Dados By Hand

[Robert Engel]

I find they are really quite satisfying, and if you only have a few to do, don't take much more time than setting up a dado blade.

Plus, you get to use a router plane, which I happen to think is one of the coolest hand tools there is.

I encourage you to give them a try. (BTW, a big 2" chisel really speeds things up).

HandCutDado1.JPG

HandCutDado.JPG

[Phil Mueller]

Agree on both points. Love the router plane. Frankly just read the pointed blade is best for cross grain and straight edge blades for with the grain. Will give this a try on the next dado.

[Normand Leblanc]

IMO cutting dados across the grain with a chisel and router plane is easier than with the grain. The problem I get when it's with the grain is to get nice straight wall. If I'm not careful, the wall can easily be tear out.

In any cases, you're getting very nice results. I'm going to have to find a very large chisel...now I have an excuse for buying one.

Have a good day,
Normand

[Allen Hunt]

Really beautiful dados.

Allen

[Andrew Hughes]

Well I be darn I have one of those Router planes didn't know they were capable of such fine work!

[Steve Beadle]

I have a shop-made "Old Woman's Tooth" router plane for which I have made a straight blade only. Phil's comment about the superiority of a pointed blade for cross-grain work with a router plane has now inspired me to make one for my tool. Good idea! BTW, Robert, those are really nice looking dadoes!

[Patrick Chase]

In any cases, you're getting very nice results. I'm going to have to find a very large chisel...now I have an excuse for buying one.

Might I suggest a nice, inexpensive (or not) 2" PM-V11 butt chisel?

I started out using the 2" Narex bench chisel for this sort of thing, but it's a handful and the extra length doesn't buy you anything for this sort of work. The butt chisels are a lot easier to handle.

[Patrick Chase]

Agree on both points. Love the router plane. Frankly just read the pointed blade is best for cross grain and straight edge blades for with the grain. Will give this a try on the next dado.

I don't find pointed blades to be all that much better for cross-grain work, though I suspect that there will be a very wide range of opinion on that point. The pointed blade does force you to make a tradeoff between clearance and bottom flatness. If you hone a V-blade with a normal amount of relief for a router plane then it will cut a slight V-bottom. Of course you can fix that by grinding the triangular portion of the blade back parallel to the plane sole, but then you'll have zero clearance.

[Normand Leblanc]

Might I suggest a nice, inexpensive (or not) 2" PM-V11 butt chisel?

I started out using the 2" Narex bench chisel for this sort of thing, but it's a handful and the extra length doesn't buy you anything for this sort of work. The butt chisels are a lot easier to handle.

I wasn't even aware that LV had 2" PM chisels. Thanks for pointing to that.

Normand

[Phil Mueller]

Some say dados are best done with saw and chisel, using a router plane only to flatten the bottom to final depth. To your point, Patrick, I guess that would negate this approach with a pointed blade.

[lowell holmes]

I wasn't even aware that LV had 2" PM chisels. Thanks for pointing to that.

Normand

They sure are proud of them.

[steven c newman]

Used a saw, a 1" wide chisel, and a very narrow chisel for this two
IMAG0004.jpg
both are 1/4" wide. I use the same set of tools for stopped dados
dados.jpg
Mainly just a chop down to cut the walls, and then pare out the waste. For dados 3/8" wide that aren't stopped..
Stanley 39.jpg
All I need is to clamp a guide batten, the #39 does the rest. Wide dados?
after shot.jpg
Drop both spurs down, set the fence to how far in from the edge, and cut the dados. One of the 7 jobs this Stanley 45 was designed to do..

[Adam Stevens2]

I just made six stopped dados in the last few days. I find that using a chisel to define the walls has worked pretty well, and my router plane does the rest (once a chunk of the waste has been popped out).

[steven c newman]

Tried the 45 out to make a dado, just some scrap pine for now..
IMAG0002.jpg
One of the "Seven" jobs this plane was designed to do. As long as the spurs/nickers are sharp, and the first three trips across a board are made pulling the plane back towards you ( to give the spurs a cut) Dados do not take all that long to do
IMAG0001.jpg

The board is to stand in for a drawer's side. The #45 had already made that groove. I normally clip the back corners on drawers I make. I was a bit too close to the edge with the set up.

One can also add a strip of wood at the far end of the dado's cut, to prevent the edge from splintering out.
The #45 will not do stopped dados, though.

[Allen Jordan]

How are you getting such clean sidewalls on your hand cut dados? Lots of careful chiseling between passes?