Oshlun SDS-0630 $44.97 @ Rockler.

[dbhost]

Swung by the Houston Rockler on I -59 to pick up some small pieces... I was asking about the Freud SD206, when I saw they had a small stack of Oshlun SDS-0630's on the bench by the big Powermatic 3HP cabinet saw...

I had the guy look them up, and they were on sale for $44.97! So I grabbed one!

[Alex Franke]

SDS stands for stack dado set, by the way. And the 630 is 6", 30 tooth.
Great deal you got there!

[dbhost]

I haven't stuck it on the arbor yet... But if the reviews of it are anywhere near accurate, I can look forward to a very high quality stack dado set at a bargain price. I think I am going to do the happy monkey dance now...

[poolhound]

I believe that Oshlun is Avenger risen from the ashes and I think this dado set is the same as the old Avenger one (could be wrong and often am ).

Anyway if it is the old avenger set then this table may come in handy. There was a lot of discussion here and elsewhere as to how this set didnt cut exactly the widths you would expect without fiddling with extra shims.

Wether this table matches yours or not I would experiment first and setup for the most common widths and record how you stacked them so you can repeat it in the future. There is nothing worse than creating a stack that you "assume" will cut a 3/4 dadoe and then find its off.

I have this set and a copy of this table sits in the box with the blade.

[Knottscott]

I've never tried their dado set, but I see it has having at least two things going for it:

1. It uses a similar design as my $300 Systimatic 42T/6T 8" set that's excellent.

2. The 10" 40T Oshlun full kerf blade that I tried is surprisingly well made for a $25 blade and cuts nicely.

Let us know how it goes.

[dbhost]

First impressions.... LIGHT YEARS ahead of the old Skil... Not perfect, but close. The bottoms are nearly perfect, but one of the blades appears to be about .1mm larger diameter than the other, and the chippers, making it leave a very slight imprefection in the bottom of the dado. HOWEVER, no issues with the dado being cut not being the dado expected. I put the 1/8 blades on both sides, and added 4 1/8" chippers = 6/8 or 3/4". Cut a practice dado and measured with calipers. 3/4" exactly. My Rockler T track was what was off, just a touch bigger than 3/4". I took 1 of the thick shims, and one of the thin ones, and got the fit to a nice, tight fit...

I am considering returning the set back to Rockler for a replacement. The reviews I have seen say this should leave a perfectly smooth bottom, like I mentioned, mine isn't quite there...

Chipout on the edge of melamine was almost completely absent, and was limited to the blade that was cutting too deep as well...

[Schleeper]

Which blade seems to be causing the problem? Is it the last one placed on the arbor? The reason I ask, is I had the same problem with the brand new Freud Super Dado stack I bought. The tool wasn't the problem; it was the user that needed fixin'. When I loaded the blades, chippers, and shims for cutting the dado for 3/4" plywood, the last blade ended up on the threaded portion of the arbor, leaving it off center which caused it to cut deeper. Correcting it was just a matter of removing the second spacer from the BT3's arbor before loading the dado cutters, which I should have done to begin with.

[dbhost]

Which blade seems to be causing the problem? Is it the last one placed on the arbor? The reason I ask, is I had the same problem with the brand new Freud Super Dado stack I bought. The tool wasn't the problem; it was the user that needed fixin'. When I loaded the blades, chippers, and shims for cutting the dado for 3/4" plywood, the last blade ended up on the threaded portion of the arbor, leaving it off center which caused it to cut deeper. Correcting it was just a matter of removing the second spacer from the BT3's arbor before loading the dado cutters, which I should have done to begin with.

You're good...

I just did that because the thought hit me, and now that the Dadoes / grooves, whatever you want to call them in Melamine board are cut for my upcoming router fence... I am VERY pleased with the results.... I can't imagine a smoother cut. No chip out whatsoever on the melamine, at least if you don't count operator error and dropping a piece flaking a chip off...

The dadoes are nice tight, and smoother than I could sand them...

LOML was generous for my B-day and loaded me up with the Rockler T-track kits, the new ones that are 3/8" deep instead of 1/2" like the one going into this fence... I will be building my new router table top for the BT very soon. I am not sure if I ran into a fluke, but sheet goods prices have skyrocketed in the last 2 weeks here. Borg BB 3/4" ply is going for $35.00 / sheet, which is substantially higher than the $25.00 it was a mere 2 weeks ago... I am not sure if I am just going to grin & bear it, or try to wait and see if the price drops back down...

I am considering using tempered hardboard over MDF for the top. But I digress...

So far I have tested this stack on the following...

#1. A/B 3/4" pine ply.
#2. BB 3/4" ply
#3. 3/4" long leaf pine
#4. 4/4 white oak scrap.
#5. SYP 2x4
#6. 3/4" melamine
#7. 3/4" MDF scrap.

Once the dumb operator issue was cleared up, I can honestly report easily repeatable, laser accurate dadoes. I used my sacrificial fence for a project, so I am not able to give you input on rabbeting with this, but I expect it to be simliar to the rest of this review, dead on accurate, no tear out, perfectly flat bottom....

[dbhost]

Okay this might sound a little bit funny, but... Now that I have figured out how to set this stack up properly... cutting Dadoes is actually something to look forward to...

The results are simply amazing!

I am not sure if Avenger makes these, or if this is just a new name for the old Avenger Products Company since the Avenger web site is still up and all... BUT... The Dado stack, aside from the silk screening on the blade, appears 100% identical...

Like I mentioned, I have had 2 different Dado stacks on my Amazon wish list for a year now. The Oshlun that I got, and the Freud SD206. It was a hard choice to make as I wanted a sub $100.00 set that was actually a good set... I know there are some excellent Dado stacks out there in the big dollar range, but my cheap self can't seem to actually want to spend $150.00 or more for a Dado stack... So anyway...

Like I said I was really ready to pull the trigger on a Freud SD206 when I walked into Rockler... I asked the guy at the counter, and he told me they weren't carrying the 6" Freud as a regular item, since they got too many returns on them. But that they were carrying the Oshlun 6", which had fewer online reviews, but the local WW club that Rockler sponsors members really seemed to like it... Well, I had seen it online before with some good reviews, and seen favorable mentions of it here, and the guy said I could bring it back if I didn't like it... How could I lose right? I knew Rockler's price on this (I did mention this was on my wish list right?) So I was prepared to drop $70.00 + tax on this thing... I had the $10.00 off coupon any purchase over $30.00 sale items excluded ready to go, when the cashier told me that the blade didn't count since it was on sale for $44.97...

Now I had a problem, I had blade & bit cleaner, and a Dado stack, a $10.00 off regular price purchase coupon, and not at the minimum purchase yet... So LOML grabbed a cabinet building book and called it good... I am enjoying some, not all of the ideas in the book... (This guy likes flat panel doors a LOT...).

I've been making some very aggressive cuts with the router and TS this last week, I checked the vac, but I think I need to check the cyclone can. I think I need to bag the junk up this week...