Dado set up on BT3X

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  • Rigger64
    Handtools only
    • Dec 2015
    • 2
    • Central Virginia
    • BT3100-1

    Dado set up on BT3X

    Need some recommendations and input... Will a 6 in. dado set fit on a 3100? I'd like to buy a 10 in. blade but - OMG - they are pricey. I used to use a 6 in. wobble blade... Can anyone recommend good Dado blades that won't break the bank and that will still fit my saw.
  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    #2
    Most 6 inch dado blades will fit. 8 inch will fit but there was a problem for a few people with the 8 inch some years ago. I don't remember what it was. I have the 6 inch from freud, but they are about $80 or so. Craftsman has a 6 inch set for about $32 on Amazon. I don't think 10 inch Dados will fit the BT3100.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

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    • LCHIEN
      Internet Fact Checker
      • Dec 2002
      • 20920
      • Katy, TX, USA.
      • BT3000 vintage 1999

      #3
      I have tried quite a lot of dadoes on the BT3000, and I wrote the Dado section of the BT3 FAQ.

      You will not be able to get a ten inch dado on.

      An eight inch stack dado will sort of work but there are some gotchas.

      A six inch stack dado is a good bet and will still give you quite a deep cut. I totally recommend a carbide tipped 6 inch stack dado. One of the ones from Frued is the best- the SD306 I believe.- but its not cheap. The SD206 is very nearly as good and a little cheaper. You can use the 6" stack up to the full width usually provided - 13/16th of an inch.

      The wobble dadoes, I have got them on but its always a horrible, horrible struggle because of the BT3's blade shroud. I just don't recommend that people fool with it on a BT3, regardless if you don't mind the non flat bottom you get (slightly rounded).

      The gotchas with the 8" stack are that there are some protrusions on the BT3 casting that keep you from seating the dado all the way to the right, I think you have to leave the 1/4" spacer on. That makes the right side of the thicker dadoes chippers and cutters rest on the threads which drops them a little below the unthreaded part of the arbor and maybe 10-20 thou uneven bottom as a result. And you have to leave off the blade washer, which I've done but never feel quite right about it. I think it's OK if you only want to cut dadoes under 1/2" wide.

      I have a very nice Freud SD308 I should probably sell.

      Anyway you'll find the complete story on Dado blades in the BT3 FAQ found here at Sawdustzone.org:
      http://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/dis...sked-questions

      Summary: for the BT3xxx saws use a 6" stack dado set.
      Last edited by LCHIEN; 01-05-2017, 06:29 PM.
      Loring in Katy, TX USA
      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

      Comment

      • Rigger64
        Handtools only
        • Dec 2015
        • 2
        • Central Virginia
        • BT3100-1

        #4
        Gentlemen, thank you. Exactly what I was looking for.

        Comment

        • JimD
          Veteran Member
          • Feb 2003
          • 4187
          • Lexington, SC.

          #5
          I use the 6 inch Freud "Pro" model that is a little under $100. Works well. I also have a wobble that will cut a flat bottom 3/4 dado but cuts a slightly convex bottom at narrower widths. It will work on the BT3100 but it is very difficult to set to the "right" width. I should set it to one width and then just use it for that, maybe 3/4 since it does that well. Instead I just use the stack dado. The wobble requires the narrow spacer, if I remember right.

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