would tend to give the smoothest edges if you are in doubt about controlling the router. I would suggest using an undersize bit,and carefully adjusting the wooden fence to take smaller last cuts.

  7. #7
    Best way is with a dado plane of course. No other hand tool or combination of hand tools will do the job better or faster. If you can find a 3/4" grab it. I found one and grabbed it up as soon as I saw it. Don't worry about price. The 3/4" size is rare so if you see one just get it. They are a joy to use. Does it have to be 3/4"? Is your stock already thicknessed? Dado planes in 7/8" are much more common.

  8. #8
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    The dado plane had better have nickers on it to score the wood so it doesn't tear on the sides of the dado.

  9. #9
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    IIRC the last issue of Woodsmith had an article on this. Score front and rear "openings, back saw to make the two long cuts and a chisel to hog it out.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  10. #10
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    If you are going edge to edge, then sawing it out first is easy. Before you start cutting, score the bottom of the dado on the edge and my practice is to chamfer the edge with a chisel to the bottom of the cut to prevent blow out.

    If you are making stopped dados, then a chisel and router plane may be the easiest. It is just making a long mortise.

    I have done quite a few of these with just chisel and a depth gauge. An open dado and shelf at the front of a piece is not pleasing. A stopped dado and the edge of the shelf showing at the front also does not suit my taste. To avoid this look, the front corners of a shelf are cut to a slight curve. I do not have a picture of a stopped dado without the curve. I made the curved edge with a block plane and/or a chisel. It adds a pleasing detail and hides the joint by exposing it.

    jim
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    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 03-25-2009 at 10:18 PM.

  11. #11
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    Derek's way should work for my purpose. I dont have a backsaw, but one of my other saws should suffice.
    Thanks for all the ideas.

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