Dado Blades

[TominZebulon]

Thanks to my father who is visiting from Florida, I am in the market for a new dado set. He cut a dado in a router table top and forgot there were sheetrock screws in the path. Wow! I can't believe how much sharper my dado blades are after that! Unbelievably, only one tooth broke, so I could probably get them sharpened/repaired, but I have been looking for an excuse to buy a new set. So, what brand do you guys recommend. I have my eye on that dial a width Freud set, but really wonder how good they are. Does anyone have that set and what do you think? How about other brands? Thanks in advance for all your insight.

 

[Art]

I have two sets.... an Oldham adjustable and a Hickory adjustable.... Arbor length was my determining factor....lol.... But I am very happy with both set and do alot of finger joints.

Art

 

[Monty]

I used a cheap Dado stack set for a long time -- I figured I'd wait until the "right time" to upgrade. Well, the SD608 dial-a-width set went on sale for 25% off at Routerbitworld about 6 months ago, and I bit. It's a good set for sure - clean cuts. I was surprised that at first I sort of missed the shims that I was used to and comfortable with, though.

Anyway it works great for dados. Adjustments are still a bit time-consuming though -- you still have to loosen the arbor nut, click the adjustment, and retighten the arbor nut a few times to get it just right. Still easier than shims.

The extra width of the dial thingy takes away some of the capacity of your arbor, though. On my contractor saw, for example, I can cut 3/4" dadoes but not the full 13/16" capacity. This is not a problem for some contractor saws or for cabinet saws as far as I know. Click this link for more info:

Determining if the Dial-A-Width Dado is Right for You Saw

Hope this helps.

 

[clowman]

I do believe we have a Freud rep as a member of this site. He may be able to answer any specific question you have. Personally, I have the freud sd208 (I believe the numbers are) It's great for my use.

 

[Steve D]

Not sure of the numbers, probably the same as Clay's, but I have the 8" freud stacked dado set. For the money, I think Freud has the best product offering in dados hands down. I would recommend that you go with either the stacked or adjustable Freud. Stay away from any of the "wobble" adjustable dados. In all honesty, nothing will beat a router and a jig for perfectly sized, flat bottom dados. Use a downcut spiral bit and you'll have zero chipout in any material.

 

[SteveColes]

I have the Freud %\508 an use the Veritas split shims. I think I can set it up faster than 608.

 

[McRabbet]

Insom pointed out the major shortcoming of the Freud SD-608 -- it can only be set to cut about 3/4" on most saws due to the fixed length of the saw arbor and the added thickness of the Dial adjuster on the outsides -- I bought the 8" Freud SD-508 and I absolutely love it -- I got mine at the Charlotte show in '04 and it cuts dead flat dado bottoms and has essentially no tearout on plywoods. I can put every chipper and a .020" shim on with the standard washer and nut on my Grizzly 1023 XLS (> 13/16"). And shim setting is really easy and it comes with plenty of them in 4 thicknesses. In addition, it is one of the few (if not only) dado sets on the market with both 1/16" and 3/32" chippers as well as four 1/8" chippers. The chipper plates and outside plates are dead flat; I always write down any shim settings I use and use a dial caliper during setup to speed the process. The only comparable unit on the market is the 8" Forrest Dado-King which runs at least $100 more. Hope this helps. Rob

 

[fivestring]

I have the Freud SD506 set. (6 inch)

I do not do deep enough dados to need the 8-inch (SD508)

I have been very pleased with the results; very clean cuts with no chip-out.

 

[lbmallett]

I have the Freud SD-608 Dado set. I am very happy with it and, after some trial and error, I can now set it up in just a few minutes with very little extra adjustments. I get sharp, accurate dadoes, rabbets, and grooves with it. I highly recommend it.

 

[Monty]

That's a good point that fivestring raises - there's really no reason why most of us need an 8" dado set anyway! I talked to a Freud rep at a show one time, and he basically told me that the 6" set is really designed for those like me with contractor saws, and the 8" set is probably best suited for bigger cabinet saws. Even then, I doubt most people need the extra inch of blade height. I got the 8" set just because I wanted it , and the the price was better than the 6" set when I bought.

 

[Steve D]

I agree with Insomniac. I was in the market for the 6" but the 8" was on sale and cheaper so I have the 8". 90+% of the dados I have cut have been around 3/8" deep.

 

[hpetty]

I have a Jesada 8" set. Not sure if it is even made anymore. (I think I bought it at Klingspor's on a closeout.) It came with a 1/32" chipper and several shims, so I can set it very accurately for just about any width - including those weird new plywood thicknesses. It produces a very clean cut on my Unisaw.

 

[sapwood]

Tom,

Another happy Freud 8 inch stack dado set owner here. Apparently good sale prices pop up frequently. :mrgreen:

Got a Woodcraft flyer today with a sale for the Timberline Dado Set and carrying case--$99 for both. I can't endorse or slam Timberline since I have zero experience with them 8-O

Sapwood