Sliding miter saws and dado blades
LarryMartin
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
Can dado blades be used on sliding miter saws?
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Replies
No, No, No.
John W.
And your reasoning?Respectful answers foster better communication in so many cases, I think.I likely don't set a good example myself. Mea culpa. But, you know, perspectives, experience, etc. vary, and we probably should refresh our awareness occasionally.I've got to get this following idea off my mind (sorry):
Suppose I wrote in asking what you thought of the idea of my spinning ten pounds of hardwood at a high rate of speed on its vertical axis. And then (get this) applying a chisel to it!
Edited 3/27/2007 8:10 pm ET by InMyOpinion
Larry,
Would you please post when you feel you've received a meaningful answer. Thank you.
IMO, jim
IMO,
I did not read any disrespect in JW' reply. Maybe just me, but I think John was just being emphatic, as in do not try that!!!!
I personally would never even think of trying to use a dado set on my scms. Seems like an lot of detailed reasons would not be necessary.
Dear Larry,
Let's see, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm: I would say "No" due to:
1) The miter saw's arbor is too short to fit a stacked blade.
2) The dado head will not fit inside the main housing or guard.
3) You will overtax the machine greatly.
4) It was never intended for that type of application.
If you are considering just bolting it on anyway and removing the housing, then you are crazier than me................and that's saying something............
Best,
John
Good list. I bet it would have a wicked tendency to self feed too.------------------------------------
"The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."---------------Samuel P. Huntington
So, I guess you would nix the wobble dado I have on my string trimmer?
Dear Mike,
I hear that some of the new diesel string trimmers are OK with a wobble Dado, what I am looking for is how to mount a raised panel, shaper-head on the end of my chain-saw.........Best,John
<< how to mount a raised panel, shaper-head on the end of my chain-saw>>Do that, and you'll make Leatherface look like Little Lord Fauntleroy.Back to the original question -- good advice in your first response. If Evel Martinski says it a crazy idea, it's a crazy idea.
Larry,
Being I'm catching a bit of H*ll for my brief answer, I was in a rush, here is the long answer:
Unless you have a very small 8" blade saw, you will need a 10 or 12" diameter dado set to have the dado blades extend outside of the blade shroud, a fairly expensive investment.
The arbor on the saw is only long enough for one blade, and the shroud is only wide enough for one blade.
Many saws wouldn't have enough power to drive a dado set.
The depth control on most miter saws is usually crude and a bit soft, not designed for precision work.
Even if you could shoehorn in a dado set, the geometry of the teeth on a conventional dado blade set isn't designed for a miter saw, a dado set would quite probably create very large thrust forces that would throw you and/or the saw across the room if the blade grabbed while making a dado cut.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
Thank you very much for your answers, both for the detailed one as well as the firmly expressive No! No! No! Coming from your, it was very meaningful.The question was posed to me by a blind woodworker. I suspected that it was a dangerous idea but I didn't have any specific reasons to cite. Now I'm armed to respond. Thank you.And thanks to all of the other posters who shared the horrors of the proposed misstep.
Dear Larry,
A BLIND woodworker???!!! Good for them! I can't seem to make a decent piece with two reasonably good eyes. You are good to assist.Best,John
So John, what are you saying? Is it a good idea or not? I've looked in my manual & it doesn't say you can't do this. I use router bits in my drills all the time & that kind of works and put saw blades on my bench grinder, rip blade on the left & cross cut on the right, saves time, no changing blades. Heck heres one that works good, take the vee-belt off your table saw & replace it with a sanding belt, see where going with this one? I'm working on putting a polishing pad on my 1/2" router for shining up the car! Now that summer is coming up & corn on the cob is such a big thing around here I'm working on a new one, PEAS ON THE COB. I can count the dollars now! Oh, that may be a good topic for another forum. Heres another multi tasking tool idea I had, turn your lathe into a drum sander & really crank up the speed. Here's one the kids love, I put a large spring on the end of my sawzal & some foot rest, Electric pogo-stick, just remember to turn off the orbit setting.
I'm working on many more & will keep you posted
Paul
I,m working on attaching my implanted cardio defibrillator to a pair of jumper cables, see the potential
Edited 3/29/2007 11:08 am ET by CardiacPaul
There are some good article ideas for Fine Woodworking here, stuff that has certainly never occured to anyone else, you should get in touch with one of our editors.
John W.
"you should get in touch with one of our editors"
or a psychiatrist! LOL!!!
Great ideas, I say.
Actually, Have an appointment next week,, think I'm kidding don't you
Here's a tip -
Upgrade your aluminum foil skull cap before you go. The ordinary gauge stuff is no good. Use the heavy duty stuff. And make sure you get it down real tight around your ears. If you don't, your brain waves can leak out and they can read your mind. You don't want that.
