Sawstop and Dado blades

[Prashun Patel]

Ever since I got my SS, I've not done any dados, since I hate having to swap the brake AND the blade out to do them.

Does anyone know if I can use a boxcutting blade (without shims - just two blades butted against each other) like the one below with the standard sawstop brake?

http://www.freudtools.com/p-316-box-joint-cutter-set.aspx

[Prashun Patel]

Sawstop wrote me back.
The 8" diameter is the problem.

"You will have to have an 8” dado cartridge to make these blades work on your saw. If you try to use them with the standard brake it will see the large spacing between the blade and the brake and it will not allow you to start the motor. Even to use the bypass mode, the saw has to power up normally but this will not happen with the large spacing."

Does anyone know of a 10" 1/4" kerf flat bottom blade that'll fit a 5/8" arbor? If not, I'm resigned to using a 1/8" kerf rip blade and adjusting the fence each time...

[Glen Blanchard]

Prashun - I have no experience with that blade, so I am unable to answer your question as asked. However, how many times have you changed out the brake? I found that after changing it out a few times, it no longer is much of a hassle. Just wondering if you might feel differently if you became real comfortable with changing it out.

[Charles Goodnight]

Yea, bite the bullet and get a dado brake. About the third or fourth time you change the brake it starts getting easy.

[Philip Rodriquez]

Yes, the brake gets a lot easier to remove and install. When I first got my ICS, the little pin took a lot of strength to turn. Now, it moves like a dream... $80 bucks Prashun, pony up!

[Philip Rodriquez]

Prashun, are you just cutting 1/4" slots? If so, I just bump the blade and us a router plane to clean up the bottom. LV's little one is awesome for this application! IMHO, it just is not worth the time to change blades and brakes on the SS.

[J.R. Rutter]

Yeah - That extra 45 seconds is a dealbreaker.

[Alan Lightstone]

Just don't drop the brake key down the chute. Done that a few times and had to remove the DC hose/clamp. Real pain.

Otherwise, no biggie changing the cartridge. Don't forget to check the spacing with the spacer when you do it.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Yea, bite the bullet and get a dado brake. About the third or fourth time you change the brake it starts getting easy.

I agree. It'll take you longer to set up and dial in any dado set than it will to change the brake.

[Mark Singer]

I HAVE THE SAWSTOP AND IT IS A HASSLE. I never use a dado blade on it. Multiple rips moving the fence and a shoulder plane. Or just use a router. I have the Festool and guide rail . that works well . Other than that its a great saw, and I have had a few

[Larry Frank]

I have the SawStop and use the dado blades quite a bit. It takes a little to change the cartridge but in the whole scheme of things not a big deal. The more times I have made the change the easier it gets.

[Brian Penning]

I don't find it to be a hassle at all. Don't even think of it.
Don't have to check the spacing on mine. It's good for the WW II and my dado.

[Prashun Patel]

I know it's just 45 seconds to change, but I thought there might be an easier way. I've been dadoing thus far using the nibble method then clean up with shoulder plane. I don't mind the clean up, because I can fine tune depth. It's just that for small boxes and splines, it'd be nice to be able to make the cuts in a single pass. To be honest I don't WANT to use dado stacks; it's a lot of futzing with shims. I really just want to use a thick, flat bottomed blade to make the nibbles-away method a little quicker...

[Dave MacArthur]

This seems like one more reason for me to keep my PM66 as well as the SawStop, and just leave the dado permanently installed in the PM66. Maybe I can figure a way to hook those two together into one looong expanse of steel, instead of back to back...

[Rod Sheridan]

I know it's just 45 seconds to change, but I thought there might be an easier way. I've been dadoing thus far using the nibble method then clean up with shoulder plane. I don't mind the clean up, because I can fine tune depth. It's just that for small boxes and splines, it'd be nice to be able to make the cuts in a single pass. To be honest I don't WANT to use dado stacks; it's a lot of futzing with shims. I really just want to use a thick, flat bottomed blade to make the nibbles-away method a little quicker...

http://www.fstoolcorp.com/Templates/ecms.aspx/$FSTool/c4f6ebd0-a118-4205-bcca-a5e3541adce7/E46.pdf

Hi Prashun, any tooling manufacturer should be able to supply you with groovers for use in your saw. I've included the link to FS Tools groovers page.......Rod.

[Jeff Bartley]

Does a 10" dado stack work with the normal SS brake?? I have an Oldham 10" dado stack that I bought on super closeout a couple years ago.

[Chip Lindley]

This seems like one more reason for me to keep my PM66 as well as the SawStop, and just leave the dado permanently installed in the PM66...

No comment, other than, those PM66's are worth their weight in "gold"!

[Paul Ryan]

I know it's just 45 seconds to change, but I thought there might be an easier way. I've been dadoing thus far using the nibble method then clean up with shoulder plane. I don't mind the clean up, because I can fine tune depth. It's just that for small boxes and splines, it'd be nice to be able to make the cuts in a single pass. To be honest I don't WANT to use dado stacks; it's a lot of futzing with shims. I really just want to use a thick, flat bottomed blade to make the nibbles-away method a little quicker...

I stack 2 thin kerf 60t blades together when ever I do dados for drawer bottoms. You the electronics dont care that there are do blades on the arbor and the dado is the perfect size.