Forrest dado Blade.

[Scott Willett]

I am new to woodworking. I bought a Forrest Blade, Woodworker II. Even I ( a true novice) can tell the difference between my blade the one that came with my delta unisaw vs. the Forrest Blade. I also have the entry level Freud stacked dado blade (90-100) dollars.

QS Is the Forrest Dado blade worth buying. The bottom of my dados are not real smooth. Is it worth the 250 bucks. I realize this may come down to personal preference, but I was just curious what the opinions of other well experienced woodworkers may be.

Thanks Scott

[GerryG]

[david zaret]

i started with the freud dado stack. it's a good stack - perfectly fine to use for a year or two until you improve your skills. i would recommend not buying the forrest dado stack yet, and taking the funds and getting a good hand plane (check out lee valley) or another tool. your freud dado stack will treat you well, and when you're ready to upgrade, you'll appreciate the difference.

my $0.02.

--- dz

Scott Willett wrote:

[Doug Miller]

It would be, if there wasn't a cheaper competitor that does a better job. But there is. So it isn't.

Well, the Forrest Dado King *does* make pretty smooth dados, but the big question is...

Not in my opinion. The North Woods dado set from Ridge Carbide

makes dados that are IMO every bit as smooth as what the Forrest can do (if not slightly better) for about two-thirds the price. I was all set to buy the Forrest Dado King at the Indianapolis woodworking show two years ago, until I saw the North Woods. The cut quality is almost identical, and if there's any difference between them at all I'd have to give a slight nod to the North Woods. And it's hard to argue with the price being a _hundred_dollars_ less.

(I have no connection whatever to Ridge Carbide except as a *very* satisfied customer.)

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I did the same at the Springfield MA show last spring. I also bought their

40T combo blade and I'm very happy with it. It was a good package deal, like $229 for both at the show.

[Joe Bleau]

Your comments make me wonder about their blades. I am a long-time user of Forrest but I am becoming increasingly disenchanted and am looking for a substitute (see my post below). Are you using thier blades as well, or just the dado?

Joe

[Doug Miller]

At the same time I bought the North Woods dado set, I also bought Ridge's

5.5mm-kerf dado blade for undersize nominal 1/4" plywood. That has turned out to be a *major* time saver when building plywood-bottomed drawers: no more fiddlin around adjusting the fence to cut just the right width dado in two passes with a standard blade. The cuts are just as smooth and sharp as with the stacked dado set. I haven't used any of Ridge's other blades (having bought a couple of Forrest blades a year or two before I even knew that Ridge existed), but the next time I'm in the market for a high-quality blade they will certainly be at the top of the list.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[Leon]

Only you can answer that question. Is it worth $250 to you to have smooth bottom dado's? I am not a novice and have been seriously woodworking since

1978. I too own a cabinet saw but cut dado's that matter with $15 router bit.

[B a r r y]

The Dado King leaves small batwings, not a flat bottom. I have the DK, and the batwings don't bother me as I'm actually concerned with the quality of the edge of the dado.

If I really needed a perfectly flat bottom, I'd go with Leon's suggestion.

Barry

[mp]

Now if there only was such a thing as an adjustable-width router bit....

[Leon]

I have the next best thing. A jig that adjusts to the exact width of the board that will go in to the slot and produces perfect fits with a top bearing straight cutting router bit. I can send you a PDF file of the plans if you wish.

[Doug Miller]

FWIW, having seen the two side-by-side, and having compared both of them to inferior dado sets as well, I'd describe the batwings left by the Dado King as very tiny (not merely "small"), and those left by the North Woods as nearly invisible. Both leave an edge that's pretty close to perfect.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[B a r r y]

You use a smaller bit and make and out and back pass!

Barry

[Lawrence Wasserman]

Didn't Amana recently advertise one?

[Thomas Bunetta]

I'd like a copy, please... Always seeking better ways of doing things! Thanks, Tom

[mp]

Is your's similar to a pair of adjustable L brackets? I've been using something similar to that, but these days I prefer to do most of the dados with a sled on the table saw. For my way of working the results I get are more consistent and repeatable. Thanks for the offer though.

[Leon]

Yes, actually a pair of T's My dislike of dado blades is that I have to adjust the cutters with shims to match my stock. With my jig, that takes no time at all so to speak and the first try is dead on.

[Mike W.]

Ditto on seeing the PDF. If you're open to it, stick it on ABPW. I enjoy looking at the work you and others do there so it'd be fine to pull it down myself to save you the trouble of emailing it to me and the 30 others who will want it too. :-)

Thanks, Mike

[Highland Pairos]

I hate to be difficult but if you post it to abpw I won't be able to get it, my ISP does not carry binary groups. Would you be willing to e-mail it to me?

SteveP.

[Never Enough Money]

New to woodworking and you have a Delta Unisaw. Wow!