hello all '
i am looking for a good but not outrageously priced 8 inch dado blade
for my table saw. also i'm not sure exactly what type (stacked dado,
craftsman excaliber, or other) to buy. if anyone could maybe tell
me what kind of dado blade you have and maybe tell me the pros
and cons that would be very helpfull to me or to anyone else
interested in this topic.
thanks for your help '
harry
I have the Freud SD208 8" Stacked set
Very good for the asking price. Around $100
--
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Dean Bielanowski
Editor,
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"Harry De Witt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> hello all '
> i am looking for a good but not outrageously priced 8 inch dado blade
> for my table saw. also i'm not sure exactly what type (stacked dado,
> craftsman excaliber, or other) to buy. if anyone could maybe tell
> me what kind of dado blade you have and maybe tell me the pros
> and cons that would be very helpfull to me or to anyone else
> interested in this topic.
> thanks for your help '
> harry
>
>
I bought a couple of Freud dados.
I bought a Freud SD208 and an SD308 dado. The SD208 is touted as the
dado for woodworkers in the magazines. I found that the SD308 was
the best for my purposes (no blowout in crosscut of solid woods.).
The concept of what a negative hook and positive hook tooth does does
not seem to be well known. You can find info on the SD208 and the
SD508 and now there has been a lot of interest generated in the SD608
(all negative hook blades). The SD308 is called the "safety dado".
What the heck does that title do for me? I think the real message
should be that it does a great job in solid wood with little chip-out
for a reasonable price...oh, yes it also has an anti-kickback design
(to me not the number one specification).
I purchased the SD308 dado from the recommendations of a Freud
technical representative. I used this to put grooves in the sides of
a set of drawers about 3/4 inch wide by 1/4 inch deep. Let me tell
you. Using this dado over the SD208 dado was safer, faster and less
nerve wracking than using the SD208. The reason it was safer was not
just the anti-kickback feature. It was also because it was easier to
feed and I could do the dado in one pass where it took about 3 passes
to do it with the SD208. I realize that the easier feed pressure
could necessitate the anti-kickback design, but why is that the
primary feature?
Trim saw blades
In researching blades for the Dewalt trim saw, I was completely
confused. The Woodcraft Supply and local wood machine suppliers do
not really know the difference in blades that are available for this
saw and the literature I have seen is not clear. Freud says that
their TK004 is the BEST for plywood. I wonder if there are other
people out there that would love to know that. I don't know where I
can find that blade in the local area (Ann Arbor, MI). Electric Tool
and Supply on State Street was the only place locally that I know that
had the TK003.
In the full-line Freud catalog, the 5 3/8 trim saw blades are
described. Although the specifications are shown in detail, there is
no performance distinction between the TK003 and TK004. Is that
really true? I believe that if I were very concerned about plywood, I
would want the TK004 (which no one sells locally and I would have to
buy on the Internet). I bought the TK003, but I think I would gladly
pay the difference in price (about $18 for TK003 vs. $24 for the
TK004) for (what I perceive would be) the difference in performance in
plywood.
"Harry De Witt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> hello all '
> i am looking for a good but not outrageously priced 8 inch dado blade
> for my table saw. also i'm not sure exactly what type (stacked dado,
> craftsman excaliber, or other) to buy.
I have a Ridge Carbide and like it very much. Bought it at a show along with
a combination blade and got a good deal.. www.ridgecarbidetool.com
Check out Fine Woodworking from maybe a month ago. They did some blade
comparisons. and there are a few good ones out there.
Ed
[email protected]
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
"Harry De Witt" writes:
> hello all '
> i am looking for a good but not outrageously priced 8 inch dado blade
> for my table saw.
<snip>
I got the Freud 8" stack dado and never looked back.
It does a very good job for me.
HTH
--
Lew
S/A: Challenge, The Bullet Proof Boat, (Under Construction in the Southland)
Visit: <http://home.earthlink.net/~lewhodgett> for Pictures
On Tue 15 Jun 2004 08:26:02p, "Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]>
wrote in news:[email protected]:
>
> "Harry De Witt" writes:
>
>> hello all '
>> i am looking for a good but not outrageously priced 8 inch dado blade
>> for my table saw.
> <snip>
>
> I got the Freud 8" stack dado and never looked back.
>
> It does a very good job for me.
>
> HTH
For stuff in the Freud price range and up, you don't have to worry about
your blade speed. For dado blades below that, like the Avenger, check your
rpms before you buy. The Avenger set is rated for 4500 and I had to change
the pulleys on my Grizzly 1022 to use it without worrying.
I paid 50 bucks for that set on sale at Woodcraft and it's done just fine.
