And to me, a router for "edge" jointing seems very logical to use. Methinks even cleaner cuts are possible than with a large, much slower jointer blade. I don't know how many RPMs the jointer runs at, but I'd hazard a guess that it can't safely run as fast as a 1/2" straight bit in a router. Hence, straighter cleaner edges.
1) stacked dado can be set to exact width required (up to 13/16") and done in one pass. 2) full depth can be done in one pass. 3) faster setup against fence or on sled. 4) chips/dust can be somewhat more easily controlled. 5) tablesaws don't suffer from ARHA. (DAMHIKT)
-Doug
BTW, I use my stacked dado on my RAS as my TS is a weenie tabletop model with a short arbor.
I think the problem may be that some people see the BS simply as an overgrown scroll saw. At the wood shows I've gone to, both at the same place, the demos were all novelties done with the tiniest blades possible, showing tight, mazelike curves being cut in a block of wood. Not good advertizing for a BS. They should have shown resawing an 11" hard maple log into boards or something. The Laguna demos were a bit more inspirational, showing basic jointing on the BS, starting with an irregular block of wood, creating the first flat side, then moving on to joint the thing into a dimensional piece of wood. Since the table/blade/fence are all set at 90 degree and 0 degree angles to one another, its not hard to imagine how easy that is to do.
I thought exactly the same thing. But when building a bookcase for my teenage daughter I needed to make a bunch of 3/4" dados. The ones on the ends of the up and down parts would be no problem on my router table, but the ones in the middle would have required demounting my DW 621 from the router table. So I took the time to set up my dado in the table saw.
Wow! It cut much faster than the router! I didn't have to make two or three passes to get the cuts as deep as desired, one pass through the dado on my dado-enabled Grizzly contractor saw worked peachy keen. It was no more a problem to cut the dados in the middle of the 4' board than the ends!
The fantasy shop of my dreams has (at least ) three table saws. My current Grizzly contractor saw is the permanent "just a shade under 3/4" dado" saw for cutting dados for plywood shelves. A fantasy right-tilt cabinet saw has a sliding table attachment. A fantasy left-tilt cabinet saw with a long fence lets me rip a 4x8' sheet anywhere I durn well please.
Back in the real world of my single car garage shop and my single Griz saw, for certain cuts I take the time to mount the dado.
-- Mark
I'll take your word on this. It seems that many get good results with a good TS. However, the few bits I've seen done by folks I know are usually no better (often worse) than my BS. However, they are not woodworkers with considerable talent and/or use poor quality or poorly adjusted stuff. It has given me the preconceived notion that a TS makes a really rough cut.
I've ripped a big chunk of quarter sawn oak at an angle and it was very hairy only because I couldn't use the fence. I was cutting to follow the grain and had to follow the curve of the trunk just below the bark.
If cutting with one side straight, it's not so bad, since I rest it against the fence. If long, supporting the free end on edge is a PITA. I could see a TS being better.
I'm not trying to rag the TS, just say that there seems to be such a strong emphasis on the tool at the expense of what might be a better tool for some tasks.
Example - I'm fixing up an old oak dresser and instead of M&T joints at the back, they put a long groove down the vertical bits (stile?) and stuck tenons on the horizontal bits. The tenons were glued into the groove and the glue is now letting go - so gravity takes over. This is an example to me of someone choosing a TS over a morticer or router and creating a sloppy result.
Mike
Anybody have any comments about General's T-Square fence?
Thanks, Barry
A bandsaw is an amazing versatile machine. If I were limited on space, a bandsaw would be my choice. But, nothing rips better than a tablesaw. Sure you can get injured, but I know a guy that lost his finger on a bandsaw. Table saws have not changed much in the last 20 years, maybe people are less safety-minded. I feel less safe in a vehicle, than when using my table saw.
I've done it both ways, and I found the tablesaw to be more precise and faster setup.
That's the pretext under which I bought mine. It wasn't until I'd owned it for a year or so that I figured out you could use the darned thing to cut in a straight line. It was another three years before I got adept enough at using all the guides and tuning all the adjustments to even start to use the thing in the way it's supposed to be used. And now that I feel more comfortable with it, I want a better one. Had I known what I'd be using it for, I'd have sprung for a better model.
| They should have shown resawing an 11" hard maple log into | boards or something.
