nu-b with a dado query

[rockybrown]

hi- just got into woodworking and bought my first table saw ever- a bt3100 thanks to all the positive reading i've done on this forum.

i don't have a dado blade yet but i do have 2 identical freud 60 tooth 10" blades- is there any reason i couldn't bolt them into my saw and use them to cut some 1/4 inch dadoes?


tia and thanks for all the info that helped me choose my new saw!!!


rockybrown

[LJR]

rocky, no reason at all why you can't do that. It will work.

[Derrick]

I wouldn't do that Dado blades have special teeth that fit into each other and are designed to keep the blades from spinning independently. I think to attempt this might be extremely hazardous. You can get the Avenger 6" dado blade on Amazon for around + - $40 that works really well with the BT3K. It seems like I remember reading in a Tage Frid book that attempting to use 2 regular blades is "like having a death wish" and should never be attempted. But I could be wrong.

[LCHIEN]

Don"t Do It!

I sure wouldn't do that.
they aren't intended to fit together like dado blades are. Dado outer blades are flat, uniform width from arbor hole to tip. Your blades have a thinner center at the arbor and tips that are wider than the plate.
I could go on and on about the problems but I'll just stop now and say don't do it.

[Black wallnut]

Yes, you can do this; as long as you offset the teeth.

Your dado probably will not be 1/4" though since the blade body is thinner than 1/8" and your teeth are alternated offset which will give you 1/8" kerf if a standard blade or 3/32" if a thin kerf.

Also you will not want to cut very deep with each pass as this could overload your arbor bearings.

[rockybrown]

hmmm- 2 for and 2 against... i guess i'll take the safe route and maybe stop by lowes or home depot tomorrow and see what they have in stock.

thanks for the help guys,

rockybrown

[LJR]

Hey, that wasn't much help, two for and two against. Looks to me like you're exactly where you started.

Long time ago I bought an Oldham six inch dado blade set. Works great. Had it for years. If I were going to make a 1/4" dado that's what I'd set up. But then I don't have two matching ten inch blades. I've got a good ten inch rip blade, and a good ten inch crosscut, and a good ten inch all purpose, but not two blades alike. In the end a dado set will be more useful than a set of matched ten inch blades.

Years ago, I worked for a commercial production shop (they could turn out a whole house worth of cabinetry in a day) there were machines set up to do specific tasks and they were left set up to do that task. A saw with a double blade on it was set up and used in that shop. No problems.

[WayneJ]

If you get a dado set don't get the wobble type. Spend the money for a good multi blade set. They tend to cut cleaner and less vibration. Six inch seems to be the choice for the BT3.
Wayne

[LarryG]

And the answer is ...

... a qualified "maybe."

Loring is correct, but so is Mark. The various blades and chippers in a dado set are designed to work together, whereas ordinary saw blades are not. But if you offset the teeth of the latter from each other, so that the plates (rather than the teeth) of the two blades are in full contact with each other, the result is essentially the same as using only the outer blades of a dado set ... but the stacked width of the two blades is unlikely to produce the exact kerf width you want. And without a set of shims (provided standard with stacked dado sets), you won't be able to fine-tune the stack to get the kerf you want.

Friction and pressure from the arbor nut is the only thing that holds the blades in a dado set in alignment, so in that respect using two ordinary saw blades would be no different.

[Tom Miller]

....And without a set of shims (provided standard with stacked dado sets), you won't be able to fine-tune the stack to get the kerf you want.

No reason you can't add some homemade shim material and get the exact kerf you desire. Paper stock is ~4mils thick.

Regards,
Tom