Router Vs Dado Blades

[Woodchuck]

HI all,

Just wanting to know peoples thoughts on making Dados & Rabbets with a router Vs using stacked Dado blades on a table saw. I haven't done it either way as yet, but am looking at buying a TS in the near future & all the furniture shops / saw doctors tell me to stay well clear of using dado blades for some reason.

Is using a router safer or easier ?
Is it just a matter of personal preference ?

So how different is it using the router & the Pros & Cons of this if any have some thoughts to share please.

Cheers
Woodchuck

[kenmil]

When all these people tell you to stay well clear of dado blades, don't you ask why ??

Both methods cut dados, with the stacked dado blade in a saw being somewhat faster, and possibly easier to ensure a straight cut. The stacked blade has a few more degrees of adjustment too, so it is my preference, but sometimes a router is a better choice.

[Jim Carroll]

I use a dado blade and have no problems with it. You have to make sure the timber is pressed firm against the fence so as not to wander sideways and you need to set up a jig to hold the timber down as it is passing over the blade as it will try to lift the timber of the bench. A good dust extractor is also needed as you create a great deal of shavings with this blade. You can do a reasonable depth of cut with the blade where with the router bit you may have to do several cuts to acheive the same depth of cut. I have a 3 hp makita router and trying to cut dados of any depth can stall this machine .

[derekcohen]

Woodchuck

I agree with the comments of Jim and Ken.

I have used both for making dados. Essentially, the router may give you a cleaner cut but the going will be harder and you will be forced to take very shallow cuts to prevent the wood burning or the router burning out. The tablesaw will cut more aggressively and the quality of the cut will depend on the quality (read $$$) of the blades you use.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[bitingmidge]

Bits and blades each have their place methinks.

For me, Dado blades are more fun! Well they seem to be quicker and easier once set up.

My observation is that they are not too common in Aus, with commercial establishments being extremely mechanised they need adjusting and aren't suited to those operations.

I have used at least half a dozen different widths to date, so probably have just about offset the cost of the blades when compared with buying the same number of decent router bits.

I tried a "wobble" blade once because it was cheap but it scared me to bits. The thought of having something wizzing around deliberately unbalanced just didn't do anything for me, even though the results were ok, well they were fair at least.

Cheers,

P

[DarrylF]

Same here - use both, like the dado for the right jobs. There is nothing that compares to the speed of creating say a half lap joint with a dado blade. You can very easily cut a half lap joint in say 2x3 pine in less than 30 seconds - so building frames for workbenches, fish tank stands etc becomes dead easy and very quick.

I have a Delta 6" set from Carbatec. Cheap, does the job, but leaves a bit of a rough bottom on the dado. The CMT set looks to be the ducks nuts - and it's on special at Carbatec at the moment.

Just NEVER use a dado blade on a small piece - did a setup/test cut in a 5 or 6" long piece of MDF once and scared the living sh*t outta myself when it basically just disappeared into the blade. Retaining a healthy respect for the fact that it chews up anything in it's path very quickly is an extremely good idea.

[Dewy]

Personally I wouldnt use stacked dado cutters. Not that I'm able to. All saws built in the last few years had to have an electric brake and with that comes a great dager of such blades undoing & flying like ninja stars. Also since brake were added, the arbor was shortened making it impossible to fit them.
I use a Canadian jig for housings (I hate that American term 'dado') :) Its the MAC mitre board that allows any circular saw or router to be used like a radial arm. It will take wood up to 460mm (18") on cross cuts but less when using the adjustable mitre guide.
Strangely enough, the MAC is just an extension of an old idea. Before actually buying one I made one just for routing housings & intend making a better one to include adjustable stops to ensure all housings on different pieces of wood are exactly the same.

I found this American website on a UK woodworking forum showing many dangers with table saws.
It's a very long article but well worth the time reading if only to make you aware of dangers in workshops.
Lowering the odds of danger (http://www.customwooddesign.com/loweringtheodds1.html)