Amana new thin-kerf dado set?

[Jamie Buxton]

Amana is advertising a new adjustable dado set which cuts grooves less than 1/4". http://www.amanatool.com/products/saw-blades/dado-sets/adjustable-thin-kerf-dado-set/61380-carbide-tipped-adjustable-dado-8-inch-dia-x-24t-atb-10-deg-5-8-bore-dado-set.html#!prettyPhoto It sure would be nice to be able to make a single pass to cut a dado for "quarter-inch" plywood. I've tried the old wobble dado heads, and they cause unacceptable chip-out.

So the question is whether this new dado head is a wobbler. Amana doesn't describe how it works. But I don't think they'd be making this much a stink about it if was just a wobbler. When I squint closely at the photo on the linked page, maybe I'm seeing that the blade is cut into segments, so the segments can be displaced from each other to cut the dado. Does anybody know how the thing works?

Or even better, has anybody tried one?

[Jason Beam]

They are split ... check it out...

http://www.amanatool.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/6/1/61380-b.jpg

Interesting...


Our new 24 tooth adjustable thin kerf dado set allows the user to cut precise dadoes from 1/16" to 1/4" wide. Set contains two steel hubs and two different saw blades that when shims are added, enables you to achieve a variety of dado widths. The 1/16" blade will give you a minimum kerf of .062" to a maximum of .118" with shims while the 1/8" blade will give you a minimum kerf of .125" to a maximum of .250" with shims. Maximum groove depth (T) is 1-1/8". System allows you to make thinner grooves on a table saw that previously could not be achieved with standard kerf dado sets.

[Myk Rian]

I can just see those blades wobblin all over the place. Just use a combo blade.

[Jamie Buxton]

I can just see those blades wobblin all over the place. Just use a combo blade.

How does a combo blade make a groove that's .20" wide in a single pass?

[Jason Beam]

How does a combo blade make a groove that's .20" wide in a single pass?

It doesn't ... but then again, i don't need to take it in a single pass - I ain't in that much of a hurry.

[Jamie Buxton]

This thread may be only academic. Google doesn't find a source on the web for this tool. Amana's own "Where to buy" links lead to a half-dozen retailers, but none of them offer this dado set either.

[Ken Grant]

Can you just put two 10 inch blades together to come up with your .20"?

[Kevin Wolfe]

Isn't a thin kerf dado set defeating the purpose? It's like buying a bulldozer with a 1ft blade.

[roger wiegand]

When I saw the title of this thread I have to admit that left-handed screwdrivers came to mind. For anything smaller than two blades squashed together but thicker than a single blade I would make two passes. I can't remember ever having had to do that.

[scott spencer]

It's an Amana Split!

[Peter Quinn]

I have shaper heads and router bits that make grooves using a similar concept, works fine, I have no doubt this will as well. Whether or not is worth the asking for your own operation is another question entirely. Anyone able to find a selling price for this tool?

[Jamie Buxton]

Amana finally did send me to a dealer who sells this tool. $318.

[Peter Quinn]

Amana finally did send me to a dealer who sells this tool. $318.

Um....OUCH. Place I work has an automated dovetail machine, we make hundreds of drawer boxes every year, doubt they would be willing to buy that dado. Often we just use 3/8" bottoms, run a 1/4" groove and rabbit the plywood to create 1/4" tongues, or run a straight blade and bump the fence over. I've done it on a router table with a shimable slot cutter to hit under sized plywood in species other than maple. On small drawers they started getting 1/4" maple faced MDf that measures exactly .250", but nobody trusts the MDF for bigger drawers over the long haul. Seems like it might be cheaper to get an oversized straight blade made if the undersized plywood is consistent. I have this dream that a plywood manufacturer will recognize this problem and manufacture a drawer bottom material in 1/4" thickness that is strong and actually measures 1/4" in an appearance grade. I can get baltic birch that measures .230" which is close enough to not rattle with my forrest dado, but its rotary sawn and not much to look at. Why is this so hard I've always wondered?

[Martin Wasner]

Peter, if your employer is using under mount slides, it doesn't matter if the groove is a little big, the drawer rests on the slides by the bottom anyways, pushing the bottom tight enough to the to edges of the groove

[Chris Padilla]

I would think you find any competent saw sharpener to grind down some teeth on a regular blade so that sandwiching two of 'em would get you your < 1/4" cut. I know Forrest can custom-grind any kerf you want.