Thread: One for dado set gurus

G'day Spartan,

To take the second first, depends which side your fence is on. Fence on the right the reading to the top of the trench should be okay (at least it is on my setup), but from the left it will be off by the additional thickness of the dado blades.

(NB: when cutting a rabbet with a dado blade, use a sacrificial fence to protect your real fence. When cross-cutting a trench, use a mitre gauge and a stop block on the fence as a starting point so as not to bind the piece against the fence.)

For the first, it depends on what set you have. My dado set has 1/8th " blades and chippers, so the two blades together make a 1/4" trench, two plus one chipper make 3/8ths and so on up to 3/4" or so. The shims let you adjust by either 1/16th or 1/32nd depending on your set and type of shims. What set do you have?

BTW, I am hardly a dado set guru, so others may have more definitive advice.

I have the northwoods set...
http://www.northwoodtools.com.au/pro...ID=735&cID=220

Looks a decent set. Should be all straightforward, seems the chipper thicknesses are marked on the sides of the chippers. The blades will be (probably) 1/8 inch each. So what exactly is the question?

If it's how to start at all, keep in mind that you will always use the two blades on the outside edges (make sure the teeth point in the right direction, there is a left and right blade) and then fill in the middle to suit. Smallest possible trench is 1/4 inch (both blades only). Add the 1/16th chipper in the middle and you have 5/16ths. Remove that chipper and add a 1/8 inch you have 3/8ths, and so on. Just add chippers to build up to the desired width. You can add as many chippers in the middle as you like, up to the limits of your arbor length. Same with the shims, if you need an odd size. Shims are always inside the blades just as the chippers are. Add one shim between two chippers. If another is needed, add it between two different chippers. I'm surprised your set didn't come with a chart.

Hope this helps a little.

Spartan, this will help with the fence, just touch the fence against the blade and push a button. Bingo it's calibrated. Go on, you know you want it!

Don't know what's happening here, but it won't attach the pdf file.

Here's the link

(pdf was 115k, too big)

Spartan, that dado set looks very good value, have you used it yet?

According to the blurb, teh cutting range is 1/8 to 3/4". I guess the blades must be 1/16"

So to get my 16mm I get it to say 5/8" and then shim it out to 16mm.

As far as the fence set up, left of the blade....so this means that it will be out 16mm minus the kerf difference between the left blade and the normal blade

Big Shed, yes I've used it...must admit was a bit worried...got it to about 14.5mm. it cuts smoth even dados, a real treat to use.

The only angst i'm having is that it didn't have a ready chart for various cuts, oh and the fence reading is a little off, because of the stack. I want to work out whatever the formula is so to plow ahead.

The dusty works fine, much, much easier than the router in turms of set up speed.

I need to make a few inserts when I've got the thickness worked out..

doh


http://www.northwoodtools.com.au/img...adoBookWeb.pdf

Originally Posted by spartan

According to the blurb, teh cutting range is 1/8 to 3/4". I guess the blades must be 1/16"

I doubt it. Marketing blurb. They are probably referring to the use of only one blade to cut a trench. But in that case, why change blades at all? Just use the one you've already got in the saw.

FWIW, here is my Freud dado chart. If your blades and chippers are the same width (and I suspect they are) this will work for you.

Now, you may not be able to read this if you blow it up large enough, but I have scanned it as a much larger file and can e-mail it to you if you like. Then you can print it for reference.

I've got the Freud same as Bob. Handy chart that is.

It's a good idea to get a piece of longish scrap, say 600-700mm. When you set up the dado, use the scrap first, and mark the trench with the setup. When you use a different setup, use the scrap and mark the trench. After a while you'll get a board with the exact cutting width of the different setups, which you can use to test against inserts and etc to get the exact setup you need.

Tex

For the width of cut wouldnt it be easier and more accurate to just measure the blades with a Digital/Dial Caliper?
This is how I use my set, although I've only got too loosen the nut and turn the dial on my dado set!

Well, aren't we a lucky duck? But for us poor cretins, we must do the manual calculation!!