Hello all -
I've recently purchased my first set of dado blades from Woodcraft, and
deciding that at ~ $180 I couldn't go wrong with the Systimatic set
(believing that they've got to be great to cost so much). At any rate, I
used them on my latest project by cutting dados in some oak-veneered 3/4"
plywood... and was very dissappointed with the amount of tearout I got.
Caveat: I'm using the vanilla Jet dado throat insert, and therefore the wood
had very little support... However the same can be said of the throat insert
for my Forrest WWII blade, which had significantly less tearout.
Question is, did I possibly get a bad set, or would buying a zero-clearance
insert help matters greatly?
Thanks in advance,
Chad
Greetings and Salutations.
On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 01:54:38 GMT, "Chad Stansbury"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Hello all -
>
>I've recently purchased my first set of dado blades from Woodcraft, and
>deciding that at ~ $180 I couldn't go wrong with the Systimatic set
>(believing that they've got to be great to cost so much). At any rate, I
>used them on my latest project by cutting dados in some oak-veneered 3/4"
>plywood... and was very dissappointed with the amount of tearout I got.
>Caveat: I'm using the vanilla Jet dado throat insert, and therefore the wood
>had very little support... However the same can be said of the throat insert
>for my Forrest WWII blade, which had significantly less tearout.
>
>Question is, did I possibly get a bad set, or would buying a zero-clearance
>insert help matters greatly?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Chad
>
>
Well, first off, a zero clearance insert - which as other
posters have mentioned should be MADE by you - will help a lot.
I make mine with a bandsaw and router. I use the original insert
to mark an insert on a plywood blank, then, rough cut it (to within
1/8") with the bandsaw. I then fasten the blank to the original
insert (which is, by the by, made of 1/2" thick plywood) with
double-sided foam tape, and use straight pattern bit in the router to
clean up the outline. I cut the slot in the insert by putting the
blank in the saw, with the blade cranked all the way down, and, after
clamping the fence over it (to hold it down) in an area clear of
where the blade will come through, I turn the saw on, and crank
the blade up through the wood. Works like a charm.
However, veneered plywood is still a royal pain in the butt
to cut without splintering. I think that PART of the problem is that
the surface veneers are so thin these days that they have,
essentially, NO structural strength, and, so a stringy sort of wood
like Oak is going to want to make long splinters that tear off easily.
Another thing that helps a GREAT deal is to use a straight
edge and utility knife to "prescore" the edges of the cut. A single,
firm slice down the layout line on each side of the cut will go a
LONG way towards keeping tearout to a minimum - even if you don't
have a zero-clearance insert.
Regards
Dave Mundt
Guys, I buy a plastic cutting board gfrom Walmart that is maybe 3/8"
or 7/16" and it works great! Slick, won't splinter, has that space ag
e look with those spoace age materials, etc.. Anyway, it works as
well as anything I have used. Buy 4 allen screws to use a levelers.
On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 21:13:07 GMT, [email protected] (Dave Mundt) wrote:
> Greetings and Salutations.
>
>On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 01:54:38 GMT, "Chad Stansbury"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Hello all -
>>
>>I've recently purchased my first set of dado blades from Woodcraft, and
>>deciding that at ~ $180 I couldn't go wrong with the Systimatic set
>>(believing that they've got to be great to cost so much). At any rate, I
>>used them on my latest project by cutting dados in some oak-veneered 3/4"
>>plywood... and was very dissappointed with the amount of tearout I got.
>>Caveat: I'm using the vanilla Jet dado throat insert, and therefore the wood
>>had very little support... However the same can be said of the throat insert
>>for my Forrest WWII blade, which had significantly less tearout.
>>
>>Question is, did I possibly get a bad set, or would buying a zero-clearance
>>insert help matters greatly?
>>
>>Thanks in advance,
>>
>>Chad
>>
>>
> Well, first off, a zero clearance insert - which as other
>posters have mentioned should be MADE by you - will help a lot.
>I make mine with a bandsaw and router. I use the original insert
>to mark an insert on a plywood blank, then, rough cut it (to within
>1/8") with the bandsaw. I then fasten the blank to the original
>insert (which is, by the by, made of 1/2" thick plywood) with
>double-sided foam tape, and use straight pattern bit in the router to
>clean up the outline. I cut the slot in the insert by putting the
>blank in the saw, with the blade cranked all the way down, and, after
>clamping the fence over it (to hold it down) in an area clear of
>where the blade will come through, I turn the saw on, and crank
>the blade up through the wood. Works like a charm.
> However, veneered plywood is still a royal pain in the butt
>to cut without splintering. I think that PART of the problem is that
>the surface veneers are so thin these days that they have,
>essentially, NO structural strength, and, so a stringy sort of wood
>like Oak is going to want to make long splinters that tear off easily.
> Another thing that helps a GREAT deal is to use a straight
>edge and utility knife to "prescore" the edges of the cut. A single,
>firm slice down the layout line on each side of the cut will go a
>LONG way towards keeping tearout to a minimum - even if you don't
>have a zero-clearance insert.
> Regards
> Dave Mundt
Systimatic is a great brand! I Love them and DMT also.
On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 22:17:15 -0400, "Morgans"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Chad Stansbury" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Hello all -
>>
>> I've recently purchased my first set of dado blades from Woodcraft, and
>> deciding that at ~ $180 I couldn't go wrong with the Systimatic set
>> (believing that they've got to be great to cost so much). At any rate, I
>> used them on my latest project by cutting dados in some oak-veneered 3/4"
>> plywood... and was very dissappointed with the amount of tearout I got.
>> Caveat: I'm using the vanilla Jet dado throat insert, and therefore the
>wood
>> had very little support... However the same can be said of the throat
>insert
>> for my Forrest WWII blade, which had significantly less tearout.
>>
>> Question is, did I possibly get a bad set, or would buying a
>zero-clearance
>> insert help matters greatly?
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>>
>> Chad
>>
>>
> Make your own. Get a piece of hardwood, plane it down, use the current
>insert as a pattern to trace, and cut it out. I sometime take the time to
>put adjusting screws in it, by countersinking for cabinet hinge screws, then
>use the grinder to take off the excess height. Works well. Make a bunch of
>them while you are at it. I have around 8 or 10 sitting on the shelf. Make
>blanks, then plunge up through them, by putting the rip fence over the top a
>little bit, and a push stick on the other side to keep it from coming up.
"Chad Stansbury" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hello all -
>
> I've recently purchased my first set of dado blades from Woodcraft, and
> deciding that at ~ $180 I couldn't go wrong with the Systimatic set
> (believing that they've got to be great to cost so much). At any rate, I
> used them on my latest project by cutting dados in some oak-veneered 3/4"
> plywood... and was very dissappointed with the amount of tearout I got.
> Caveat: I'm using the vanilla Jet dado throat insert, and therefore the
wood
> had very little support... However the same can be said of the throat
insert
> for my Forrest WWII blade, which had significantly less tearout.
>
> Question is, did I possibly get a bad set, or would buying a
zero-clearance
> insert help matters greatly?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Chad
>
>
Make your own. Get a piece of hardwood, plane it down, use the current
insert as a pattern to trace, and cut it out. I sometime take the time to
put adjusting screws in it, by countersinking for cabinet hinge screws, then
use the grinder to take off the excess height. Works well. Make a bunch of
them while you are at it. I have around 8 or 10 sitting on the shelf. Make
blanks, then plunge up through them, by putting the rip fence over the top a
little bit, and a push stick on the other side to keep it from coming up.
--
Jim in NC