Less Alternative to Freud Super Dado?

[Pat Germain]

LOML has been dogging me hard to make more bookshelves and such. My current dado blade is a real POJ and, after many years of use, I'm sure it's quite dull to boot. I need to get a very nice dado plade pronto! (FYI, I've tried making dados with my router and really didn't like it. I don't have a router table; yet.)

I'd like to buy a Freud Super Dado. However, I'm somewhat reluctant to pony up the $200 which is the price everywhere I've looked (including Amazon.com). Can anyone recommend a suitable, less-expensive alternative?

The last time I was at my local Woodcraft store, the sales rep recommended a CMT dado set. It listed for $167, but at that price, I would feel better going with the Freud SD for $30 more. I can probably cough up $200 if that's the best solution. However, I want to be sure of this before I do do.

Thanks!

[Chuck Lenz]

I have a Freud SD208, I've been happy with it.

[Pat Germain]

Thanks, Chuck. I'll take a look at that Dado. It's about half the price of the SD508.

[Ken Shoemaker]

I have the SD208 as well. No complaints here. Good luck on your decision..

[glenn bradley]

Thanks, Chuck. I'll take a look at that Dado. It's about half the price of the SD508.

Carbide costs money. Unfortunately this means more teeth and a smoother cut equals more money ;-(

I picked up the SD508 with a 25% off coupon at Rockler. It is definitely worth $200 and I would spend that again if this one vanished. At $150 I love it even more.

JMHO, of course that's easy to say now that I've spent the dough. I cried at the price but the pain was soon forgotten and I love this set.

[scott spencer]

The Freud SD208 and DeWalt DW7670 both hover near the $100 mark or less. Both are pretty decent sets IME. The 208 has fewer teeth than the 508 and 7670 but is a good set and is on sale at AMZ for $76 shipped. The 20% discount is applied at checkout.

[Brad Townsend]

Another vote for the Freud 208. I bought it for the lower price thinking I would get something better when I could afford it. I can now afford something better, but have decided the 208 is plenty good enough.

[Pat Germain]

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and picked up a Freud 208D at my local Woodcraft. They had 15% off all Freud products which saved me a few bucks.

I just made a few test cuts with the new dado set. It cuts great, but leaves a very small ridge in the bottom of the cut. I don't mind this at all, but is it normal or am I doing something wrong? I did notice it's kind of hard to get the shims on properly.

[Charles McCracken]

Pat,

The bottom of the dado should be flat across the width. There will be very small (less than 0.008" deep) V grooves in the corners that result from the bevel teeth on the outside saws but these shouldn't be evident unless you make overlapping cuts. Are you seeing change in the depth of the dado causing steps? If so, what saw are you using?

[Larry Browning]

Since money seems to be a major issue, why not look at the 6" versions of these blades. I have the SD206. I have never needed to cut anything deeper that about 1/2" anyway, and the 6" does just fine. I think I got my SD206 for around 50-60 bucks. I don't us one all that often, and a $200 investment seemed a little much for the amount of use it got.

Edit
sorry, I didn't see where you already bought the 208.

[Jim Becker]

One thing with the more value oriented dado sets is that they may not cut quite as cleanly as the premium tooling since they often have less teeth and may not be ground quite the same in some cases. You can help get around that by making it a practice to score the cut lines with a sharp knife prior to the cut and by putting painter's tape along the outside of the cut line when working with sheet goods to help minimize any edge splintering. The "inside" of the dado, groove or rabbit is of less consequence since it doesn't show most of the time and can be easily cleaned if necessary after the fact.

[Pat Germain]

Pat,

The bottom of the dado should be flat across the width. There will be very small (less than 0.008" deep) V grooves in the corners that result from the bevel teeth on the outside saws but these shouldn't be evident unless you make overlapping cuts. Are you seeing change in the depth of the dado causing steps? If so, what saw are you using?

I'm making 3/8" deep cuts in some scrap pine. The dado cuts this very easily in one pass. I'm using a Craftsman contractor saw with an AccuSquare fence.

I'm not seeing V grooves. Rather, there is one, small ridge along the bottom of the cut near the edge (about 1/8" from the edge).

I've made only a few cuts thus far. I'll do some more testing this evening. The dado set is performing very well. I just want to be sure I'm not using it improperly. Does it matter where the shims are placed? I placed them between a chipper one of the outside saws. I get the same ridge at the bottom of the cut without the shims.

Thanks, Charles.

[Michael Weber]

Pat, would switching the outside plates of your dado eliminate the ridge 1/8 from the dado edge?

[Pat Germain]

^^ I don't know, Michael. I'll give that a try tonight.

[Jim Becker]

I just made a few test cuts with the new dado set. It cuts great, but leaves a very small ridge in the bottom of the cut. I don't mind this at all, but is it normal or am I doing something wrong? I did notice it's kind of hard to get the shims on properly.

In your later post you make reference to the fact you are using a Craftsman contractors' style saw. There is a known issue with the arbor on some saws from that vendor where an unfortunately placed groove on the arbor causes one of the components of the stacked dado set to be out of center, thus causing a noticeable anomaly much as you describe. The only solutions are to "fill the hole" or replace the arbor with one that had the issue resolved. This problem is not brand specific relative to the stacked dado set...