How far can you shim a dado?

I need to cut a slot about .305. That's .055 wider (nearly 1/16 th) than the thinnest .250 dado setup. Would that many shims be unstable?

Reply to
brian_j_roth
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Cut it in two or more passes.

Reply to
Lee Michaels

Assuming you have the dado blade manufacturers supplied (metal) shims you should be OK with that entire quantity. The limit would the point at which the teeth on the blades and/or chippers no longer overlap.

If you only have one or two you could complete it (them) in two passes as was already mentioned.

G.S.

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

They don't need to overlap, but it's generally faster to make another pass rather than clean up the sliver left over after the fact. If it's going to show and you want a perfect flat bottom, making two passes is a problem because the outside of the blades usually leaves a slight score line which will show on your second pass.

-Kevin

Reply to
LEGEND65

That was my first thought. Or, buy another chipper if your dado brand sells one. My double-wobble dado can be micro-adjusted, probably easier than a stacked dado set.

Reply to
Phisherman

Are you certain that your .25" dado setup actually cuts .25" wide? It may not be.

Reply to
Leon

I'd guess it's unlikely to be off by as much as 55 thousandths.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Multiple passes - safer and more accurate, IMHO.

Reply to
Jimbo

It would not have to be. If the 1/16 chipper actually cuts .0625" and the outer two blades under cut .25" by .0075", that combination will yield .305".

If all 3 cut as indicated his grove would be very close to 1/128", .0075" too wide.

Reply to
Leon

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