dado blade set help picking

[Roddy Thibault]

im looking for a cheapper set.
does any one know if the dewalt dw767 dado set is a good set?
or stay with the freud SD208 ?

any thought would be great

[Jim Dunn]

Roddy I don't have any experience with either of those two you mention, but, I have the Avenger 8" 30tooth set and couldn't be happier.

Customer service is great! Had a problem with the first set I bought and, no questions asked, they sent me a full set at NO Charge. I'm sold for life on that company.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Both sets you reference are a good value. I have the SD208, along with the Freud Safety Dado, and a Forrest Dado King. The 208 gets the most use, it does everything I could ask of it. Other two are my back ups.

[glenn bradley]

Don't have one but it'll be the SD208 when I buy. Always seems to win the bake-offs in the $100 - $200 catagory.

[David Wambolt]

I have the Dewalt DW7670 and it's a great dado set. I can't imagine the cut getting any cleaner than what the Dewalt produces. With Amazon's 20% discount, it's a great value. I'm tempted to buy another set at that price, even though my first is going strong.

[glenn bradley]

David,

That is a great price. Do you get flat bottoms and clean entrance / exit cuts on tearout prone marterial? I may have to change my mind.

[David Wambolt]

The bottoms are very smooth and much cleaner than another Freud set I have. Tearout seems to be minimal. For $80, I don't believe it can be beat.

[Mike Henderson]

I have the Dewalt DW7670 and it's a great dado set. I can't imagine the cut getting any cleaner than what the Dewalt produces. With Amazon's 20% discount, it's a great value. I'm tempted to buy another set at that price, even though my first is going strong.
It looks to me that Dewalt DW7670 (http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW7670-8-Inch-Stacked-Dado/dp/B0002ZU6X4/sr=1-1/qid=1171600143/ref=sr_1_1/002-5715437-7804800?ie=UTF8&s=hi)is sold by someone other than Amazon (Tool King) and thus does not qualify for the 20% discount. Ther Freud SD208 (http://www.amazon.com/Freud-SD208-8-Inch-Professional-Dado/dp/B0000223O9/sr=8-1/qid=1171600089/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-5715437-7804800?ie=UTF8&s=hi)is sold by Amazon and has the 20% discount.

Mike

[David Wambolt]

It shows selling from Amazon for me. I have one in my cart and the discount works.

[Mike Henderson]

It shows selling from Amazon for me. I have one in my cart and the discount works.
Why don't you post a link to it for those of us who can't find it (please)?

Mike

[David Wambolt]

Mike,

Here you go:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002ZU6X4/ref=ord_cart_shr/102-9816486-3548912?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

[Tullie Templet]

Mike,

You have to click the 5 NEW and USED link and it shows who all sells it and at what price.

[Dewayne Reding]

I purchased the Dewalt set from Amazon. I've used it for a few months on birch plywood, and cutting rabbets and small tenons in oak for the little doors on Shaker clocks. Even the tenon cuts, which are cross grain of course, are very clean, requiring no repair for chip out.

I'm not sure what you get for your money if you spend $200+ on a dado set. Longer blade life perhaps?

[Nick Clayton]

I'll toss in another vote for the dewalt set. I would say above average cuts and the price is hard to beat.

[Tim Malyszko]

My vote is for the SD208. I've been using it for a few months now and get excellent results with it.

[scott spencer]

Those two sets are the only dado sets I've used Roddy. The SD208 is a bit more substantially built, and it incorporates anti-kickback fingers, but the DW7670 has twice as many teeth and makes a cleaner cut in my experience. It's also easier for the saw to spin, has nicer shim stock, a nice carrying case, and includes a 3/32" chipper. Amazon sold it when I bought mine last spring...it was ~ $90 at the time. edit: looks like they still have it under the "5 new and used" link - $99 minus 20% w/free shipping...$80 to the door.

http://www.epinions.com/DW7670 (http://www.epinions.com/content_314538299012)

If you can still get the SD508 for < $140, it's worth considering too.

[Jack Ganssle]

I have teh DW 7670 and love it. Cuts a flat bottom, easy setup, plenty of shims.

Jack

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

For years and years (about 30) I was using the same old Craftsman Crome edge set that I bought used in a tool shop in Cambridge MA. Never had a lick of trouble with 'em. Forrest could sharpen /em sweet as you please. The inner and outer blades were very - very fine toothed.
The inner chippers were - well chippers. Fine tuning the thickness was done with cardboard and paper shims - it worked flawlessly.

Then I got a bug up my tail to - upgrade. Woo Hoo !!
Amana Carbide won my $$. I liked it just fine.

But - - - It cut no better than that old craftsman dado.

Then when I got my snazzy new TS I had to get a new dado or have an old set re-bored for a three hole pattern.

So I opted for the Snazzy Felder Dado head. Rotate-able carbide inserts for the cutters and chippers It won’t cause chip out in finiky ply like Oak. It’s a three piece assembly and adjusted with a set of metal shims. It is precise enough that I can pick the shims and (with a little math) know within a thousandth or two exactly how wide the dado is going to be without having to measure the dado.
It cost more than $400.00

Does it cut better than the Amana or the Craftsman??
Not really. That damm Craftsman dado is a very good cutter.


All that said you can still get a crappy dado. Usually the more cutters and chippers there are the better. The grade of carbide is very, very important when cutting wood because not all grades of carbide sharpen to a really keen edge. Many carbide grades simply chip away at the lead of a sharp edge. So the more you spend the more likely you are to get a high grade carbide made for cutting wood.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,

You have to click the 5 NEW and USED link and it shows who all sells it and at what price.

Thanks, David and Tullie. Tullie - thanks for the advice. I wouldn't have thought of that.

Mike

[Jeff Wright]

I am impressed with the blades and bits I've gotten from Infinity Tools. Their dado set ($189) won #1 choice in April '05 Fine Woodworking as best value. Go to . . . . .

http://www.infinitytools.com/departments.asp?dept=1194