What is a good dado blade for a Sawstop tablesaw?

[Terry Starch]

Hello everyone I have the Sawstop 10” industrial cabinet saw. What are a few dado blades you recommend to me. I had the Dewalt model and I messed it up yesterday. Thanks guys, Terry

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have the Freud 1/4"-3/8" box joint set and it is wonderful. It's just two blades with offset teeth, so the blade stacked one way cut 1/4", but swap them and you get 3/8"

For wider Dado's I just move my fence if ripping, or adjust the stops on my Incra 1000HD miter gauge for left and right stops if cross cutting and doing more than one piece.

I have the Freud SD608 Dial a width unit as well, but sad to say, I've not had reason to use it.

[Lisa Starr]

I use a Forrest Dado King set. I like that it cuts nice, flat bottomed dados. I don't know if it works on a SawStop

[Dave Mills]

I have the 8" Ridge Carbide Dado Master on my SS PCS, and really like it. Comes with 6 various chippers and some copper shims, for around $250.

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[Dave Mills]

I use a Forrest Dado King set. I like that it cuts nice, flat bottomed dados. I don't know if it works on a SawStop

Yes, the Forrest Dado King works on the SawStop.

[Thomas Wilson]

Sadly, i have a dado set that is not recommended. I have the Infinity Dadonator. I had bought it before I bought a Sawstop. Sawstop says dados with full disc chippers should not be used. The Dadonator has 6 big teeth per chipper. Infinity on the other hand says the Dadonator can be used. I haven't yet used the dado set on the Sawstop. I have used it on my Unisaw. It is a great set.

I understand that the moment of inertia of the full disk is greater and that there is more rotational energy to be absorbed by the cartridge and more load on the arbor. But Sawstop would have been better to say how much weight could be loaded on the arbor. Most of my dadoes are in the 1/4 in to 1/2 range. This would not seem to be a problem at least with the weight.

Is there anything else going on between Sawstop and Infinity?

[glenn bradley]

I run the Freud SD-508 regularly on a 3HP PCS. I also have the DeWalt which works quite well. I am aware that solid plates like some sets (Oshlun) run are too heavy for the safety system to handle correctly per Saw Stop.

[Rod Sheridan]

I use an FS Tools dado, although not on a sawstop.

Mine does not have full chippers. It does produce a beautiful groove.....Rod.

[David Utterback]

Recently used the Forrest set for the first time on my SawStop. All went as normal except for the cartridge change which is really simple. The outside blades on the set I used are a little bit larger in diameter and leave little grooves on each side of the dado. I did not care for this result.

[Earl McLain]

I have the 8" Ridge Carbide Dado Master on my SS PCS, and really like it. Comes with 6 various chippers and some copper shims, for around $250.

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That's a good looking cut if it's fresh off the saw.
earl

[Rod Wolfy]

I had the Forrest Dado King set in the past. When I got my SawStop, I was looking to buy it again; however, at over $350, I went with the DeWalt set on sale for $90. It works fine for the frequency of use that it gets.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I use a Forrest Dado King set. I like that it cuts nice, flat bottomed dados. I don't know if it works on a SawStop

Yes, indeed it does, it is what I use.

[Andy D Jones]

I run the Freud SD-508 regularly on a 3HP PCS. I also have the DeWalt which works quite well. I am aware that solid plates like some sets (Oshlun) run are too heavy for the safety system to handle correctly per Saw Stop.

It's worse than that (in a way). The SS arbor is not strong enough to withstand the resulting forces when the break stops that much inertia. The blade tips come to a stop alright, but that just transfers the inertia into to a radial force on the arbor, which bends under the stress.

Most disc brakes on automobiles do the same thing (except they are designed properly to handle the axial force without damage). The caliper exerts a tangential force via the disc, which is opposed by the combination of the tangential force via the tire (from the ground) and the axial force on the axle. Of course, your disc brakes will not stop your car nearly as quickly as the SS brake stops the blade!

There was a post here a while back from a SS owner who bent the arbor because of this. Warranty coverage was denied.

Also the mass or weight of the dado set is not the issue; it is the moment of inertia (both mass & how it is distributed over radius from the center of revolution), which is not published for dado sets, so it would be meaningless for SS to specify the maximum moment of inertia.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Ben Rivel]

Another vote for the Forrest Dado King. Expensive, but very nice.

