Forrest or Amana Dado set - which is best for veneerred plywood?

[Sean Rainaldi]

Hi,

I was just about ready to order the 6 inch Forrest Dado King set and then a guy in a store told me that the Amana dado set is better for doing veneered plywood - he said because the Amana has more teeth - the Forrest 6" and 8" dado sets have only 24 teeth, Amana has an 8" has 48 teeth.

Any opinions on this from regular dado users? The Forrest 6 inch costs about 230 on sale and the Amana is 185. My only concern is that (I don't think) the Amana is US made.

Forrest web site claims they have absolutely no tear out on veneered plywood and is the best dado set, so it's hard to know who to believe.

I have three Forrest blades now and really like them, just wondered if they make the best dado set for plywood as claimed.

Thanks for any input.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Sean, I have a 46 tooth 8" dado for plywood/melamine made by Dimar.

Try one of your local tooling manufacturers or industrial saw blade suppliers, I normally can purchase a blade that's either as good, or better for less money at industrial tooling suppliers. (They can also sharpen and custom grind the set for you if ou want something special.

Regards, Rod.

[Quinn McCarthy]

Sean,

I have the 8" Forrest. It does a great job on everything. It is just agreat all around blade.

Quinn

[Brent Smith]

I have an 8" Forrest and the set Rod mentioned. They give equally good cuts IMO, so see which one you can get cheaper and you're set to go.

[scott spencer]

Sean - It'd be helpful to know some model numbers. The Forrest set is easy enough to figure out but Amana makes more than one 8" set. AFAIK, the Amana blades are either made in Germany or Israel depending on which line the blade's from. From what I can make of pictures of a 48T Amana set, it uses 2T chippers so will leave a rougher bottom.

In general if all else is equal (it rarely is), more teeth equates to a cleaner cut, but you also have to consider the tooth grind, hook angle, and usually a few other factors into the equation. If all else is equal, a negative hook angle will have less tearout than a positive one, but will feed slower. If all else is equal, a steeper bevel grind will have less tearout than a flat or shallower bevel grind. It's the balance of those characteristics, plus other factors that really determine the results of the cut.

I have a Systimatic 42T/6T (http://www.epinions.com/review/Superfine_Dado_Set_37160_8_Diameter_42_Teeth_5_8_A rbor_13_16_Width/content_410171313796) 8" dado set, and an Infinity 24T/6T (http://www.epinions.com/review/Infinity_Tools_Dadonator_Dado_Set_SDB_800_epi/content_450572553860) set...the Infinity leaves less tearout than the Systimatic set even though it has fewer teeth on the cutters. The Systimatic has a fairly steep hook angle, while the Infinity uses a very low hook angle and very steep bevel grind on the teeth of the cutters.

[Karl Brogger]

I've got a Forrest Dado set, and 2 FS dado sets. The Forrest does real well with plywood.

[Howard Miller]

Have you looked at the Frued dado set? I have the 6" Pro Dado, SD206 and it is great. Smooth as silk with plywood. Paid ~$85.00.

http://www.freudtools.com/p-315-pro-dado-set.aspx

[scott spencer]

Have you looked at the Frued dado set? I have the 6" Pro Dado, SD206 and it is great. Smooth as silk with plywood. Paid ~$85.00.

http://www.freudtools.com/p-315-pro-dado-set.aspx

The SD506/508 or 608 would be more comparable to the other sets mentioned. The 206 has 1/2 (or less) of the total teeth of the other sets, with no design or quality advantages. More than adequate for most applications, but it won't hang with it's bigger brother and his friends if someone's really looking for premium performance.