Safe Dado cuts....

[Jared Cuneo]

Another thread got me thinking on this.....When do you cut dados against the fence vs pushing them through with the miter gauge? I see Norm doing it both ways, but can't seem to follow the protocol.....Checked some books, but there is much overlap.....

Any insight? Also, the reason I ask is that I was cutting some dados for my bookcase with the miter guage method and noticed that they were angled and off by just under 1/8 on one of the panels.....Others were less, which seems to indicate a deflecting miter gauge.....but just looking for opinions....

JC

[Dan Stuewe]

In general I would say to use the same protocol as through cuts, i.e. for long cuts (in general with the grain) use the fence. For short cuts (in general across the grain) use miter gauge or sled. Besides just the ease of handling the material in these orientations, a scarificial fence can be used on the miter gauge/sled to help with blowout when the blade exits the wood.

If the workpiece is too big (bookcase side) I would recommend taking the tool to the workpiece and using a handheld router. It is easier to move the router over the workpiece than to try and push a large workpiece through a blade (which is removing quite a bit of material adding to the difficulty).

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jared, I agree, when cutting dadoes (Across the grain or the short workpiece dimension) I use a mitre gauge or sled.

Cutting grooves (With the grain, or the long workpiece dimension) I use the fence.

The tricky part about using a dado cutter in a tablesaw, is the guard.

You need an overarm guard on the saw, as the standard splitter mounted guard has to be removed for any non through sawing operation such as dadoing, grooving or rebating.

Also you have to be very careful when grooving on the tablesaw as you don't normally have a splitter fitted. Finger boards, "Board Buddies" or other hold downs are required, and a sacrificial fence is required for rebating.

I normally use my shaper for rebating or grooving, unless the location of the groove forces me to use the tablesaw.


Regards, Rod.