[michael dilday]

Sadly, i have a dado set that is not recommended. I have the Infinity Dadonator. I had bought it before I bought a Sawstop. Sawstop says dados with full disc chippers should not be used. The Dadonator has 6 big teeth per chipper. Infinity on the other hand says the Dadonator can be used. I haven't yet used the dado set on the Sawstop. I have used it on my Unisaw. It is a great set.

I understand that the moment of inertia of the full disk is greater and that there is more rotational energy to be absorbed by the cartridge and more load on the arbor. But Sawstop would have been better to say how much weight could be loaded on the arbor. Most of my dadoes are in the 1/4 in to 1/2 range. This would not seem to be a problem at least with the weight.

Is there anything else going on between Sawstop and Infinity?

If you have 6 teeth per chipper that is not a full disc chippers.

[michael dilday]

I have the Dewalt and it seems to work fine.

[Scott Bernstein]

I also use the Ridge Carbide, and it excellent. I used to have the Freud Dado King, which was quite good, but the Ridge Carbide is way better.

[Bobby Robbinett]

Sadly, i have a dado set that is not recommended. I have the Infinity Dadonator. I had bought it before I bought a Sawstop. Sawstop says dados with full disc chippers should not be used. The Dadonator has 6 big teeth per chipper. Infinity on the other hand says the Dadonator can be used. I haven't yet used the dado set on the Sawstop. I have used it on my Unisaw. It is a great set.

I understand that the moment of inertia of the full disk is greater and that there is more rotational energy to be absorbed by the cartridge and more load on the arbor. But Sawstop would have been better to say how much weight could be loaded on the arbor. Most of my dadoes are in the 1/4 in to 1/2 range. This would not seem to be a problem at least with the weight.

Is there anything else going on between Sawstop and Infinity?

How do you like the cut quality of the Infinity Dadonator? Have you compared it to any other dado sets? I believe that it has 42t, correct me if I am wrong. I would guess that the Infinity would do great on plywood but might have too many tooth for dado’ing solid wood?

[Myles Moran]

If you have 6 teeth per chipper that is not a full disc chippers.

Its not the number of teeth, its the shape of the disc between them. That one is big and round. Compare it to the DW7670 which has huge cutouts between the chipper teeth and is recommended for the sawstop.

edit- its also the anti-kickback teeth on that dado set.

[Stephen Roth]

SawStop Dado Trigger Issue:

Hi: I am the guy that had an accidental trigger with a dado blade. The blade hit the miter gauge. And BANG! Very big BANG. Well, long story short, my dado blade had full-size chippers and the force to stop the blade bent the arbor and sheared teeth off the blade. It cost me $275 to replace the arbor assembly, plus $99 to replace the cartridge, plus the cost of the dado blade. And the arbor replacement took about 6 hours and required me to lift the table off the saw. But taking apart the saw was actually fun. The SawStop is an excellent piece of machinery.

So here is what I learned:

1. Don't use full-size chipper blades on the SawStop. They present too much mass for the saw to handle. It not only won't stop the blade as fast, but it can bend the arbor. Their web site lists a variety of "approved" blades.
2. I had 2 triggers before with a Freud and Forrest blades. I accepted that replacing the blade and cartridge was worth the money. But blowing out a $350 dado blade is getting pricey. So I went with a cheaper dado blade that had good reviews. And hopefully, it will not bend the arbor if it triggers.

Pics attached.

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[Rod Wolfy]

Stephen, is your saw a PCS or an ICS? It looks like the ICS, which means that it has heavier works all around, right?

When it was triggered, did it take out part of the miter bar or do you think that had it been a finger, would it have been protected as well?

I purchased my regular blade per SawStop's recommendations, with no anti-kickback teeth.

[Thomas Wilson]

How do you like the cut quality of the Infinity Dadonator? Have you compared it to any other dado sets? I believe that it has 42t, correct me if I am wrong. I would guess that the Infinity would do great on plywood but might have too many tooth for dado’ing solid wood?

