RAS and Freud SD608 8" Dial-A-Width Stacked Dado

[Shawn Honeychurch]

Just wondering if anyone has tried this?

I use my RAS (Dewalt 7740) for Dado's on a regular basis and can't imagine anything easier than a RAs with the Dial-a-width stack. But would it work and would it be safe?

Shawn

[Greg Pettis]

Shawn

Not quite sure of your question but I cut dados for many years with a Craftsman RAS and a Sears Excalibur adjustable dado (wobble) blade. The challenge is to take a light cut when cutting wide a dado as the saw has a tendency to lurch back if fed too aggressively. I stalled the RAS more than once even though I knew the saw would grab the stock and if fed too fast.

Once I could afford a table saw, the RAS was retired from dado cutting as I was never comfortable with the process.

Greg

[Randal Stevenson]

Shawn, you might want to google DeWalt Radial arm saw forums. It is over at Delphi, and they are almost exclusively DeWalt RAS's. You would find out what all they use.

[Shawn Honeychurch]

I have searched on the Dewalt RAS forum, no info at all regarding this combo.

[Tim Sgrazzutti]

I use a freud sd208 (8" stack dado) with my MBF, and it works just fine. When doing dado cuts pulling the blade across the grain, you do have to approach the cut with a somewhat stiff arm, and the understanding that the blade will tend to be a bit "hungry". How much, of course, depends on the width and depth of your cut. Also, you should make sure with any RAS that the force needed to move the blade is around 5 lbs. Plough cuts made with the saw in the rip positions are a piece of cake.

The only issue I can think of with the dial-a-width Freud, is that the arbor of the MBF may be too short for it.

[Shawn Honeychurch]

Hi Tim;

That is a good point about the arbor length, I have a cheap 8" dado stack I use with my 7740 and it works very well. I just really like the idea of only having to loosen the nut, make a few clicks, tighten the nut and then off you go. Nice and quick and easy, no more taking off the blade guard and rebuilding the stack.

From the Freud site:

Inside Arbor Flange Diameter—If the inside arbor flange is under 2-1/2" diameter you are OK. If it is over that, the Dial-A-Width will not work on your machine.
Arbor Length—Measure the length of the arbor on your machine and subtract the thickness of the arbor nut from that measurement. If what you have left is at least 1-3/32" then you can cut up to a 3/4" dado with your saw. If you have 1-3/16" or more then you can stack all the components on the arbor at one time. Still keep in mind that you must comply with maximums that the manufacturer of saw has for dadoes.
Arbor Nut Size—The arbor nut wrench size can not be larger than 1-3/16" (30mm). The set includes a 7/8" wrench. If your arbor nut uses a wrench other than 7/8" (22mm), you will need to use a wrench other than the one that comes in the Dial-A-Width.Looks like I have some measuring to do tonight. :D

[Steve Leverich]

Hey Tim, what the heck is an "MBF"??!? Just when I thought I had the durned acronym junk figgered... :( Thanks... Steve

[Randal Stevenson]

Hey Tim, what the heck is an "MBF"??!? Just when I thought I had the durned acronym junk figgered... :( Thanks... Steve

MDF, is a MODEL of a DeWalt Radial Arm saw. It is one of what are called the old gold, as it was prior to Black and Decker purchasing them and cheapening construction. This has a solid cast iron arm that they aged, before machining. (newer ones are open arm construction)

[Tim Sgrazzutti]

Shawn,

The shims I prefer to use are the slotted ones from Lee Valley. They can be inserted and removed with needle nose pliers after loosening the arbor nut. You'll need to remove the guard to adjust the width of any blade.

There are some variables about using dado blades on these. Depending on the width you're cutting, you have to play with the arbor flange washers to get the blade to fit inside the guard with no interference. Bear in mind that with a dado, you don't need the arbor flange washers to support the blade. I often find I need to use the thin outer washer on the inside, and no washer on the outside to get the lateral location within the guard correct.

I don't know the length of the arbor offhand, but the nut is 1" across the flats.

[Tim Sgrazzutti]

The MBF is the name of a very good "homeowner" model radial arm saw made by DeWalt in the 50's. You can find lots of pics of them on owwm.

[Steve Leverich]

Randal, Tim, thanks - I won't bother to add that to my "WWAL" :D since I still have (and use) an early 70's Craftsman "commercial" 12" RAS - I too have one of the Craftsman "wobble" dado's which got used a couple of times before I got a "normal" set for the saw - Tim, I've always (since the first time the saw tried to "follow me home" :eek:) used the "stiff arm" approach, but that wobble dado was a bit TOO grabby for me... Steve

[Tom Henderson2]

From the Freud site:
Inside Arbor Flange Diameter—If the inside arbor flange is under 2-1/2" diameter you are OK. If it is over that, the Dial-A-Width will not work on your machine.
Arbor Length—Measure the length of the arbor on your machine and subtract the thickness of the arbor nut from that measurement. If what you have left is at least 1-3/32" then you can cut up to a 3/4" dado with your saw. If you have 1-3/16" or more then you can stack all the components on the arbor at one time. Still keep in mind that you must comply with maximums that the manufacturer of saw has for dadoes.
Arbor Nut Size—The arbor nut wrench size can not be larger than 1-3/16" (30mm). The set includes a 7/8" wrench. If your arbor nut uses a wrench other than 7/8" (22mm), you will need to use a wrench other than the one that comes in the Dial-A-Width.Looks like I have some measuring to do tonight. :D

Me too.

My older C-man CS has about 13/16 between the arbor flange and the arbor nut, with the nut just flush with the end of the shaft. So maybe it would handle 7/8" if I backed it off a bit. But no more.

So it would appear that the SD608 wouldn't be a good choice for me, since the dado stack is 1 3/32" thick when making a 3/4" dado.

Thanks for posting this -- The SD608 had been on my wish list. Not any more!

-Tom H