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Thread: Dado blades

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Versailles,Ky.
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    17

    Dado blades

    I have a couple of questions about dado sets some of you more experienced woodworkers could answer for me! I have a generic Craftsman 10" table saw that I want to add a dado set to. I found in the operators manual that I have to use a 6" NON carbide tipped, Non adjustable 1/2" wide max dado! What I need to know is what a "non-adjustable dado is, never heard of one! What is the reason I can't use carbide tipped dado sets. Also, why only up to 1/2" width, looks like there is plenty of clearence for a wider set! While I'm at it can you tell me the benefits of a "wobble" dado over a stacked dado! Any other comments about what to look for would be appreciated too!

    Best regards, Joe

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
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    28,504
    Joe.......I suspect...I don't know but suspect the length of the shaft on your saw's arbor is the reason a 1/2" wide dado is the maximum width you can use. It may be the shaft is so short you can't safely place anything wider on it and have enough thread to lock it on safely. I also think that they mean "stacked" when they say non-adjustable. The adjustable one's that I've owned were in fact of the wobble type. I don't know why they recommend you don't use carbide.

    My experience with wobbles have shown they don't get a "square" cut on the bottom and therefore are less desireable if the results are visible. Most stacked dados have chippers and as such provide a more square dado and looks better if the dado is visible.

    I'm sure other members here with more experience than I will make more knowledgeable replies.
    Last edited by Ken Fitzgerald; 06-19-2005 at 1:08 PM.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Tacoma, WA
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    519
    Some of what's in the manual makes no sense to me. 6" because you don't have the power to spin an 8" (or specifically to take a deep cut with a bigger dado set. 1/2" probably for the same reason. Non-adjustable? That doesn't make any sense to me. Neither does non-carbide. I would challenge you to find one these days. Wobble dados allow you to set the width easier than with stack dados. However, they don't give as clean a cut as stack dados. Personally I only use stack dados becasue of the greater accuracy.

  4. #4
    I may be wrong but I think the "adjustable" refers to the wobble type or any other type that can be dialed in. Mainly because they require a larger arbor shaft than what is on your saw. I started with a small 6 inch stacked steel non carbide set on that saw. It gave pretty poor results on my saw, it was an 8 inch benchtop saw. Power was the big item for that saw. I got much better results with a router and straight cutting bits and a couple homemade Tsquare type jig.
    Late I upgraded to a 10 inch Craftsman Contractor saw. I bought a wobble blade with it. I just didn't like it. It gave worse results than the small 6 inch steel set did. I never used it again. I now have a Delta contractors saw with a Frued 6 inch stacked daddo set that I have not yet used. I still like to use router to do most daddos along with one of the aluminum edge guides . When I get my electrical problem fixed, I will have to test out that new Frued.
    Hope this helps.
    Corey
    Last edited by Corey Hallagan; 06-19-2005 at 4:57 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Peshtigo, WI (~50 miles N of Green Bay)
    Posts
    1,403

    Dadoes

    Quote Originally Posted by Corey Hallagan
    a Frued 6 inch stacked daddo set that I have not yet used. Corey
    Corey,
    The Freud 6" stacked system should work very nicely for you. I get very little "tearout" with it (even with oak). I don't want to disagree with previous posts but my experience has been that the "wobble" dado gives a much smoother "base" finish than any of the "stacked' dados. On the other hand, I found them a pain in the neck to get adjusted properly. They also created an accentric shake which was not good for the saw bearings - I think! Mine is GONE!

    Stacked dados will give you a "rough" finish but that is a lot better for gluing than a smooth finish because of the increased surface area.

    I know that you already know all this stuff but I'm answering a dado post in addition to encouraging you to get off your neutrons and get your electrons flowing for the Freud Dado.

    Joe, the carbide prohibition makes NO sense to me at all. If I were you, I would call the techs at Sears and ask them the reason. They won't have one unless your saw motor is turning at 40,000 RPM!

    Dale T.
    Last edited by Dale Thompson; 06-19-2005 at 10:21 PM.
    I am so busy REMAKING my projects that I don't have time to make them the FIRST time!

  6. #6
    Thanks Dale, I am sure it will, which is the reasonI bought, it came highly recommended. My wobble (craftsman if that makes any difference, I think it was made by Oldham) was just plain scarey. It was loud and made a heck of a racket when you used it. It wasn't that the bottom wasn't smooth, it was ok, it just wasn't very flat and left terrible lobes on the sides of the cut.
    Getting estimates this week on the electrical!

    Corey

  7. #7
    I used a craftsman wobble dao for years.It always left an uneven bottom in the dado cut.Just recently bought the Freud stacked set.What a difference,nice clean square cuts.right,the lenght of the shaft determines what dado set you can use.

  8. #8
    For the $ don't think you can beat the Freud 6" - Amazon has good sale prices on the set periodically. I would check the length of the arbor as that is probably the limiting factor for the 1/2" spec. I have no idea what the non-carbide/carbide would be about - makes no sense to my feeble brain.
    Ken in Clemson
    Ken's Shop

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Waterford, MI
    Posts
    4,673
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Cox
    Some of what's in the manual makes no sense to me. 6" because you don't have the power to spin an 8" (or specifically to take a deep cut with a bigger dado set. 1/2" probably for the same reason. Non-adjustable? That doesn't make any sense to me......
    I agree with you. I think they're erring on the side of caution re: their motors not being powerful enough to spin anything bigger. And I suspect the same reasoning is behind the warning against adjustable (wobble) blades - which by their nature aren't balanced. Maybe they're implying the unbalanced rotation will rip their arbor off or something? I'm clueless on the no carbide though.

    However, I'm sure the warnings are based on max depths of cut so as long as the arbor length supports it, I seriously doubt using a 3/4" dado at only 1/2" deep is any worse than a 1/2" dado at its max depth of cut.
    Use the fence Luke

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