Replies

1. 
   bricofleur | Feb 21, 2009 05:37am | #1

   Hi Velo,

   Before spending $150, did you first have your own dado blade set sharpenned by a professionnal? Results are amasing! (better than new)

   Second, try scoring your cut lines with a utility knife or marking knife.

   Another consideration would be a store bought tenoning jig. They are cheaper than a dado set. Using your miter gauge, you cut the shoulder on the tablesaw and then use the tenoning jig to cut the cheeks, vertically.

   A third option would be flat on the router table using a 1" flat bottom bit. Or better, build yourself a horizontal router table. See mine on my website.

   Best,

   Serge

    

   - Learn from yesterday, work today, and enjoy success tomorrow -

   http://www.atelierdubricoleur.spaces.live.com

   
2. 
   PCM | Feb 21, 2009 05:39am | #2

   Have you had your Oldham sharpened? This may produce amazing results.

   If still not happy, I would buy the Forrest-more than $150, but mine has served me well.

   Pete

3. 
   roc | Feb 21, 2009 05:57am | #3

   Velo,

   Hey I bought this several years ago based on top marks in wood working mag tests and have been very happy with it. Cuts just like they said.

   http://www.amazon.com/Freud-D208-8-Inch-Professional-Dado/dp/B0000223O9/ref=combo_pack_i_4

   I suppose you have already considered getting your set sharpened.

   Any way I like the Freud

   Does your " Velo " have to do with bicycles ? I am big into road bikes from way back when Merckx was winning the tours.

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

1. 
   velomark | Feb 22, 2009 12:33am | #9

   roc:Thanks for the advice. The Feud you are recommending is one that I am considering. It looks to be an upgrade on the Oldham unit I have now but is not a lot more than having my existing unit re-sharpened. Yes I used to do some bicycle racing and still follow the sport. I got hooked while living in Germany.Cheers,

   Velo

4. 
   hammer1 | Feb 21, 2009 08:00am | #4

   I use the Freud D208 also. It doesn't cut absolutely flat bottoms but the small nick the outside blades leave is minimal, especially after a sharpening or two. Great set for the money. I often cut my stub tenons flat ways on the table saw. I don't have any tear out issues with this set. Don't back up after the cut and go easy. I use a back up fence and work around a piece to prevent rear blow out. In cases where I've cut the groove first, I often make inserts for backers. Pics help.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

   
5. 
   BG | Feb 21, 2009 01:48pm | #5

   Velomark,

   This may have little relevance to your situation but I thought I'd share.

   About 6 months ago I took a piece of mahogany and played with a french polish. As your aware, key to the finish is making sure your stock is perfectly flat, which I did. It came out quite nice.

   A few weeks later I recycled the piece of mahogany into some hidden areas in a project; ripping and tenons were required. I could not believe the quality of the tenons comming off my Systi-Matic dado set...I can only assume it's because the wood was prepared better than usual. Since then I use my tenon jig much more often....it is less impacted by my stock prep, or the lack thereof.

6. 
   KRASSEL | Feb 21, 2009 08:18pm | #6

   I used the Freud 6 inch dado set for quite a few years. Two years ago my Sweetie bought me the new dial a width in 8 inch. It is the best I've ever used in over 25 years of doin this stuff. No shims and if you keep a good log of your settings you can repeat cuts accurately every time. Little spendy but it will be the last one you buy.

7. 
   Samm90 | Feb 21, 2009 08:51pm | #7

   I bought 4 or 5 sets of dado that appeared to be affordable each time I got a set. I should have bougth one good  set and be done with it. It's much cheaper that way.

   This one works very well.

   http://www.amazon.com/Freud-SD508-Super-8-Inch-Stack/dp/B00004RK0P/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1235238568&sr=8-2

    

   Q

8. 
   Knotscott | Feb 21, 2009 09:17pm | #8

   Velo - I've owned an SD208 12/2T set, DeWalt DW7670 24T/4T set (aka Delta 7670 & H7200), Systimatic Superfine 42T/6T set, and an Infinity Dadonator.  All are good sets, but they get increasingly better in the order listed.  The 7670 set is a really good deal on sale from Grizzly for $90.  The Dadonator is outstanding but runs closer to $180 on sale.

1. 
   velomark | Feb 22, 2009 06:50am | #11

   Knotscott:Would you consider the 7670 to be superior to the Freud D208?ThanksCheers,

   Velo

1. 
   Knotscott | Feb 22, 2009 05:15pm | #14

   In a nutshell, yes....it has twice as many teeth and cuts cleaner, though I think the SD208 is a decent performer.  The 7670 offers better performance for near the same cost.  It's more similar in design to the Forrest, and gives a taste of what the better sets like the SD508 and Dadonator will do.  It also has a very nice carrying case and nice shim stock that's labelled.  Epinions.com/DW7670

   Edited 2/22/2009 9:20 am ET by Knotscott

1. 
   velomark | Feb 23, 2009 04:40am | #15

   Thanks for the advice everyone. Its much appreciated.
   Cheers,Velo

   Edited 2/22/2009 8:41 pm ET by velomark

9. 
   roqqytop | Feb 22, 2009 02:23am | #10

   Why are you using a dado set to cut tenons?
   table saw for shoulder cuts & tenoning jig

   ez peeeeeeeeeeezzeeeeeeeeeeeeee japanoeeeeeeeeeezeeeeeeee

10. 
    forestgirl | Feb 22, 2009 07:13am | #12

    Velo, in terms of trying to trim costs for this new dado set, you might want to consider whether you really need an 8" set.

    I have the Freud Safety Dado SD306 and have really liked it.  If it had been available at the time, I'd have gone with the Dial-a-Width, but I suspect that's out of your budget (mine too right now, LOL).  The other dados mentioned above have all gotten good comments by users here at Knots.

    The little "nick" Hammer mentions (on the sides of the dado) are called "bat ears" -- I'm pretty sure most dado sets leave bat ears, an artifact of the outside blades being designed to shear the wood cleanly.  Freud's Box Cutter set does not leave bat ears, but then it's not designed for the same purpose, and wouldn't be an all-purpose dado-er.

    forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
    
11. 
    user-259615 | Feb 22, 2009 01:52pm | #13

    I too have the Freud Safety Dado and I can't fault it - very happy with its performance, although it's true that I rarely have cause to use it - a router is the more favoured tool for housings (dadoes) here in the UK.

    However, I am another who thinks that there are better ways to cut tenons on the tablesaw. My friend Dave recently posted my video of the Ultimate Tablesaw Tenon Jig which you can see on YouTube or on my website. It has lots of advantages over using a dado for this purpose, not least the fact that it is a great deal safer, gives cleaner results, very fast and there is no faffing about adjusting the fit. It's right first time every time.

    Ideally you would cut all the cheeks with a rip blade and then all the shoulders with a crosscut blade, but if you have one of the many excellent combo blades that there are now on the market, you wouldn't even have to change blades.

    It's a much, much better solution and at a fraction of the price, too, you just need some MDF and a few knobs and bolts and the like. I can't think why anyone would want to cut them any other way, but then I'm biased.

    Where I WOULD use a dado set for tenons would be when cutting angled tenons, for chair rails, for example, but even then I'd still use the tablesaw tenon jig. With the workpiece held at an angle on the jig, a dado head would give me clean shoulders the same on both cheeks. As it happens, I have a router jig for just that job, but if I'd had the tablesaw jig first, I would not have needed to make the router jig.

    Unless you want a dado set for other work, I'd save my money if I were you.
    Cheers
    Steve

    Space is more valuable than the junk that occupies it.
    Woodworking DVDs and jigs from http://www.workshopessentials.com