I make very few dados, though.
Dan
> >hello all '
> >i am looking for a good but not outrageously priced 8 inch dado blade
> >for my table saw. also i'm not sure exactly what type (stacked dado,
> >craftsman excaliber, or other) to buy. if anyone could maybe tell
> >me what kind of dado blade you have and maybe tell me the pros
> >and cons that would be very helpfull to me or to anyone else
> >interested in this topic.
>
> Stay away from wobble dados.
> Stay away from Craftsman blades.
> The Freud adjustable is nice, but I've heard it won't work in
> Craftsman saws (if that's what you have). It's also about $250.
> The Freud Professional (or something like that) would be a great
> stacked dado but is around $150.
> The Freud regular (not its name) is about $85, and I don't see how you
> It's mostly how much you want to spend, or what your price/performance
> goals are.
The Freud "professional" model number SD208 is the $90 one. The better one
is called the "super" dado, model number SD508 and it is like $165. The
SD608 "dial-a-width" is the same blade as the SD508 but with the shimless
feature, and it costs about $230. That said, I have the SD208 and it
performs well in most respects. There is a little more scoring in the
corners than I'd like, and the shims aren't marked as to which is what
thickness, but it's really reasonable for the price. Plus my local Lowe's
stocks them. It's actually the best dado blade in the store.
>
> Still, I think the $85 Freud is a really good choice. (I think it's
> about $83 at Amazon and you can opt for free shipping)
>
I'll second that reccomendation.
Charlie
Harry De Witt wrote:
> hello all '
> i am looking for a good but not outrageously priced 8 inch dado blade
> for my table saw. also i'm not sure exactly what type (stacked dado,
> craftsman excaliber, or other) to buy. if anyone could maybe tell
> me what kind of dado blade you have and maybe tell me the pros
> and cons that would be very helpfull to me or to anyone else
> interested in this topic.
FWIW, I'd avoid the Excalibur. For openers, out of the box it doesn't
adjust--the Governator might be able to turn the adjustment ring but no
ordinary mortal can --take it apart and clean all the preservative off of
it and lubricate it properly and then it adjusts, sort of. Not just
mine--the one they have on display in the store is the same way. Still
stiff enough to need the wrench that they provide and the adjusting ring
doesn't have any good flats to put the wrench on. It has a huge center hub
that limits the cut depth--it won't cut any deeper than a 6" on most saws
and on some it won't cut as deep. It has lots of small parts that look to
have been designed to get lost in the sawdust.
Some of the parts are aluminum or some other soft alloy with no surface
treatment. Touch them and the next morning they have permanently engraved
black fingerprints on them. Doesn't affect function but makes me wonder
how long they'll hold up in regular use and it looks like Hell.
However, contrary to what some claim, it's not a wobble dado--the three
blades are always parallel. All three have offset teeth that form the
rakers--effectively there are anywhere from 2 to 6 raker teeth active at a
given position depending on the width of the cut.
I've got one that I'd like to take back but I'm still looking for the screw
that fell in the sawdust.
You can get the high-end of the Forrest or Freud lines for not a whole lot
more than the Excalibur--if you're going to spend that kind of money I'd go
for one of them.
After finding out that the Excalibur wouldn't do what I wanted to do, I
debated the Freud SD608 or the Forrest Dado King and finally what decided
me was that I had to drive 45 minutes past the place that had the Forrest
to look at the Freud and that day I just didn't feel like the drive. So
far I'm happy with the Forrest. Very clean, very precise cut.
> thanks for your help '
> harry
--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)
On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 00:43:58 GMT, "Harry De Witt" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>hello all '
>i am looking for a good but not outrageously priced 8 inch dado blade
>for my table saw. also i'm not sure exactly what type (stacked dado,
>craftsman excaliber, or other) to buy. if anyone could maybe tell
>me what kind of dado blade you have and maybe tell me the pros
>and cons that would be very helpfull to me or to anyone else
>interested in this topic.
Stay away from wobble dados.
Stay away from Craftsman blades.
The Freud adjustable is nice, but I've heard it won't work in
Craftsman saws (if that's what you have). It's also about $250.
The Freud Professional (or something like that) would be a great
stacked dado but is around $150.
The Freud regular (not its name) is about $85, and I don't see how you
could go wrong with it.
Forrest makes them.
Amana makes them.
It's mostly how much you want to spend, or what your price/performance
goals are.
Still, I think the $85 Freud is a really good choice. (I think it's
about $83 at Amazon and you can opt for free shipping)
- -
LRod
Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite
Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999
http://www.woodbutcher.net