I have a Craftsman 10" table saw - one of the basic models. Not my first choice for a saw, but it was a Father's Day gift. No way I was turning it down.
Anyhow... I'm now looking for a dado set. I thought I saw in the instructions that it would only take a dado set of a certain width, but I'm wondering if I can fit a better/wider dado set on it. Does anyone have any experience with these saws?
Thanks in advance.
I had one. Not as good as my present saw, but it made some nice stuff. Use it and learn. You'll know better what you want in a year or three.
The dado width is determined by the length of the arbor. Some will take a stack up to just over 3/4". If the arbor is smaller, you can only stack what will fit. IIRC, it is about 1/2" but the instruction may tell you more. The arbor nut must fit on the shaft also. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net
"Ron Callahan" wrote in news:canqr0$h5d$ snipped-for-privacy@mailgate2.lexis-nexis.com:
The width of the dado you can mount is a function of the length of the arbor shaft. Pushing past the design limitations is risky business, for little gain. Wider dados can be cut in multiple passes, or with a router and guide rails, or by means of various hand tools.
Take a look at the recent magazine reviews of various dado sets. I think Fine Woodworking did one in the last couple of issues. That said, I get reasonable results with the Freud SD208, for less than $100 almost anywhere. It worked on my underpowered saw, and it works well on my current, not underpowered at all, saw.
Before you wander out to purchase, make sure you know the arbor size on your saw. They are not all 5/8" diameter, although most are. DAMHIKT.
Patriarch
Width of DADO set the saw will use is usually dependent on the length of the threaded arbor.
So, limit will be how long your arbor is, and how much width you can take up with blade and STILL be able to get the flange/nut on with good engagement of the threaded nut
John
Ron,
I bought a cheap Sears saw many years ago and I was very frustrated with the lack of accuracy I was able to achieve with that tablesaw. However, I know much more now and I think I could have made much better use out of that saw if I knew how to set it up correctly and make sure the fence was parallel and the miter slots were parallel, etc. The fact that you are posting on the wreck tells me that you probably know a heck of a lot more than I knew then. Just make sure you spend the time up front to tune your saw as best as you can.
I think you could go for a dado set and I have the Freud 508 and like it and read good things about the less expensive 208. However, you will be limited by two things when using the dado. The length of the arbor as you mentioned will be one limitation. The second is the limited amount of power your saw has. You may be able to cut wide dados but you will have to take several passes so you don't stall your motor.
Do you have a router? If so you might want to look at using it to create your dados. If you don't have one, check out the Hitachi M12V as it is a pretty popular and powerful router that would give you the ability to do dados as well as a whole lot more. Or look at one of the routers with multiple bases like Porter Cable, Bosch, and Dewalt.
Good luck.
David
Ron, one other thing to consider is that the saw you have should be limited to the 6" size dado. The 8" should only be used on a cabinet style saw.
Roy Girolami Apex, NC
According to the guys at Ridge Carbide, the 8" is OK for any contractor saw with 1 1/2 HP or more. 6" is for benchtops and other smaller saws, like the Craftsman alleged 3/5 HP models.
I use the 8" with good results and no bogging down on my Delta CS Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net
I used an 8" Freud set for 5 years on a horse and a half Jet CS, with excellent results.
Barry
Follow the owner's manual to avoid tragic mishaps. You can always rig up a fence spacer and run the material through twice for a wider dado. Stick with a quality brand that will fit your current table saw.
Wrong.
I have an older Craftsman 10" that's dedicated dado with a 8" blade. Then again I'm only going 3/4 wide and 1/2" deep in hardwoods.
I use the full width of my 8" freud stacked dado set on a delta contractor's saw and it works perfectly. I also used the same set on a delta bench top saw with passable results if I went slow. That arbor would only take 1/2" of the stack though. What made the stacked dado setup on the benchtop saw so dangerous wasn't the motor, but the lack of a good throat plate.
brian
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