It does not look like a very square cut. Yes, it could be the blade. You have options thouch. Easiest is to buy a good blade, such as Ridge Carbide, Forrest, Infinity. Another is to take the bulk of the material out with your blade and clean it up with a good combination blade.
That is the result you get with a wobble dado set. Yes even with two blades you get a rounded bottom.
You either need "good dado set" or cut them as I mentioned earlier with a straight bit in the router table.
Sand paper wrapped around a block of wood and elbow grease. And you are going to need to cut them equal in length on both sides or the joint will not close.
I've had the Excalibur for about twenty years, and have yet to find a use for it. As you found out, it cuts a dado with a curved bottom. The wider you adjust it, the worse the curve. Also, the width varies with the tightness of the arbor nut, so it is very difficult to set a precise width. It's been through two garage sales and a month on Craigslist, and the damned thing is still collecting dust in my shop.
Easiest to clean on a router table but I would just cut them with a regular blade in the first place. True, there would be twice as many cuts but still less if one considers cleaning with a router.
My question is, why are you cutting the tenon in that direction? ISTR that you are doing kitchen doors and were wanting T & G? If that is the case, you would want a tenon centered along the length of the end, shoulders on each face of the wood.
Yeah, I'm still wobbling (pun intended) between dropping the bucks for a good dado blade or buying the less expensive T&G bit set from MLCS. I guess a dado blade would be the better investment i.e. more options for future use.
Yes, the picture I posted was not of the best (of the bad) tenons that I cut. Things got better as I moved along. It's a good thing I've got lots of scraps from the drawer cutoffs. ;-)
Too bad. Tkat's much more cove than you would normally get with a well made, properly set up and mounted, two bladed wobble dado in good shape.
If you took the time to set it up properly and it makes that much cove in 1/2", it is indeed a POS, so toss it.
Sorry it didn't work out for you, but I got the impression, since you had a new router table, that you didn't want to spring for a stacked dado set, so it was worth a try, eh?
Lots of ways to clean that up, low angle block plane, pattern makers rasp, router table/straight bit, table saw with regular kerf blade, for starters.
The only question is/was - do you want to take the time to clean them up, or spend the money on a quality tool?
The only "set-up" option I think I have is to reduce the width of the dado to the bare minimum required to cut the tenon and still use the fence as th e length guide. That should reduce the wobble, but I don't know if it will be enough. It was getting late by the time I tested the Excalibur and I did n't want to spend any more time on it. The dog wanted to go out before bed and didn't seem to care that I was busy. I'll try again tonight.
Yes, it was definitely worth a try, but now that I've actually cut a stub t enon on the table saw, I can see that the method has it's merits. In additi on, owning a decent dado blade has it's advantages too. However, I don't kn ow that I can justify $200 for a Freud SD508. What are your thoughts on a S D208 for $85?
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I believe the "quality tool" route is the way to go. The question now is: h ow much quality do I need? SD508 quality, SD208 quality, or something in be tween?
DerbyDad, there's an oft quoted adage around here "New project = New Tool" please don't screw it up for the rest of us (as SWMBO actually believes me when I tell her this)
Swingman is correct. There are a number of ways to do this project efficiently and properly. Choose one and move on (hopefully with a new tool).
The only certain thing here is that a wobble dado blade ain't going to cut it (pun intended). There are only two things - that I can name off the top of my head - I would use a wobble dado for.
1) hogging a lot of wood away quickly so that I can move in and finish the process with a plane, chisel or router bit, or
2)cutting a dado in a rail and stile to hold a panel in place. In this instance the wobble should work just fine as the panel doesn't really care if the bottom is curved or not and neither will you.
My guess, judging from your previous conversations, is that the less expensive 208 will likely be all you need and will obviously do the job MUCH better than that POS wobble you have.
Again, sorry the wobble blade didn't work out. My first dado blade was a double wobble, as it was pretty much all that was available back then, and you eventually learned to get relatively usable results out of it as a matter of necessity, fussy, and some cleanup was needed, but that was expected in those days.
While they are far from ideal compared to today's tools, don't believe all the naysayers ... when there IS nothing else, some mighty fine work can be done using one.
Just ask Norm ... ;)
Needless to say, a couple of methods used I hesitate to mention because of what would be considered safety issues these days.
In another reply, you said you were going to reduce the width of the dado. Good idea. If you had it set to way beyond the 1/4" you need, reducing it to a hair over 1/4" will markedly reduce the curve.
Now, to throw more wrenches in the works.... I have the 208 and it does not cut perfectly flat. It leaves steps. I talked to Freud about it and all they would say is that maybe my arbor was worn, which was nonsense. My saw was fairly new at the time and every blade I put on it fits tight as a drum. It also leaves "bat ears*" on the edges of the cuts. *Google it.
Having said that, it cuts fine for everything I've needed, so far. If I'm cutting on an area that "will show" I need to do some minor clean-up. BUT, it's still way, way, way, way better than those wobble sets. Way better.
I only say all that so you can be an informed buyer. The 208s are hard to beat for under a hundred bucks. But they are far from perfect. If you do want perfectly flat and squared cuts, you will have to spend more money.
BTW, the guy at Freuds told me the Diablo and Freud sets are the same exact blades with different paint jobs, just in case you see a Diablo set for sale.
Can't say for sure unless I used it, but it is far better than what you have. Considering the price difference and how much you will be using it, probably a good buy. DeWalt is not the best, but is usually decent and is certainly better than the really cheap stuff.
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