Best way to cut dados, tablesaw or router?

[john elliott]

I've never cut dados with a table saw, most of the saws in Europe can't be fitted with dado blades anyway (legal requirement for safety reasons). Having never seen a dado cut with a table saw, is there any breakout when cutting plywood etc, seems to me there would be, due to the cutting action
John

[Michael Gabbay]

John - I prefer to use the table saw over a router. I feel that the TS gives me better control. Some of the better dado sets do a great job without any tearout.


Mike

[Tom Saurer]

I've never used a router to cut a dado, only my tablesaw. I've never had any complaints with my cuts. A table saw does have several advantages, angled cuts and a wider range of widths.

[John Hemenway]

I use TS all the time. Zero Clearance Insert (ZCI) for the dado set. I like that I can customize the width of dado with shims (seems like ply is never the same thickness) to get an exact fit. I make my own ZCI and have several versions for different "3/4 in" ply.

With a good dado set and well tuned saw there is little tearout. None on with-the- grain cuts and a very small amount cross-grain. Once you get the dado blades set right it's really fast to cut many feet of dados. Also I like the dust collection better!

[Dan Oliphant]

John,
I use both methods, the project will dictate the method needed. Example, a large panel (6 feet or more) should have dados cut with a router, smaller panels can be plowed out on the table saw. As others have said, a high quality dado set will give a very clean cut.

[Jim Becker]

I have cut them with both methods, but use the TS most of the time. For a dado blade on the table saw, the blade design and quality has a lot of effect on the quality of the cut, including in plywood. Bad blade...bad cut. But how you use hold-downs can also affect quality, even when you are using the "bestest" blade set available.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I think you should learn both ways. Most smaller items work well on the TS and I like it because of the dust collection I have. But with the proper router guide, a router does a very nice job albeit a little messier in my shop. (O.K. Jim this is where you suggest Festool. :) I do like the control I feel with the router method but as I said you need to do both to see what fits the particular application. Alan in Md.

[Jim Becker]

Alan, with the MFT setup, it's very likely...no, almost assured...that I'll be doing dados in panels with the guided router setup. It just makes sense to do so for both function and safety. But I still like doing rebates along an edge with the saw and fence, or long grooves in "rip" orientation. It's nice having multiple choices!

[Jay Knepper]

I use the router for stopped dados, and the table saw for all others. I've personally never cut a dado too long to be handled on the table saw.

I would guess that the TS is ten times faster than the router and quality is nearly equal.

[Robert Ziegler]

Done it both ways - a table saw with stacked dado and a router with a guide or jig. ( I refuse to use my wobble dado blade as I consider it unsafe. my conscience prevents me from giving it away)

I say learn both ways - you may have a favorite, but the other technique will come in handy some day.
Why restrict yourself to learning only one way to do things? (unless the government says one way is against the law)

For that matter, why don't you use a handheld router plane?

Now we've got three methods.

[Dino Makropoulos]

I've never cut dados with a table saw, most of the saws in Europe can't be fitted with dado blades anyway (legal requirement for safety reasons). Having never seen a dado cut with a table saw, is there any breakout when cutting plywood etc, seems to me there would be, due to the cutting action
John

Today's routers and guide rails with Router kits make routing dados
safer-easier and better than the tablesaw.
Here is a link from ..EZ Dado.
Without resetting the guide rail or moving the wood (Dead Wood Concept)
you can even do gang dados.
http://www.eurekazone.com/images/gallery/routergallery1.html
Today I help a friend to make some carpet samples.
I have to make stop dados 3"x 30" on a piece of 3/4" oak ply.1/4"deep.
Nothing to it. Pictures next week.
Using a router with a guide rail and the SRK (smart router kit) with traverse movement is like using a "manual" CNC.
Thanks.
YCF Ez Dino

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Cutting dados is what a well tuned and reliable radial arm saw does best. This statement may open another can of worms. Let's not debate the whole RAS issue again.

[Dino Makropoulos]

And here is few more pictures.
Straight and tapered dados
http://www.eurekazone.com/images/products/srk/cornerdadoknockoutbig.jpg

Inlay dados 20' long.

http://www.eurekazone.com/images/products/srk/deck1big.jpg
http://www.eurekazone.com/images/products/srk/deck2big.jpg
http://www.eurekazone.com/images/products/srk/deck3big.jpg
http://www.eurekazone.com/images/products/srk/deck4big.jpg

Enjoy.
And please. Don't try this with your tablesaw. :D :confused:

[Jason Tuinstra]

John, with Jim, I'm pretty excited to use the FESTOOL MFT to cut dados. For simple operations, I'll stick with the table saw, but for sliding dovetails and matched dados for carcase sides, the MFT is the way to go.

