Impulse buy Freud Pro Dado

[Glen Butler]

I know there are a lot a threads about dado sets but some things still have questions about:

I have been thinking about getting a dado set recently, so while at woodcraft today the salesman showed me one. It was cheaper than I expected one would be so I bought it. Usually I do not impulse buy like this, and I figured once I got home and talked to all of you, you would steer me differently. I read the recent poll, which did not have any mention of the Freud Pro Dado. So I am thinking I will take the set back.

How many teeth are good to have on a dado set? Do 4 tooth chippers offer a considerable advantage? Are there any pros and cons with 6" vs. 8"?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Glen, the 6" dado will have a smaller cut height than the 8", and will have a lower tip speed.

The 6" dado is better for a low power table saw, although the 8" will work fine with slow feed rates.

I personally would buy the 8".

For smoother cuts, more teeth on the blades is desirable, however I wouldn't worry too much about the chippers, as you feed wood slowly when using a dado cutter.

I suggest that you check with a local industrial saw supplier (I use FS Tools), as they have better products, at favourable prices compared to retail stores.

Regards, Rod.

[Dave Sweeney]

I run the 6" Pro Set on my TS and have yet to have any type of issue with it. Sure there are better sets out there but there are also a lot of sets that aren't as good also.

[Gary Muto]

I started a poll that I think you refer to. I already have a lower priced dado blade and wanted one that would work well with veneer plywood and give a flat bottom cut so I went with the higher tooth count options. By many accounts the Freud Super Dado, Dial-A-Width Dado and Forrest Dado King all provide similar results and are significantly better than the other designs that have fewer teeth. I also heard that the more expensive models will stay sharper longer (more teeth, makes sense).

I can only speak to the Super Dado that I just bought. I tried it out and got excellent results. So far I only tried it with some Pine and Maple and the cuts were excellent.

[Glen Butler]

I think I will return the Pro Dado and get the Super Dado. Looks like it will be a much better product. I would get the dado king but just cannot justify the extra 100 dollars.

[Howard Acheson]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Freud Pro Dado. It repeatably wins "Best Value" in magazine dado tests. It cuts clean, flat bottomed dados.

A higher tooth count dado will give slightly cleaner cuts in problem material like cross cutting oak veneered plywood or melamine coated composition materials.

For a lower priced dado, the Freud Pro is an excellent choice unless you want to spend considerably more.

[lamar bailey]

I have never used the Pro set but I have a Super 8" set that I have used a few times. It maazing me ho well it cuts. I jsut got a deal on a Dial a width set so I need to post my Super 8 in the sale section.

[Brandon Weiss]

I have the pro dado set. Bought it from Lowe's when it went on clearance down to 80 bucks. I believe it's now down to 75 bucks in my area. This is the second dado set I've owned and I was stunned by how clean and flat the cuts are. In fact, if Santa were to bring me a few gift cards this year, I'm going to go buy another one while it's still on clearance. I was considering the Super Dado before I bought as well. Now I'm glad I bought the pro dado because I'm EXTREMELY satisfied with it.