Woodworker seeking quality dado blade for a unisaw--
Looking for reviews, and or practical real life experiences. I need one and will buy one within the month. If you are looking for a reference, quality over value, but value will not be overlooked. Thanks in advance.
Mike; and thanks!
Is this a newspaper ad???
;~) Anyway Forrest Dado King. About the most you can spend for a top quality set. You can get almost as good with Infinity, Freud, and a few other name brands for quite a bit less but the Forrest is probably the standard and stays sharp for a very long time.
Do a Google search; the topic comes up here with some frequency. My personal preference is the Ridge Carbide dado set, as seen here:
Wow, that was fast...I leave for Florida tomorrow and figured I would read the advice when I get back. I own two forrest blades now, one 12" and on 10", and like them both. One thing that I failed to mention is I want one that has a flat bottom, my sears excalabur is cool and all, but it does not perform well in plywood and the bottoms are NOT flat, which is my fault for not knowing before the purchase...sort of like my first craftsman circular saw...$39 what a bargin!!!
Le>>Woodworker seeking quality dado blade for a unisaw--
I've got an 8" Amana set (46 tooth) that has been a workhorse and has cut miles of dadoes/grooves without sharpening and is still going strong after four years use, and a Freud Dial-a-Width, which I am really enjoying after too long futzing with shims.
Either recommend for your check-out-before-you-buy list:
Ya, I second the Freud dial-a-dado. gives a good flat bottom in many different types of wood and wood products(ply ect) and its easly to use in. my unisaw.And I dont have to worry about loing the shims
len
The Excalibur is a wobble blade. That is why the bottom is rounded. The Forrest creates the Batman Ears look. The out side blades create a very slight point in the corners of the dado. This is to allow room for the glue. It really is slight.
Mike,
You may want to define "flat". If you're talking about a precisely cut square with a flat bottom and a flat side, I don't think you're going to get satisfactory performance out of any dado. For something really square, you may want to look into using a router. Of course, you'll loose some of your precision.
Also, if it's plywood, you may not get a flat bottom, even with a router. Every time I've tried it, the plys end up tearing a little at the bottom.
Freud Super Dado always gets good reviews and I think can stand up to the Forest. The outside blades have a sheer grind that give a smooth cut on the edges and the chippers are 4 winged for a smoth bottom cut. They also include a 3/32 chipper for stacking 1/32 under for hardwood plywood.
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I own and use a Freud.... only because I do not make a lot of Dado cuts..... IF I did then the Forrest would be my "only" choice ...
Just a matter of Value in my case... and I am happy...
Bob G.
If you need a *perfectly* flat bottom, Freud makes a special box joint
2-blade set that cuts 2 (two) widths and only 2 (1/4 and 3/8 inch) , but both are flat bottomed.$79.90 on Amazon
FWIW, I own both an older Freud SD208 (~$70-80 "street") and a new Forrest Dado King ($250) dado set.
Either will cut dados WAAAY flatter than the example shown in the Freud Box Joint Cutter ads. That photo is SO exaggerated!
I've shown box joints cut with either of my sets in BB ply, pine, basswood, and maple, after gluing and finishing, to the most anal retentive person I know (customer, not a woodworker), and they didn't notice the batwings.
Of the two sets I own, I find the Forrest to work better across the grain and on hardwood plywood. Both work extremely well with the grain. The Forrest can deal with a higher feed rate, regardless of the grain direction. The more expensive Forrest set has more and harder carbide, 4 wing spacers on 1/8, 1/16", and a 3/32" wide, and included a case and magnetic shims. I bought it for $149 on special. I typically use my dado set for dados and rabbets (shocking ), tenon cutting (usually flat, across the grain), and box joints.
Personal preferences aside, also remember that lots of folks prefer routers for dado and rabbet work!
Barry
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