Freud SD208 8" Dado

Is this a good dado blade? Doesn't anyone have one to comment about?

Thannks, Frank.

Reply to
FJ Shepley & JM Pfohl
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Couple years ago it was rated very good in one of the ww'ing mags when they tested several different ones. If I remember correctly, it was rright up near the top, if not *the* top comparing price/performance.

Reply to
Norman D. Crow

Its a good buy for the asking price. I have one. Cuts nice clean dado's.

There are better freud models (SD608 for example) but they also cost a lot more.

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Reply to
Woodcrafter

Reply to
Rick Samuel

I've got one and it works just fine. Makes pretty clean cuts. No regrets.... Paid $90 or so at the borg.

Reply to
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

I have a buddy who uses this blade and really likes it. He tells me it creates very smooth-bottomed and square dados. I guess the only downside with the two toothed chippers would be a reduced feed rate capability. But this shouldn't hinder a casual user.

Brian.

Reply to
Brian

I agree that the SD608 is a great dado blade. My experience has been all positive. My only issue with the set is that it took me a while to figure out the sequence of stacking the plastic separators between blades in the carrying case. One of the shims is oversize and that one is for keeping the two outside blades apart. There is no shim necessary underneath the lowest one of these two as the case itself lifts it clear of the underlying chipper. Once I figured that out life was grand.

About the >>Is this a good dado blade? Doesn't anyone have one to comment about? >> > >

Reply to
DIYGUY

I have one and it works well. The only problem that I have had with it was when cutting some birch plywood. I couldn't stop the back side from flaking off the last layer of birch veneer, even when using a backer board. Might have been the plywood too because it seemed like it was very dry. I didn't have a moisture meter, but it was very brittle.

Other than that I have cut dadoes in mahogany, pine, red oak, and a couple of other types of wood and all of the dadoes have been clean and almost flat bottomed. I would prefer to have the SD608, and I will get one someday, but until then this is a good blade.

One other poster mentioned the two blade chippers should require a slower feed rate, and I guess that is true, but I have not had another blade to compare with. Makes sense though. But a little patience will yield good cuts with the SD208.

Wayne

Reply to
SBC

"FJ Shepley & JM Pfohl" wrote in news:0m2Gc.27246$ snipped-for-privacy@nntp-post.primus.ca:

You didn't give us much about you, or your setup. to go on, Frank.

I bought this set when I needed a dado set to run in my Shopsmith. I still use it in the Unisaw I bought to replace the really flaky operation of the Shopsmith table saw function. I haven't felt the need to upgrade to a fancier set. My neighbor has a SD508, which he would loan me in a heartbeat, if I thought I needed it. (Yes. That's a neighbor gloat. Good man to have around!)

How often do you want to use it? What saw do you have? What materials do you want to build with? What's your 'tools & stuff open to buy balance'?

It's a solid, basic stacked set, with lots of versatility and value, available almost everywhere. There are better, and you might want better. Or not.

Patriarch

Reply to
patriarch

I just bought a new Craftsman ts. I am looking for a good dado, but the most expensive. It probably will not get all that much use. Since I bought the table saw, I am now broke! patriarch snipped-for-privacy@nospam.comcastDOTnet "FJ Shepley & JM Pfohl" wrote in

Reply to
FJ Shepley & JM Pfohl

Look at 6" models. Sometimes the price differential is such that you can afford a better 6" than you can of an 8".

I've yet to need anything larger than a 6" dado, which means I'll have an immediate need for one this afternoon. :)

Reply to
U-CDK_CHARLES\Charles

I've got a "wobbler" from sears, (one my dad bought 20 years ago). It still works fine, and is infinitely adjustable. It cuts grooves well, and I've never been bothered by the theoretical "rounding" in the cut.

Reply to
Art

Do you use a sled? Sleds often require a dado to be raised 3/4-1" higher than without one.

Barry

Reply to
B a r r y

Local, to me, cabinet shop has one on a Unisaw as a mostly dedicated dado saw and ended up replacing the arbor and the bearings. Don't know how old the saw was, but he had the original sliding table attachment on it, could split a sheet of plywood into 2 4' x4' pieces. joe

Reply to
Joe Gorman

Just a sec . . gotta hide this post from SWMBO

Reply to
U-CDK_CHARLES\Charles

Frank,

The SD208 has performed superbly for me. Built our kitchen cabinets, island and pantry using this dado set.

Currently building garage storage cabinets - and the dado set is still going strong.

Go for it, you won't be disappointed.

Reply to
Albert

Try the SD308 if you can find one in your area. It won't be at the box stores. It is better than the negative hook Freud blades (SD608,

508, 208) seen in all these posts for hard wood applications.
Reply to
Eric Anderson

I have one too. I agree. Its only negative is that it is hard to measure the width and where it is going to cut without the proper setup. You can't simply measure using a vernier.

Reply to
Eric Anderson

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