DadoWiz

[Pete Brown]

I don't have room in my shop to dado large pieces of plywood such as may be required for fixed shelving in a tall cabinet. So, at a woodworking show late last year, I bought the DadoWiz (http://www.woodline.com/v1/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=688).

I used it on a real piece this weekend and had great results. The plywood fit perfectly.

For those not familiar, the DadoWiz uses the actual wood (in this case, really undersized maple veneer ply from Lowes) to set the width of the dado. It is a lot faster than shimming a dado set on your saw and for folks like me that can't handle a 7'6" piece of plywood on the saw, this is a lifesaver.

It's pricey, but I don't have time or desire to make jigs such as might give you similar functionality.

I highly recommend it. Be sure to get their guide rails at the same time unless you have similar clamps with perfectly flat tops. Also, if you don't have a centering bit for your router, get one as well. You want your bushing to be exactly on.

Pete

[paidin fain]

I too have the dadowiz:
http://nicersite.com/wood/dadowiz.jpg
but I find their guide SUCKS. too bad you have to use their guide system The problem is that the guide clamps from below but I found that after you clamp them, they dont hold well. After clamping, try nudging the end of the clamp left or right. They loosen up too easily. I bought 8 of their clamps at the woodworking show when i was a noob to woodworking 3 years ago (im still a noob btw) I did not get around to using this until 2 years later. found out the guides dont clamp well. Try it with yours and let me know if its the same way.

paidin

[Pete Brown]

HI Paiden

I'll definitely try nudging, but I don't think it will move. I was using a fair amount of force when I did my tests.

I used one from Rockler when I did the plywood panel because I only had the two footer and the panel was 27" deep. The top wasn't flat (it has a t-slot), so I had to shim the DadoWiz (it was all I had available at midnight heh). That clamp didn't budge a bit and it is basically the same technology.

I assume you tighten the clamps down so the clamp hand is at 90 degrees up when you snug it up and at 90 degrees down when fully locked.

Pete

[Pete Brown]

BTW, what guide is that you're using in that photo? It looks more substantial than the one that I got with the DadoWiz

[paidin fain]

BTW, what guide is that you're using in that photo? It looks more substantial than the one that I got with the DadoWiz

it was the guide offered from woodline. I bought two of the double sets so you can clamp the bottom one to the table and the other is mounted upside down so you can clamp the peice your working on. then you clamp another clamp on top as a guide rail. Thats a lot of clampage! those guys are VERY good at selling though. They suckered me out of $550 worth of woodline stuff that day... I coulda bought a wood rat or something that day LOL. live and learn. but bottom line: Their dado wiz is very cool :) I just dont like their clamps and their dovetail system that I shoulda not purchased and use the money for the akeda i finally bought.

paidin

[Tim Malyszko]

Very interesting. The woodworking show is coming here to St. Louis in a few weeks and I'm going to keep my eye out for the DadoWiz.

While I have the space to add Dado's to 4x8 sheets on the tablesaw, it becomes very cumbersome when no one is there to help me get the sheet in place. The dadowiz looks like it would be much easier.

[Jim Becker]

Paidin, have you contacted Jim Vice (the DadoWiz inventor) about the clamping problem you are having?

[Pete Brown]

Very interesting. The woodworking show is coming here to St. Louis in a few weeks and I'm going to keep my eye out for the DadoWiz.

While I have the space to add Dado's to 4x8 sheets on the tablesaw, it becomes very cumbersome when no one is there to help me get the sheet in place. The dadowiz looks like it would be much easier.

The main problem I found with dadoing wide sheet goods on the saw (besides the handling problem) was getting enough downward pressure above the blade to ensure the dado depth is consistent across the piece. Unless you have rollers pressing down on it (or you have the world's flattest supply of very heavy sheet goods) you end up deeper at the ends than you do in the middle.

Pete

[Rees Midgley]

Does anyone know how the DadoWiz compares with the SRK Smart Router used on the SGS Smart Guide System from Eurekazone? It should let one create a desired dado on a large panel with few problems.