Rick Potter
12-10-2014, 1:25 PM
For various reasons, I seem to be overstocked on dado sets...a couple old Sears HSS, several adjustable wobble sets (remember the Comet?). I don't know why I keep these, they haven't been used since Reagan was president.
On the other hand, I have had an 8" Forest Dado King for years, and it has been wonderful, cutting clean accurate dados on my table saw. A couple years ago I decided to put it on my RAS, as I had a lot of shelving cuts to do. We have all heard about how a RAS will self feed if you don't control it. A dado set makes this self feeding noticeably worse. I started checking around to see if any newer sets were made for RAS, and found the Freud Super Dado which has the nibs on the back of the teeth. (My Forest does not have any nibs). The advertising for it did not mention RAS use, so I called Freud and talked to a tech, who said this is the one to use.
I bought an 8" set, put it on the table saw, and it made great dados, flat bottom, no tear out. Nice set. I then put it on the RAS, and found that it pulled just as much as the Forest did. This was very disappointing, as that was the reason I bought it. It was still a great set, so I kept it as a spare. On the table saw, I would be hard pressed to recommend one set over the other.
A while back, at Sears, I found out they were dumping Freud saw blades and got several industrial rip blades for $18 each, and went into full tool junkie mode. They also had a Freud box joint blade set at half price, and it came home with me. That thing is awesome. I use it all the time, 1/4" grooves with the blades one way, reverse the position and 3/8" grooves. Right now it is on the RAS for making drawer joints, and partition slots, flat bottom, perfect slots. I would get another if I could find one on sale.
Later, at Lowes, still in tool junkie mode, I found a CMT (the orange one) 8" dado set on clearance for $49, and grabbed it. It also has the safety nibs, but I haven't put it on the RAS, because it does not make a smooth bottom, I think the chippers are slightly off, leaving a couple slight ridges on the bottom...enough that I sand them. In my opinion this set is definitely not in the same class as the Forest or Freud.
There you have it, my dado set story. Yours may vary.
On the other hand, I have had an 8" Forest Dado King for years, and it has been wonderful, cutting clean accurate dados on my table saw. A couple years ago I decided to put it on my RAS, as I had a lot of shelving cuts to do. We have all heard about how a RAS will self feed if you don't control it. A dado set makes this self feeding noticeably worse. I started checking around to see if any newer sets were made for RAS, and found the Freud Super Dado which has the nibs on the back of the teeth. (My Forest does not have any nibs). The advertising for it did not mention RAS use, so I called Freud and talked to a tech, who said this is the one to use.
I bought an 8" set, put it on the table saw, and it made great dados, flat bottom, no tear out. Nice set. I then put it on the RAS, and found that it pulled just as much as the Forest did. This was very disappointing, as that was the reason I bought it. It was still a great set, so I kept it as a spare. On the table saw, I would be hard pressed to recommend one set over the other.
A while back, at Sears, I found out they were dumping Freud saw blades and got several industrial rip blades for $18 each, and went into full tool junkie mode. They also had a Freud box joint blade set at half price, and it came home with me. That thing is awesome. I use it all the time, 1/4" grooves with the blades one way, reverse the position and 3/8" grooves. Right now it is on the RAS for making drawer joints, and partition slots, flat bottom, perfect slots. I would get another if I could find one on sale.
Later, at Lowes, still in tool junkie mode, I found a CMT (the orange one) 8" dado set on clearance for $49, and grabbed it. It also has the safety nibs, but I haven't put it on the RAS, because it does not make a smooth bottom, I think the chippers are slightly off, leaving a couple slight ridges on the bottom...enough that I sand them. In my opinion this set is definitely not in the same class as the Forest or Freud.
There you have it, my dado set story. Yours may vary.