dado blade

[esbit]

what is the best dado blade to use in bt3000?

DAn

[DUD]

I use the Freud SD206, the 6 inch adjustable. It does a great job. Bill

[Uncle Cracker]

+1 on the SD206... It is a quality set.

[final_t]

+1 also on the SD206 - works very well, fits good. I seem to recall there was a discussion years ago about the Avenger 6" stack and that it was also very good. In any case, avoid the 8" stacks because of the rotational speed of the saw.

[pelligrini]

The 8" stacks can have clearance problems with the saw castings too.

Don't skimp too much on a stack. A low end one can be frustrating and time consuming if the cutters don't leave a flat bottom.

[poolhound]

I guess it depends on how deep your pockets are. I have the older Avenger set whichy works for me and is now branded as Oshlun. You can pick it up on sale from time to time at ROckler or from Holbren who offers a BT discount.

http://www.holbren.com/product.php?p...cat=673&page=1

[twistsol]

I use a freud SD208 that I had previously. It took a little bit (1/8") of grinding inside the saw to remedy the clearance issues, but it works great and I get nice clean cuts in everything I've ever used it for.

[Tom Miller]

Another one with an SD208 -- no clearance problem with the casting on my BT3K, though it comes close. The saw seems to have plenty of power to spin it, too.

That being said, I'd think a 6" would be plenty -- I got the 8" because it was locally available.

Regards,
Tom

[Knottscott]

I think I'd go for the Oshlun from Holbren with the "BT310" discount...his s/h is pretty cheap, but get the order to $75 and shipping is free.

[LCHIEN]

On the choice of 6" vs 8" on a BT3 saw:
The 8" has some subtle fit issues.
With a 6" stack you can take all the spacers off the arbor and put the full 13/16" stack on.
With an 8" you cannot take off the last 1/4" spacer, else the right 8" blade will hit the housing. If you leave the 1/4" spacer there you can use it OK, except that to get the full 13/16th stack the left blade washer may have to be left off, and the left blade will ride on the threaded part of the arbor and since the threaded part is a bit smaller in diameter, it will ride off-center about .025" or so and make a noticeable groove/non-flat bottom as it cuts a bit deeper on half of each spin.

I have done all that and there's no issues spinning the blade/power issues etc.
If you use a stack of 5/8" or less, then there's no issues with the 8" stack.
With 6" there are no issues whatsoever going all the way to a full stack, you just can't go more than about 1.5" deep which should be plenty for just about any project.

Oshlun vs Freud:
Italian-made Freud quality seems to be very well established, I don't think you can go wrong with the Freuds like the SD206, SD208, SD306 and SD308. THey always stacked up exactly correctly in thickness the the width of the stack.

I don't know abot the Oshlun but there were a number of complaints about the predecessor Avenger series of blades not stacking up exactly according to the sum of the chippers used. Which can be compensated for but I think is a bit inconvenient.
Since the blades are 1/8" and the chippers (usually 3) are 1/8, and with one 1/16th chipper its very convenient to have the blades stack up correctly. In-between widths can be achieved with shims totalling from 0 to 1/16th spread between the blades and chippers. But if you want a 3/8" dado, using two blades and one chipper is easy enough without having to determine how many thousandths of shims you want. Someone tell me if Oshlun has fixed these inexact chipper widths.

[dbhost]

A vote for the Oshlun. And on the chippers not stacking up exactly say to equal 3/4" is intentional due to undersize ply to cut dadoes for. Yeah it must be compensated for if you are using true 3/4" material. It's the price we pay for undersize lumber these days...

Mine I simply stack equal to 3/4" add the thin shims, snug it and double check with the calipers and I am good to go...

Same quality and performance as noted for the Freud, for about 2/3 the cost. Mind you, I am a bit of a Freud fan... It took a first hand demo of the Oshlun to get me to buy one...

I would avoid an 8"... You aren't going to cut a dado all the way through your stock are you? The owners manual says 6" for a reason...

[poolhound]

I was just about to say that I think Dbhost has the Oshlun set and he just confirmed that. The avenger does need shims to setup various widths. Here is a table originally posted back in 2006 by Keith (Drumpriest) that I have used since I bought mine a few years back. It seems to work well.

[dbhost]

Jon,

That table looks about right... And might be worth printing out, laminating, and storing with my Dado set for quick reference...

I believe from the videos I have seen on Wood Magazine's site, that the Freud is similar in needing to be shimmed to get "true" measurements, and it is intentional due to undersize lumber...

Any Freud owners want to chime in on this? Do you have to shim?

[LCHIEN]

Jon,

...

Any Freud owners want to chime in on this? Do you have to shim?

I own a Freud SD308 And No shims needed.
two outer blades and a 1/8" chipper always comes up .375" for me, just as I expect it should.

etc. etc. etc.

[dbhost]

So what do you do for undersize ply?