How to make a 3/16" dado?

[Michael Lutz]

The 1/4" maple plywood that I was using measures closer to 3/16". Putting the two end cutters on my Forrest Dado King together yields 1/4". So I was trying to determine how to cut a 3/16" dado. I looked through my other dado sets to see if any others would work. The 7" Craftsman wobble dado indicated that it could cut 3/16".

I had never used a wobble dado before. So I put it into my PM 66 and tested it on a piece of scrap. The plywood fit the dado better, but the wobbler makes an ugly hole and hideous noise and some vibration. :eek:So I don't think I will be using it on my PM 66 again. (Are the wobble dados of any use?)

Any other options anybody can think of? I am cutting slots for vertical dividers.

Thanks,

Mike

[Al Killian]

What about a straight bit in a router table?

[Brad Schmid]

I use thin kerf blades, so on 3/16 dado I make one pass, bump the fence over to appropriate width and make a second pass. Anything 1/4" and up i use a dado king too (or router table).

[Gene Bukovi]

That's what I was going to say. I used a straight bit and since the location was close to the edge which it's an easy router table job.


Gene

[Roy Harding]

Use a standard rip blade (1/8" in width). Set your fence to one extent of the dado. Cut a groove (or dado). Bump your fence over 1/16" - cut the groove (or dado) again. Voila - 3/16" dado/groove.

[Mike K Wenzloff]

Running off what Roy wrote, when I used the table saw, I made a set of 1/16" [and other dimension] shims.

In this case I used a sled with stops. I would place a 1/16" shim against the stop on the sled, push the piece being dadoed against the shim and line up the right side of the dado with the right edge of the blade. Make a cut, remove the shim, slide the piece against the stop and cut again.

But that's only if I needed multiples dadoed. Else I would merely use the sled and line the cuts by eye.

Take care, Mike

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

wobble dado
I hate those things. I have never spoken to any one who likes 'em. They don't cut a flat bottomed dado.




That particular wobbler is out of balance.

[quote]Any other options anybody can think of?

Get a real dado cutter, or make yourself a jug that guides a router and use the appropriate size bit.

[Jim Becker]

Yup. Regular blade. Make a cut. Adjust the fence. Make another cut. You can even sneak up on the "exact" size if you work with some extra scrap material before cutting the final swipes.

[Michael Lutz]

Cliff,
I have a real dado set, but it couldn't cut less than 1/4". The wobbler is a set I picked up at an auction a few years ago, but had never used before yesterday. I don't think I will put it in my table saw again.

Al,
I had thought of using a router table, but I currently don't have one. I am going to construct one soon, but there are a few other storage projects to be completed first.

Roy,
I was thinking about doing that, since it would not require me to build anything to use the router and I could zero in on a tight fit.

Thanks for your quick replies,

Mike