wobble dado

I think you're probably in a agreement with Leon and I about not needing metric shims/blades for "metric plywood" and Imperial for "Imperial plywood."

I'm guessing both sets have shims thin enough to allow one to dial it in to any possible dimension... or at least close enough for woodworking.

The Glue is different. The thickness is different.

If you buy at the local Hardware/lumber store and get a sheet of say

You have two or maybe 3 thicknesses. But heck it is all the same. Just more work and different shims/chippers/cutters. Not all sets give you metric sizes and jump over their sizes.

Mart> >

Forget that. They're different from one pallet to the next. It doesn't matter whether the set is metric or imperial, you still have to measure and shim. The width of the cutters themselves don't really matter much.

That Freud set is likely the dual set to have fine sets like that. It is likely an expensive set as well. Not the old imperial sets that are moving in 1/8 or 1/4".

The wobble is tough on a saw and a pain to use but is universal. I used mine on 4x4 benches. When working on Metric Ply I got a nice Freud set likely like yours - about 6 or so years ago - sounds like they have small and large sets that are universal now.

Mart> In article ,

The shims cost $12.95. If that is "expensive" to you you should probably take up a different hobby.

FWIW, I use the Forrest Dado King Imperial 8" set.

As stated by Forrest it will cut,

CUTS "ALL" SIZED GROOVES 1/4" through 29/32", in 1/32" increments.

The shim set that comes with it includes,

Two .012" and One .015" shims are .001" shy of being 1mm.

All shims together add up to just over 1-7/8mm or .074"

The shims are to handle stock that is not exactly an increment of 1/32"

Any size grove/dado, metric or imperial, can be cut with this dado set assuming you are cutting between 1/4" and 29/32"

This is how decent dado sets have been made for at least 40 years.

I worry about the .001 shy of being 1mm. Hum

Mart> >> That Freud set is likely the dual set to have fine sets like that.

Maybe only if you are building "space craft" ;~)

Does anyone still buy (or even use) those "undersized" router dado bits designed for "today's undersized plywood"? Me thinks one would need an entire set in increments of 1/64"

-BR

I tried one and it didn't last long. I don't think it ever matched a single sheet. With my jig, you run an undersized bit along both sides of the dado so you never have to worry about the size of the bit.

In my opinion, you bet a better, easier cut that way because there is room for the waste to exit. When cutting dados with straight bits, the channel can easily clog with chips making a more difficult cut. If you have a spiral up-cut bit that ejects the chips, then it's not an issue. But those bits cost a lot more than straight bits.

You're also cutting in the "right" direction on both sides of the dado, and hogging out less material. The up-cutter is well worth the money. The solid carbide cutters last forever.

Yeah, I forgot about that. When you cut the whole slot at once, the router can get a bit squirrely from the two cuts fighting each other.

A spiral bit is on my wish list. :-)

On 1/28/2017 10:50 AM, snipped-for-privacy@notreal.com wrote: Snip\

I have found that an end mill up cut bit lasts far longer than any carbide bit I have used.

FWIW I use to make mouth blocks for Steve Knight about 15 years ago.

In, approximately 2"x4"x 1/2", pieces of Ipe I was plunge cutting slots about 1.5" long by 3/8" wide in pairs, on each block. I would make approximately 400 slots in 200 Blocks per batch.

Ipe is extremely hard and tough on cutters. About 2.5 times harder than oak.

The carbide bits were chipped and just about toast at the end of one of those runs.

I switched to an end mill bit after about 3 batches and going through 3 carbide bits and never had to replace that bit.

Something to think about, and end mill bits are relatively inexpensive compared to carbide bits.