I was in Lowe's the other day and saw a Freud 8 (and 1/2", I think) stackable dado set for just under $100. What kind of experiences have people had with this set? Compared to a $260 Forrest, I'm assuming the Freud will tear out the edges more and leave more ridges in the bottom of the dado?
Thanks, Mike
That would be the Freud SD208, which is consistently rated as a best buy among stack dado sets. I have the SD206, which is the 6" version, and just as good. Cuts are very clean and flat-bottmed. Unless you're doing mission-critical dados in veneered or laminated materials, the Freud should serve you well.
Check your saw manual for the recommended dado size - the 6" is probably what you want, unless you're running a cabinet saw. It's a bit of a strange move that HD only carries the 8" version, since probably
90% of their market is portable and contractor's saws.
Not strange at all that the Home De Pot would not have the right tool/part and instead has the one that is available at the "right" price.
Why I'd even bet money that the "expert" in the tool section would gladly explain how that blade fits nicely on any 10" circular or chop saw.
"Check your saw manual for the recommended dado size - the 6" is probably what you want, unless you're running a cabinet saw. It's a bit of a strange move that HD only carries the 8" version, since probably
90% of their market is portable and contractor's saws."I use an 8 inch stackable dado set on my Jet contractor's saw with no problems at all.
Dick Durbin Tallahassee
I did this for years with no problems at all.
Barry
The 8" is perfectly suited to the 1.5 hp contractors saws. I bought a Ridge Carbide and asked about it. He says the 6" are for the small saws like the benchtops.
It's one of the new Sears', with a 1.75hp motor. I believe the manual reccomends an 8, but will double check before buying. Thanks.
-Mike
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An 8" Dado on a circular saw... now there's a scary thought. That's almost as bad as a moulding head. ;-)
-Mike
I just bought one at Amazon for $50 (gloat, gloat, gloat) and have used it twice. The first time it couldn't have been better. The second time I found the
1/16" cutter was a bit deeper than the 1/8" cutters. It was fine for this particular purpose, but hardly good. If I had paid $100 I would have been dissappointed.
snipped-for-privacy@fnord.io.com (MSCHAEF.COM) wrote in news:waednQxwTvwogZffRVn- snipped-for-privacy@io.com:
Assuming you're seeing the Freud SD208. I've used this one for 3+ years, first on a Shopsmith (don't ask), and then on a Unisaw. It performs acceptably for the tasks I give it. Enough that, with a standing offer to use the neighbors SD508, I've never gone across the street after his.
Really fussy veneer plywood gets cut with an Oldham 80T crosscut blade, and a lot of careful planning. And generally speaking, no dado joinery.
I've never used the Forrest set. Every other Forrest product I've used has been top grade, however.
So, are you making $100 cuts? Or $300 cuts? And how many?
Patriarch
I suspect that feed rate makes much more difference than diameter. How many of you are using the full depth of cut on an 8" dado without a sled in hard maple?
I've never made a dado deeper than 3/8" which my Dad's old 1/2HP contractor saw can usually do Just Fine without bogging down.
It might take a bit more time for the blade to spin up--second moment varies as the square of the spinning diameter. Caculate the difference for homework . . .
But the load on the motor during actual cutting depends on your depth of cut, feed rate, and material.
1.5 HP motor? I've got a 110V/1.5 HP contractor's saw, and I've been planning for awhile now to go pick up one of the dadoes in question. It looks like a good set in the store, and it's available cash and carry, which is always a bonus in my book.
(Of course, it looks like I'm definitely in for $5,000 on the insurance for sure, with possibly as much as another $2,000 on top of that. So I guess it's reality check time. Wimminz are SO expensive.)
Do yourself a favor and get an eight inch. A six inch may not work with a sled. Once you use a sled to dado, you'll never use a miter gauge again.
Barry
After a few simple mitered cross cuts with the miter gauge, I'm already contemplating building a sled... I have a bunch of MDF I can use, and maybe some oak for the rails. :-)
-Mike
Yup! Ihave a Delta contractors saw with 1-1/2 HP motor. I swings a 8" dado with no problem. I would definitely NOT buy a 6" dado!! Greg
plywood. If you are doing a dado (crosscut), go to a SD308. Almost no info on this very very nice dado, but you can get it on Amazon or at a professional supplier.
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So is the situation this:
SD208 = rip/groove SD308 = crosscut
or this
SD208 = rip/groove SD308 = crosscut + rip/groove
Thanks, Mike
I ordered an SD 208 from a Buy It Now place on eBay for under 80 bucks delivered. It got to my place the day after I left for work so I don't get to play for a while. I was wondering however about the crosscut tearout that is commonly mentioned about this blade. Would scoring the outside marks with a razor knife prior to cutting help to eliminate this?
Cheers,
Paul
I haven't tried that so I can't definitively answer your question but I assume it would at least help. For the money cuts, one way to do this is to make the edge cuts with your finish table saw blade and plow out the remainder of the material with the dado set. PITA? Time consuming? Difficult? Yes, all of the above. But if you want the piece to look nice, some time/effort is required.
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