I have never in my life of 46 years as a carpenter had to use DADO BLADES in a table saw. Have always ordered that special material from a mill. Now retired and 64 years old am keeping busy making small end tables etc. and sell them at flea markets and craft shows. I might add with a good amount of success. Can ANYONE PLEASE steer me in the right direction as to how they work, are installed on a table saw, and any other info you can pass on will be GREATLY appreciated. Can not get anywhere going through the tool link etc. I know it sounds preposterous a carpenter of that many years has no clue about this but I NEVER had to use them.
Thank you for your time guys. There is a really neat hanging wall shelf I want to build that I know will definitely be a good seller if I could only get my saw right.
Replies
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+use+dado+blades+with+table+saw
there is quite a bit of info available.
Greetings, fellow woodwork-seller!
(If you haven't already, may I suggest listing your pieces on Facebook? I do pretty well with my small furnishings/home decor/fancy custom dog crates there--I've got three to build right now (at $375 - $550 a pop, for those, but some are more and a few are less, depending on design/features/size), and I never have to spend a minute at a craft show or flea market. Of course, you might enjoy those, in which case keep at it! But Facebook's Marketplace is a pretty rich source for me, and once I had a few sample pieces to photograph for my listings, I could just build to order--I require a deposit, of course, since I was burned once, but people expect that and I accept them through Paypal, Venmo [only takes a couple of minutes to set up, and is very simple], and Zelle/QuickPay [if you do any banking online, you already have Zelle] so it's all very simple to do. Just a suggestion, which you are of course free to take or leave.)
So first, are you sure your table saw will accept a dado set? Not all of them will--the arbor on a lot of them isn't big enough (and you do NOT want to take the arbor guard off to use them, of course! Not that you would, I'm just saying it), or the nut isn't long enough.
I've never actually used a dado set, either; I've watched some videos on them and read about them, and I've actually used this guy's method before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ0_my3ZGmg and it worked really well for me, although if you need them to run the length of the piece it wouldn't really work. Basically, you just set the distance between blades that you want, using the spacers that should come with it, put the chippers in between, and go! Most people I've seen recommend getting stabilizers/larger washers, too, for the outsides of the blades, but I think that might depend partly on how good your set is.
I don't mean to sound silly here, but is there some reason you can't just use a router? Or is this one of those, "But I could use a NEW thing! I want to get a NEW thing to do this, I don't want to use the boring OLD thing!" situations that I seem to fall into all the time? :-)
If you really want a dado set, and your saw will accept one, give Amazon a try. There are plenty available there, and (at least some of) the reviews on items like that are usually fairly useful. Home Depot's site has them, plus Q&As and some pretty informative reviews, too. Or of course if you have a Woodcraft or similar store, they might not stock them but they can order them for you.
Good luck! I'm sorry I'm not more helpful, but I'd love to hear what you get/how it goes!
Stacey
I actually have used a dado set with my power hand circular saw.
https://www.ebay.com/p/1921998467
looks just like this one, but I purchased it new and have used a few times over the years, including for making slots for shelves to sit in.
I also have used a router, which I find makes a smoother bottom to the slot.
I would not, repeat would not, use a dado set in a hand held saw. Dados are very useful for a relatively small number of applications. The are much faster that a router but require a suitable table saw. Supposedly, they are illegal in Europe.
I recommend a stack dado 10" if your saw will take it. Read Fine Woodworking dados reviews before buying. You will get the straight stuff.
AS you know sheet goods are not the dimension on the label; they tend to be thinner. Router bit makers have accommodated to this not sure about dado makers. Can take a good while to arrange the blades, chippers and shims to the dimension you want.
Use requires some planning as it is not so easy to switch from dado to saw blade. Many table saw blade guards will not accommodate a dados set nor will the splitter.
A dado can give some wicked kick back so be careful. If your arbor won't accommodate the width you need don't try to stretch it - i.e. if the arbor nut doesn't go fully on I recommend you stop