I need to order a new dado stack quick. Which one? And a twist!

[shane lyall]

My old dado set has seen better days. I'm looking at the Oshlun 8 inch among others. My main goal is a flat, smooth bottom with as small "bat ears" as I can get. All this with as little tear out as possible. I know the bat ears help with tear out but the're a killer on half laps. I know thats asking alot but it's the goal I'm looking for.

Now for the twist. I have an old (read US of A made) Craftsman radial arm saw that stays set up for my dados. I love being able to see what I'm doing and never dado on the TS if I can use the RAS.

My old blade will do ok for the few cuts I make on the TS and whatever I buy will stay set up on the RAS. I don't mind the self feed as I find it's easy to control if you pay attention to what you're doing. That being said, + or - hook angle is no big deal to me. A flat, smooth bottom is most importaint as I do alot of half laps and tennons with the RAS. Lumps and large bat ears cost me too much time with a shoulder plane doing clean up.

I've used my old blade set for years so I'm not sure whats out there now. I have a WWII that is great so I'm sure a Forrest dado would work well. I also own Frued and CMT blades that I like. I don't mind spending some money on a new set but would like to stay in the $100 range if I can. That rules out Forrest, Ridge, and a few others. I know they make great products but I can't justify spending $250+ on a blade set. As I said above, I'm about to pull the trigger on the Oshlund set unless someone here knows of something better around that price point.

I have 3 big jobs coming up and need to order ASAP. I can get free shipping from Amazon so shipping isn't a factor. Woodcraft is about to have a 20% of sale as well.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Shane, I've owned and used a Freud SD-208 set for several years. It's served me well. It sells at Amazon currently for $84.

[Van Huskey]

I agree with Ken on the Freud SD-208 BUT I have limited experience in the mid-priced sets, the 208 being the only one of them I have owned. If he doesn't get to the thread before you need to order search Scott Spencer's posts about dado blades, I am sure he has given recommendations for your situation. I know at the time of his big blade review he owned a Dewalt 7670 which is available for just over $100. I don't know what he has now or how he felt about the Dewalt, I just assumed that since he had not replaced it he was happy at the time. Some people talk about the low number of teeth with the Freud but I didn't have an issue.

[Cary Falk]

This or the Dewalt badged equivlant. I am very happy with mine.
http://www.amazon.com/DELTA-35-7670-.../dp/B000O7YJAQ
http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW7670-.../dp/B0002ZU6X4

[Dan Bowman]

I've got both the Oshlun and the Freud and don't see any significant difference in quality of cut. However, cuts made with the Oshlun are all undersize and everything has to be shimmed a surprising amount, whereas cuts with the Freud are pretty close to what they're supposed to be based on the cutteres used.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have an FS Tools set, fantastic....................Rod.

[Van Huskey]

I have an FS Tools set, fantastic....................Rod.

Rod, isn't that a premium set in the Forrest, Infinity price range?

[david brum]

I have an Oshlun 8" set. It is surprisingly sharp and well designed for the money. A few things to keep in mind though: First, the teeth have a very aggressive forward hook. This isn't noticeable on the table saw, but really wants to feed toward you on the RAS. You have to make sure you're in firm control or the saw will take huge bites and stall. Although I haven't tried one, the Freud dado sets use a much less aggressive tooth profile, so it should be better behaved.

Second, my Oshlun set does make clean, flat bottomed cuts. It also leaves a noticeable groove where the outside cutters go very slightly deeper. It's not visible on a dado, but does leave grooves across the face of tenon or lap joint.

My favorite dado for my RAS is the box cutter set. Both Freud and Oshlun make one. They only make a max 3/8 dado, but no bat ears or grooves.

[Paul McGaha]

Shane,

I have the Freud SD-508 Super Dado. It's a Stacked, 8" Set. About $200. I use mine in a table saw. Beautiful cuts. I dont know how they would do in a RAS.

PHM

[Rick Moyer]

I'm pretty happy with the Dewalt I have, but it's on the table saw. No idea how it would be on a RAS.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

No one else used the term "bat ears", so I don't know if anybody addressed your
concerns.
I certainly couldn't, because I have no idea what "bat ears" are????

[Alan Schwabacher]

The Dewalt/Delta set is excellent for the money, and has a negative rake. It behaves nicely on a RAS.

[shane lyall]

No one else used the term "bat ears", so I don't know if anybody addressed your
concerns.
I certainly couldn't, because I have no idea what "bat ears" are????

The bat ears are the small groves cut by the top bevel on the outside plates. They make a big improvement on the tear out issue but can be an unsightly problem on tenons and half lap joints. I didn't realize the Oslund was so agressive. I don't mind the little effort to prevent self feeding I use now but don't want an arm wrestling match ever time I use the saw either. I think I'll go with the Frued. Thanks for the help folks.

[Van Huskey]

As a general rule most sets and almost all high quality sets leave some degree of bat ears, because it helps reduce tearout, the better sets take steps to balance tearout and bat ears but if you look close on Forrest, Amana, Infinity, Freud etc etc you will see them. They can be REALLY pronounced on the cheaper sets.

Graphic representation of bat ears:

[Wayne Jolly]

It may be a bit pricey, but I think if you contact Forrest they will custom grind a set for you. They will make you a set that will not leave the DEVIL's ears but I think it would cost you probably $225 or maybe a little more.

One more thing. I don't have any idea how this would work, or if this would even be safe to do, but what about just not using the two outer blades for your half-laps? That would leave flat bottoms.

Wayne

I almost forgot, maybe you could contact the other vendors as well and see if they will custom grind a set for you.