8" Freud dado set with sliding table saw

[Aaron Liebling]

So I'm preparing to move my shop across the country and am selling my trusty sawstop. I'm planning on buying an as-yet-undetermined sliding table saw. Should I keep my 8" dado blade set or will I need something else for most modern sliding table saws?

Also, I am planning on including my incra mitre sled and jessem stock guides with the saw. No need for those, right?

[Terry Therneau]

Some sliders allow a dado, some do not.

[Jim Becker]

Terry is correct; some sliders, like the SCM/Minimax sliders, will take a "normal" dado stack as they have a 5/8" arbor in the US, and some, such as the Hammer/Felder will not. Some saws, such as the Hammer/Felder have to be ordered to accommodate dado type operations with their groover set, AFAIK.

That said, both of the sliders I've owned have been SCM/Minimax. I have a dado set. I have not used that dado set since I bought the first slider...in the mid-2000s. Any grooving/dados/rabbits seem to get done using other methods, such as a router, or multiple passes with the table saw blade for quick needs.

[Kevin Jenness]

I would hang onto it in case it can be used on your new slider. It's probably not worth reboring the set if the arbor size is different. I use a standard (1" bore) dado set on my machine but it involves removing a spacer behind the blade flange on the arbor and removing the throat plate. Some sliders will accept a dado set, some not, and on those I have worked with switching from the standard blade is a bit more time-consuming than on a cabinet saw.

The stock guides could be useful but you would have to do some modification to the typical high/low slider fence to mount them. The sled could perhaps be adapted with a new bar to fit the sliding table slot(s).

[Phillip Mitchell]

Totally depends on the saw, but I use a dado stack often on my older SCM slider. I will say, though, that my arbor is 1" and I bought a new (10") dado stack with larger bore to fit this saw and had previously sold my 5/8" bore dado stack back when I sold my PM66 cabinet saw years ago. So, the arbor size is a consideration, of course.

Do you know which slider you are going to get at this point? Used or new?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, hang onto it and have it bored to fit your new saw.

I had an FS Tools st bored for my slider for $50

Regards, Rod