I saw a guy cutting his own veneer with his bandsaw. He was just happily shaving off 1/16" thicknesses of birdseye maple.
--Jay
Really, I'm surprised. Is that just a strong brand preference or is the powermatic contractor saw just plain better?
The answer to both of your questions is easy: "no" and "no".
However, my questi> > It boils down to the
Any SWMBO with kids will readily tell you she did.
Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.
snipped-for-privacy@vt.edu wrote: >>Never tell SWMBO that you can build quality stuff with "middle of the
OOohhhhhh
That's Cruel!
Funny too.
Smooth as glass actually. My experience is the opposite of yours.
I'm not saying it is not possible, but big pieces on a tilted table follow the laws of gravity. A table saw will never be able to follow the curve of the trunk (or any curve) though. That is why I'd like to have a bandsaw.
Sounds like poor design rather than a tool limitation. I cut real tenons on the table saw. It works great. A band saw would work just as well. Neither one of them does very well chopping mortises however...
-Jack
Actually if my arithmetic is OK the speed at the tip of the cutting edge of a router bit and a jointer blade are in the same ballpark.
Q. Why did the chicken go to the middle of the road?
A. Because she wanted to lay it on the line.
It is almost *never* a "mistake" to 'over buy' on tooling. If you buy a "better grade than you can make use of" you'll never be dissatisfied with the _tool_.
There are really only about two _major_ differences between a good contractor saw, and a good cabinet saw. (There -is- a third one -- having to do with the efficiency of a dust-collector hook-up; cabinet saws *are* notably better at containing sawdust, but that is rarely a 'deal breaker' consideration.)
Difference #1: "Power." Contractor saws tend to max out at around 2HP, while cabinet saws are often 3HP, or sometimes 5HP. The question to consider is "do you _need_ that extra horsepower?" Which depends utterly on what you'll be doing -- you can cut -anything- on a low-power saw, if you're willing to go 'slow enough'. If you're "only rarely" dealing with softwood stock thicker than nominal 2", or hardwoods over 1" to maybe 1-1/2", the 'extra power' available with the bigger HP saw is *not* likely to get called on. OTOH, if you -do- plan to spend significant amounts of time working 'thick' stock, the bigger motor *will* be helpful.
Difference #2: trunnion 'architecture'. Without going into the 'gory details', let it suffice to say that this affects how well the saw 'holds' its set-up, and the ease with which one can tune it to the optimal settings. Again, cabinet saws are ahead on this one, But, on _any_ quality saw that doesn't get banged around, this is something you do "once in a blue moon" -- if that often. In 'normal', hobbiest, use, it will usually be many, *many* years before the blade set-up needs adjusting a 2nd time.
Once you've got them set up, and 'tuned', there's little "functional" difference between the two types, *UNLESS* you're cutting big hard lumber.
One last *possible* consideration -- I've never seen a contractor saw with a blade bigger than 10". Cabinet saws _are_ available with bigger blades (although at a considerable cost increment); my H.S. shop had two cabinet saws -- a 'normal' 10" one, and an "industrial size" monster, which had a 16" blade.
Mine too. Or at least two. I don't even *have* a dado set yet, but I sure could use one. I'm all the time doing multi-pass, clean-up-with-a-chisel type stuff. One thing keeping me from buying a dado set (other than money) is the thought that while my current method is tedious, at least I don't have to screw with changing the blade. So... I'd like to have a dedicated dado saw.
You can do so much with a table saw in that fashion. Even cut tenons without bothering to build a tenoning jig. I think a dado set would be very damn handy. Surely a lot easier than doing any of these jobs with a router. Especially with *my* anemic, inaccurate, screaming piece of crap.
Yes, I put one on my 36-650 contractor saw... the 52" model. I LOVE it... accurate repeatable cuts, and well built. Highly recommended.
No affiliation, just a happy customer.
Dave.
B a r r y B u r k e J r . wrote:
I was building some vertical storage bins for framing fillet recently and had to cut 1/4" dados in FULL sheets of MDF for the backing... 3" apart. I cut 4 sheets in an hour and a half. Could you do that with a router as quickly??? ;-) Oh, yah, no dust!
Dave.
David B> Can someone explain to me the fascination with dado blades on table saws?
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.