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Thread: What is everyone's favorite dado blade and why???

  1. #1

    What is everyone's favorite dado blade and why???

    I have a PM2000 10" table saw. I need a dado blade. I guess the first question is stacked or adjustable?? I see dado sets run anywhere from just under $100 to well over $400. What performance variables are there given a $300 spread??? I don't have a problem spending the money, what I don't want to do is spend on something that is not really going to do anything for me...I need all the help I can get as it is!!!Thanks in advance for any info.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    East Virginia
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    830
    I just use a cheap Delta stack. I like that it's easily repeatable, and gives a flat bottom in the dado or groove (unlike a wobble dado).

    There's a lot to be said for doing your dadoes with a router, too.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Camas, Wa
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    I use the Delta 35-7670 as well. I think it is about $120. It has 4 tooth chippers as well as metal shims and a 1/32" chipper. There are more expensive options that are probably slightly better but I'm perfectly happy with the Delta.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Pittsburgh, PA
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    868
    I have an 8" Oshlun dado set that costs under $100 delivered and seems to work well.

    I figured I would try something on the less expensive side, and buy a more expensive one if I found a reason. So far the Oshlun works well enough for my needs.

    Bill
    Too much to do...Not enough time...life is too short!

  5. #5
    I have the 8" Freud stacked dado, not sure what I paid for it a dozen years ago, probably $100. I like it because it has a 3/32 chipper for doing 1/32 undersized plywood. I also inherited the old mans Freud 1/4 - 3/8 box joint dado cutter. I always thought it was kind of dumb and not a good value, but now I use it all the time. It is handy to be able to do 1/4 and 3/8 dados just by grabbing it and not fiddling with chippers and such.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Waterford, PA
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    I have a Forrest Dado Stack. I like it because it allows you to cut undersize dados for plywood and it cuts flat bottoms. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't the most expensive either. That's where I prefer to be in the price range for many things, woodworking and otherwise.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    8,957
    I use the Forrest stack, the already mentioned Dewalt stack, and even an old Craftsman wobbler, depending on the job. As already mentioned, the Dewalt is a lot better than you might think it is. If it's a tight fit on the arbor, the bottom of the cut will be as clean as the Forrest. It also comes in one of the few cases I've ever kept for anything. Keep the instruction sheet that came with it, that gives you the measurements of all the combinations. It saves a lot of trial and error with a cheap digital caliper to measure the piece that the groove is for. A set of magnetic shims, by any manufacturer, let's you fine tune it, and still leaves out the guesswork.

  8. #8
    Thanks a million to everyone that has posted so far!!! It is greatly appreciated.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    Between No Where & No Place ,WA
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    Quick question on the Dewalt set: country of origin?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
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    10,301
    I have a Freud 6” stack. Perhaps $80. It works just fine.

    However, one thing makes me grumpy: it cannot make a dado which fits today’s quarter inch plywood. I know of no affordable dado stack which can do this obvious task. Aren’t tool manufacturers connected to the market?

    To work with quarter inch ply, I had to buy a special stack from Forrest which cost nearly $200.

  11. #11
    Forrest dado stack and it's my favorite because it's the only one I own. But it doesn't cut a completely flat bottom. The outside blades cut a V deeper than the flat section in between.
    “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NE Ohio
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    6,960
    6" Freud - $79 @ Lowes back in 2010 or so.

    It's - ok - if I had to replace it, I believe it would be either with a DeWalt or Oshlun.

    However, one thing makes me grumpy: it cannot make a dado which fits today’s quarter inch plywood. I know of no affordable dado stack which can do this obvious task. Aren’t tool manufacturers connected to the market?
    Just today, I was looking at - - - {{{{{ 1/4"}}}}} - "plywood" at Menards... 3/16", 5.2 mm, 5.5 mm, 6 mm - were all labeled 1/4".
    Hard to blame the tool makers when the wood suppliers put out such a variation of sizes and call it all the same.

    Plywood sizing is a pet peeve of mine. It drives me nuts!!!
    It's almost enough to drive a person to use MDF instead - - - almost .
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    sykesville, maryland
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    860
    I have a dewalt set and love it. I suspect there are many that are good though.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Crozet, VA
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    638
    I don’t have it anymore but my favorite stack was an Infinity Dadonator. I sold it when I moved from a Unisaw to a slider and the slider couldn’t accommodate the the 8” stack. I have a smaller 6” Forrest Dado King currently and it does a fine job, but think the Infinity produced a flatter, cleaner dado.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Crystal Lake, IL
    Posts
    577
    I have a 8" Forrest Dado King for my 10" PM 66 that is 20 years old, and I have a more recent 12" Forrest Dado King for my 16" saw. They are excellent. Flat bottom cuts, cut very clean in ply without chipping, same in hardwood, and both sets have smaller chippers to fit the smaller plywood perfectly. Shim stock included with both, as well.
    Jeff

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