I've used several dado blades before including dial-adjust and stackable sets of different qualities. They all somewhat do the job but not quite I would like them to be. I've been using Systi-Matic blades, and they are very good. But I just could not justify for their $250 dado set or Forrest?s. So I decided to try one of the popular names in the business ? Freud. When the blades arrived in the plastic case, it caught my attention with its weight. None of those I used come close to how much this set weighs. The box is well packed with thick foam in the lid for placing blade during change, each of the eight blades is separated by a plastic spacer when stacked in the case and a set of steel shims. Only suggestion I have is to put marking on shims since there is no way I can tell which is what except the two thickest ones. Yesterday, I had a chance to use this set the first time on my newly purchased DeWalt DW746 table saw to make a piece for helping straighten the floor plank and make grooves in some the inlay pieces I am doing for the master bedroom. I was very much impressed how these blades performed compared to my past experience. Very, very smooth bottom and clean cut (no tear out) all the way and the blades are so sharp that with 1-3/4 hp motor I only need to hold down the piece and push effortlessly. I used walnut and Brizilian cherry by the way. The blade run-out is minimum that I even had a hard time taking them off the arbor if the blade was just off the 90-degree from arbor a little bit. This was my first experience with Freud blade, but I won?t hesitate to use other blades from Freud. It is a keeper for sure. Freud SD508 Super Dado 8-Inch Stack Dado
As I state in most of my reviews, I don't mind paying a little more to get a little more. If you're like me, this is the blade for you. I'm building a built-in wine rack for my house and wanted to use veneer plywood for the carcass. Well, as anyone knows, you need a _damn_ good blade to crosscut a dado in veneer plywood with no tear-out. This blade performed magnificently. Setup was a snap with the chart. Look up the thickness that you need in the manual, and it tells you which size chipper to use in conjunction with the outside blades. The bottom of the dado was so sqaure that you could use it on an exposed joint, such as a bookcase. The top of the dado was razor sharp and the fit was perfect. Also, this comes complete with a nice, metal, shim set. I've used the paper shim set in the past and you can never get a duplicate thickness once you've torn down the blade. Tighten the arbor screw a little more then last time, compress the paper a little mode and , viola, a thinner dado. Not the case with the metal shims here. One last thing to add is the carry case is a nice touch. Each of the blades and chippers are separated with a plastic ring. The entire thing filts in a small brief-case looking case. Again, well worth the money if you don't mind spending it....
My set suffers in that the chippers cut slightly deeper than the outside blades. So, I get a slight, but noticable, shoulder on each side of the dado. This is particularly noticeable on exposed joints like finger joints. I'm in the process of finding out how Freud suggests this be remedied. I may post again once that's taken place. Otherwise, the groves are smooth with little tearout and the horizontal dimensions of the set are dead on.I'm editing this review because I found out the culprit was my Sears table saw arbor. After the good service folk at Freud inspected my set they determined that there must be a valley at the end of the threads of my saw arbor. Sure enough there was and with there suggestion I filled it with JB Weld to the same height of the rest of the arbor and the set works wonderfully now. I've changed my rating dramatically upwards. But, don't get me started on the Sears saw!
The Super Dado set from Freud is sweet! It's low cost (Compared to it's 'competition') and it's viciously accurate. Just follow the instructions on which chippers to include on the stack and you will cut PRECISELY the width specified. Width resolution of the set just using the chippers is 1/32 of an inch, and shims are provided to do even better than that. However, I've never used the shims. I've never needed them. I love the plastic case. It comes with little spacers for each blade and chipper. When I need to set my saw up for dadoing I just pull the plastic case out of it's spot, put it on the table saw and pop it open. The top of the case has a flat foam insert that you can put a blade on while you're doing the change, you don't need to keep a piece of wood around to put the blade being changed onBased on my experience with the Super Dado set, I plan on upgrading all my blades to Freud blades.
The first thing you'll notice is the boxed set and the weight. Without even opening the box, you'll will feel the heft of this dado set. Once opened, the outer blades have an impressive number of teeth (with the Freud anti-kickback shoulder behind the tooth).The instructions are clear and the measurement guide is sweet. The metallic shims allow for fine adjustment though they could be better indentified (if unsure, make sure you measure with a dial caliper). The most impressive part is in the cut - flat smooth and no tear out.After using several other dado sets, including a Sears and the SD208 this design and function is simply the best cutting.
When I first started doing fine wood working about 4 years ago, I bought a dado set for about $50. Well, as you can imagine, you get what you pay for. I had to have a filing shop match the cutters up so I could get close to square cuts. When it was time to move up, I purchased this product and have been extremely pleased with it. I decided to give this set a try as I had purchased a Freud 60 tooth blade and it worked wonderfully, with no chipping on plywood or any of the solid woods I used.Square cuts right out of the box. Good set of shims that made adjustments easy. The only thing I would like to have seen was the marking of the cutters (i.e. C, D, E etc). Other than that, this is an excellent product. - Dado Blade - Dado Blades - Dado - Saw Blade'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