My previous dado sets have been a Delta 6" carbide set and a Craftsman 8" that is chrome steel. I still have both but they are quite old. II haven't made any comparisons between them. Comparing to them would probably not be too meaningful because of the age. I have not used the Infinity much. The cuts are flat bottom which I like. I will be using it this week. I will try some test cuts across grain and with grain in hard and soft wood and some in plywood. I have some baltic birch and some poplar core birch plywood. I will also report on the number of teeth. The shop is about 1/4 mile away.

My shop tools have been in storage for about 3 years. I am building a new shop that is nearly finished. The construction work is on hold due to my fear of catching the corona virus so I have been moving tools in and getting set up what I can by myself. I have some building materials that are in the way. So for awhile, I will be limited in what I can do.

The Sawstop is new. I turned it on for the first time yesterday. I will have to learn how to change the brake cartridge to do the comparisons.

[Thomas Wilson]

Just to be sure I was interpreting what type of cutter was not recommended, I chatted on line with SawStop. It is just the chipper disk with six chipping teeth that is the problem. I confirmed that the Dadonator is not recommended. The reason he gave is the extra weight might damage the arbor. Not only that, but if the arbor were damaged by triggering, it would not be under warranty. The service engineer would not answer my questions about reducing the rotational inertia by limiting the number of cutters on the arbor. He just said it was not recommended period and pointed to where the warning is published. He did not mention anything about the anti kickback teeth.

[Dave Mills]

Thomas if you haven't read through these pages, you might when you have some time. They're written by one of the SawStop tech folks.

https://www.trentdavis.net/wp/2018/08/06/helpful-sawstop-links/

[Jim Dwight]

I have a Freud SD208 and the dado cartridge but I haven't used either yet. I used a 6 inch SD208 on a previous saw and it did fine so I am confident the 8 inch will too.

[Stephen Roth]

I have the ICS.

It just nicked the miter bar. I was holding onto the bar at the time. Even with the shearing of the teeth, it stopped that blade after about 20 degrees of rotation so I don't think I would have been injured if it hit me.

This trigger occurrence is like something that happened to me before while I was cutting aluminized foam board. It seems as though holding a piece of metal and hitting the blade with it allows the body current to pass through your hand into the blade. I guess it is how the hot-dog sets off the trigger.

[Alan Lightstone]

I use the Freud Super Dado Set with my ICS. Has worked fine, and I actually triggered my old SawStop Contractors saw while making a zero clearance insert with it. It messed with the blade (which I had repaired), but did not seem to have any negative effect on the arbor. FWIW. And yes, it was an expensive mistake. But all digits were intact.

I also use the Freud Box Joint set, which works great with the iBox jig.

[John C Bush]

I use the Dadonator on my ICS for flat bottom dadoes and finger joints. Excellent cuts in both ply and solid stock.
I wasn't aware of the "not recommended" status but the chippers are ~~inner 1/3 solid and outer 2/3s of the diameter "spoked". I've done full 3/4" dadoes with no worries. I have an estate sale aquired Irwin dadoe set that is not flat bottomed that I use most of the time to preserve the Dadonator. It gives good cuts as well but corragated bottoms.
I've had the Dadonator for 10yrs and didn't realize they are so spendy now. I had the Freud 6" set but needed an 8" set for the SS. The Freud had great cuts also. Good luck shopping.

[Thomas Wilson]

Thomas if you haven't read through these pages, you might when you have some time. They're written by one of the SawStop tech folks.

https://www.trentdavis.net/wp/2018/08/06/helpful-sawstop-links/

Thanks, Dave. I did not know of this. It is very helpful.

TW

[Jon Middleton]

I have a mint Forrest Dado King set I could part with. I bought it new and have used it once or twice in 15-20 years.

[Neil Gaskin]

Ridge Carbide is what we use. I also have a Freud super dado but it’s not recommended with saw stop.

[glenn bradley]

It's worse than that (in a way). The SS arbor is not strong enough to withstand the resulting forces when the break stops that much inertia. The blade tips come to a stop alright, but that just transfers the inertia into to a radial force on the arbor, which bends under the stress.

Sounds interesting. I've only noticed Saw Stop mention the cartridge. One example: "Do not use dado sets with solid-plate interior chippers or blades with molding heads, as neither brake cartridge is designed to stop those blade types."

What is your source for this info please?

Obviously if there is a warning about this I want to make sure my dado set(s) comply.

[Bill Dindner]

I use a Ridge Carbide, happy with it, although I have not used the Forest to compare.