Since I've upgraded to the thick Reynolds Wrap, I've had no problems with the space aliens at all. They used to be able to locate me by the escaping brain waves. But now they can't. It p*sses them off, but I don't care!
Your scaring me dude <G>
Yeah, I get that.
And I can understand, 'cause that heavy duty stuff is expensive!
Make sure you trail a grounding wire off your left shoe heel. When your brain waves reflect back into your cranium from that heavy-duty foil skullcap, you'll build up a capacitance and the space aliens will detect the random discharges. A simple grounding wire and their nefarious plans are foiled again!"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other is that heat comes from the furnace." - Aldo Leopold
Edited 3/30/2007 9:06 am ET by JimV
Thanks!
How come I never heard this mentioned before on the SciFi channel? D*mn those aliens, they're jamming my reception again. Gotta get a bigger satellite dish. I thought 72 feet would be enough.
Delta made a carpenters tool called a Sawbuck which was a handheld saw of sorts on rails that took a dado blade.
http://www.acetoolrepair.com/DeltaHtml/SB/SB2.htm
We actually modified our Mafell handheld 14" circular saw to use a 10" dado blade. If the guys in the shop find the need. we will make our compound sliding miter saw take a dado.
We just converted a Radial arm saw into a tenoner for timber framing. It has two 20" rip blades with a 2" spacer. Not for the faint of heart by any means. Rules can be broken if you are aware of the implications and deal with the safety issues
I have used a dado head in a radial arm saw (12' delta that has since been retired because it was inaccurate) but wouldn't use one in my SCMS because it won't fit,..... hello. Common sense people. Anyway, it's better to ask than risk an injury.
Be safe, Paul
I have used a dado head in my old Craftsman 10" RAS many times. It is probably that saws best use. The dado is an 8".
Hi tinkerer2,
I did too. When I had my 12' delta radial arm saw I used a dado head in it quite frequently. But it was too inaccurate ( moved around too much) so, away it went. But, sliding compound miter saws don't have room to mount a dado head plus they're way underpowered for them.
Paul
I remember the saw buck, forgot all about that one, did'nt they go out of whack a lot?
Now you say you put 2- 20" blades on a RAS- CoooooL,, I think that one my even scare me!!
That set up mite be a good candidate for the finger/hotdog sensing exploding blade brake do hickey thinger majig, heavy duty of course.
Be good
Paul
I had thought of mounting a corn cob on a mini lathe. With a sharpened spoon tip, a handy person could finish his vegetable in no time at all.
Seriously, if one wanted to cut a small dado across a board, assuming the depth could be sufficiently controlled, one could make several cuts to safely achieve a dado. I have used my SCMS for this in some rough work. The problem is that even a little downward pressure variation on the handle overcomes the stop adjustment.
I like the idea of the sharp spoon & lathe, think of the advantage a one tooth hillbilly would have!!! LOL..
Your right about the SCMC for dadoing in that fashion, I wonder why the manufactures dont make better depth stops for that use, like a RAS, many times I know I could use this. Now you know that will be the next hot item to have & then we can all debate which one is the best.
Paul
My uncle invented something he called "speed reading for the blind." He put a Braille text on a belt sander....
Zolton
Why did'nt I think of that? lol Bigger belts, More to read.
2 1/2" X 14" for short stories or 6" X 89" for novels.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
To this I would add that the blade is designed to travel. If a hold-down is used, it would probably not be efficient and reliable, resulting in a setup where both the blade and the workpiece are subject to movement, not to mention the considerable forces generated when a several dado blades engage a piece of wood.
The only question is whether the ensuing injury happens on the first use or soon thereafter.
Assuming a person could make this work a couple of times, we still need to consider the ripple effect. The user posts his success here and someone else can say: "So-and-so did it, so it must be reasonable."
At least the infamous radial arm saw was designed to handle a dado blade. It was dangerous, but by turning the saw 90 degrees and locking the travel for cutting channels, there was a reasonable chance for safe operation.
Hi Larry ,
In addition to all the other reasons that have been offered up , the slot in the table would not accommodate the width of a dado blade . so if you remove the guard, remove the insert in the table and place an extension on the arbor to have enough threads for the dado blades they could actually fit but ,,,the advice given to you not to do it is safe and honest and has your best interest at heart .
If using a dado on the TS is not an option , then perhaps a router jig or straight edge could work for you on dados .
We all want you to be well and live to post another question with all your original equipment parts intact if possible .
dusty
Edited 3/28/2007 10:01 am ET by oldusty
dado on miter saw
the sawstop miter saw lets you use a dado blade on it ...i dont think any others do..
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