[Ray Thompson]

I used to do dado's on the TS but have gone exclusively to the router. Infinitely faster to set up and much more accurate when done with a router and jig.

Ray

[Dino Makropoulos]

John, with Jim, I'm pretty excited to use the FESTOOL MFT to cut dados. For simple operations, I'll stick with the table saw, but for sliding dovetails and matched dados for carcase sides, the MFT is the way to go.

Jason.
There is not "simple operations" using your table saw.
90% of woodworking mishaps are from "simple and fast cuts" or dados.
Just find ways to make your dados simple on your MTF and router.
YCF Dino

[Bill Fields]

The main reason I hang on to my big old (1963) 12" Craftsman RAS is cutting multiple repetitive dadoes in panels as wide as 20". Otherwise the TS, routers, CS and 12" sliding miter saw do it all.

Bill Fields

[Effie Lever]

Used both methods and prefer TS. You do need a high quality dado blade for good results, but a good dado blade can easily cost more then a good router.:rolleyes:

[Greg Mann]

John,

IIRC, you already use a Festool CS and guiderail, maybe the MFT as well. If so, you are a router away from a nice dado set-up that works expecially well for mirrored dadoes. I find the ability to have repeatable set ups is very useful. Many times, you can dry fit the joint to your satisfaction without even moving the cut-piece, or, even if you do, it can be repositioned with perfect repeatability. On big work, there is less chance of unwanted movement that could spoil the work, or worse, hurt the operator.

The upside to the TS is speed when you have a higher volume need, but, if the work is big, you need a big square footage to be safe.

Greg

[Sam Blasco]

I've done both (all three, actually- TS, Router with guide or jig, & Router Table). Never did it on the RAS I no longer have. I prefer the router table (i've got 18" between the fence and the bit to use), mainly because it saves me the setup time involved with removing blades and installing stacks. I just pop the appropriate bit in set the fence and rock on. Anything specialized I'll use jig and guide and a plunger. If it is a tall bookcase or Ent Cent, then having a sliding table saw with supports and presests comes in real handy with a dado stack. I get great results with all of them, and like many have said, quality cutters yield good results, no matter your preferred style of plowing.

[Frank Pellow]

I used to do dado's on the TS but have gone exclusively to the router. Infinitely faster to set up and much more accurate when done with a router and jig.

Ray
Like Ray, I have switched from the table saw to the router. Although I have probably cut a couple of hundred dados on various table saws, I was never really comfortable doing so. So I agree with Ray that the router is "Infinitely faster to set up and much more accurate when done with a router and jig.". To that I would add that a guided router is much safer.

[jack duren]

" I was never really comfortable doing so. So I agree with Ray that the router is "Infinitely faster to set up and much more accurate when done with a router and jig.". To that I would add that a guided router is much safer."

actually it depends on the task at hand. this leaving yours and rays coment at 50/50. different tasks require different procedures. with this one could do it either way but would or may not be the best way.....jack

[Bob Johnson2]

Have used the TS, Router,and RAS. Find the RAS quickest while not the safest, the cut I get out of it is the poorest (one of those craftsman wobble jobs). My router cuts the cleanest but is the slowest to setup (don't have one of the guides everyone seems to argue about, they may be quicker to setup then my jig). The TS is what I go to for non-stopped, I like the cut and control I have, the TS being what I grew up using I may be a bit biased. Of course if there were a router guide manufacturer out there somewhere looking to donate a guide to the Bob fund I might change my mind.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I have used both the TS and guided router to cut dados. Until recently I used the TS most of the time. A couple of months ago I tried the Festool guide rail on a MFT and the OF1400 router. I got dados that are every bit as accurate as those on a TS, and I felt the setup time was shorter using the router setup. There is less chance of messing up a cut using the guided router, IMHO. I think there are occasions where one method might be better than the other, so having both available is a plus. When dealing with large panels, it seems easier to me to move the router over the material as compared to muscling the panel through a TS. I think in the future I would use the Festool guided router setup as my first choice.

[Bill Fields]

Probably fodder for another thread--I have found a small--I think--6+ inch---"wobble blade"--perfect for my frequent need to cut 1/4" grooves for drawer bottoms.

Works well on mostly on TS, seldom on RAS or occasionally, the need to use a guided CS. Quick set-up. Always test!

BILL FIELDS

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I use both...for long dados (think vertical plywood carcase walls) I use the TS....for crosscuts, I use the router and a guide.