Throat Plate for Freud SD206

[Bob Bassett]

Needed a dado set for making 1/2" dados on a bunch of drawers.

Bought a Freud 206 and set it up for 1/2" by using the outer blades and two chippers.

The dado came out pretty well except for two thin lines on the bottom of the dado.

What was scary was the occasional spark from the stack hitting the BT3100 dado throat plate.

A few questions:

1. Do you remove the bushings on the backside of the motor shaft when you mount the dado stack? Which one?

2. Do you recommend a zero clearance throat plate?

3. I searched the board for making throat plates and I wonder what the latest techniques are you using? BTW, neither Lee or Jeff sell blank throat plates any more.

4. Any reference you may have for using Dado stacks? Been a looong time since I used one.

[LCHIEN]

Stop doing that! PM me for a copy of the BT3 FAQ. All those questions answered. You need help. No Sparks!

[atgcpaul]

Yikes! Sounds like you could be using the wrong throat plate. There's a larger
throat plate for dadoes. Read your manual please. I hope you didn't break any
teeth off your dado stack. You are extremely lucky it wasn't worse. Before I
use the dado or other blade, I always turn the stack by hand (with the power
unplugged), to make sure everything clears the throat plate and arbor.

Read the manual and Loring's FAQ,
Paul

[Bob Bassett]

Still confused

Read Loring's FAQ's and I was using the Dado throat plate.

Still confused on how to use a Dado stack - specifically the Freud 206. I wonder about blade/chipper orientation, etc.

Anyone have a copy of Lee Styron's acrylic throat plates. Seem that they were made from two layers. Thought I had the plans but they were for the BT3000. All the instructions for zero clearance plates in the FAQ are for the BT3000

[scorrpio]

I have that dado stack, and it works marvelously for me - no bottom lines. It looks like you chipped a tooth or two someplacealready if you get lines.

When I mount a dado, I usually remove spacers dependent on how wide I need it. The idea is to have enough arbor space so that no part of dado sits on threads, and so that you don't run out of thread tightening it. Rule of thumb: up to 3/8", I remove 1/4" spacer, 3/8" to 5/8", I remove 1/2" spacer, anything over 5/8" both spacers come off.

Throat plate: I actually got 3 for dadoes. I bought a 1/4" sheet of UHMW-PE, cut it up, and routed the rabbets where needed. Took me about an hour total to make a whole stack of blanks. As I say, I have 3 plates: for use with no spacers, with 1/2" spacer, with 1/4" spacer. When raising a blade through the ZCTP, go slowly and have something clamped over ZCTP (not over the blade itself though) to make sure it don't go flying.

[LarryG]

Still confused on how to use a Dado stack - specifically the Freud 206. I wonder about blade/chipper orientation, etc.

Make sure the direction of rotation is the same for all the above, obviously, and that the various plates in the stack are sitting against each other or against shims, with no tooth-to-tooth contact. Rotate the various chippers in the stack to balance out the entire assembly; i.e., if you use two chippers, place them at 90deg to each other; if you use three, at 120deg, etc.

It's all pretty simple, really, but I will say that guarding against tooth-to-tooth contact is perhaps the most critical issue. That will prevent the various blades in the stack from seating against each other when you tighten the arbor nut. Then, with the saw running, one could slip free and will start wobbling -- not good; not safe.

[LCHIEN]

Read Loring's FAQ's and I was using the Dado throat plate.

Still confused on how to use a Dado stack - specifically the Freud 206. I wonder about blade/chipper orientation, etc.

Anyone have a copy of Lee Styron's acrylic throat plates. Seem that they were made from two layers. Thought I had the plans but they were for the BT3000. All the instructions for zero clearance plates in the FAQ are for the BT3000

BT3000 and BT3100 throat plates are identical.

Looking at the saw standing to the left of the saw at the end of the arbor:
Arbor rotation is tclockwise (top of blade going to your right).
Thw two end plates are ALWAYS used, they are marked with direction of rotation and something like "This side out". The writing goes on the outside of the stack.
Chippers look like a bar, have cutters on each end. There is a gullet, the cutting tooth will be on the trailing edge of each gullet. Make sure you install each chipper so that the gullet goes first and the tooth is on the back side of the gullet.
When you install chippers, do like Larry says, alternate them, and make sure the wider tooth falls in a gullet on the outer blades.

You want to arrange spacers on the arbor so that the leftmost blade of the stack is inside the threads on the arbor. Scorppio quotes some sizes and the amount of spacers to use but I just do it by appearance.
With the six inch stack you can remove all the spacers and put the whole stack on up to 13/16ths I think.

Normally Dados are used at heights not exceeding 1/2" - The dado plate supplied by Ryobi as an accessory limits the height you can raise it by the front-to-back openeing.

Always rotate the Dado by hand to make sure it clears the plate and everything else, if its less than 1/8 to 1/16th clearance, better change something. If the plate opening is too small, you need a custom plate.

You should use the nut and both washers outside the stack.

You'll get some micro lines at the outside corners of your dado. If you see other lines it probably was bacause you had the outer blade and one or more chippers on the threads.

[Bob Bassett]

Throat plate: I actually got 3 for dadoes. I bought a 1/4" sheet of UHMW-PE, cut it up, and routed the rabbets where needed. Took me about an hour total to make a whole stack of blanks. As I say, I have 3 plates: for use with no spacers, with 1/2" spacer, with 1/4" spacer. When raising a blade through the ZCTP, go slowly and have something clamped over ZCTP (not over the blade itself though) to make sure it don't go flying.

I get on the net and see if I can find some UHMW-PE. Thanks for the info

[Bob Bassett]

Thanks for the additional information, Loring. I think I am 'getting it" now.