dado question

[glencross]

i am constructing bread boxes with tambour doors.

when i have finished routing the dados for the tambour doors to slide in, is there a necessity to chuck a bottom cleaning bit in my router to clean up the bottoms of these dadoes?

will it make a considerable difference or could i get away with just routering with a straight bit?i don't really want to buy a bit that i don't really need.

would appreciate any input about this question.

[monte]

If the bottom of the dado is flat and clean after you cut it I see no reason at all to follow with a bottom cleaning bit. It should work just fine.

[just4funsies]

You don't want to buy a bit you don't really need??? No, no, no... That's where the fun is. He who dies with the most bits WINS!

[scorrpio]

Depends on dado blade quality. Some produce perfectly clean dadoes, some don't.

But tell you this: A bargain dado blade will cost you a $30 or so. A premium quality bottom cleaner bit is likely to cost another $25-30.

A premium dado stack that'll cut impeccably clean dadoes right away is likely to cost $100+. You do the math.

[LarryG]

Not exactly what you asked, but ... I would never employ a system in which I had to use both a table saw and a router to get an acceptably finished dado. My most precious shop commodity is my time. There's no way I'd put up with having to set up two separate operations using two different tools to get the results I want. If you're going to fool with a router bit at all, use it to do the whole job, and dispense with the table saw altogether.

I sometimes cut dados on the table saw, using my Freud SD206 set ($63, although they're ~$80 now). I sometimes cut dados using a router and a couple simple jigs. Both methods produce beautiful, flat-bottomed grooves that need no additional work.

EDIT: I just re-read the OP, and now understand the question more clearly. Tambour doors ... the dados are curved ... a table saw isn't even in the picture, is it? Sorry about that. What you're asking is: do you need to follow the straight bit with a bottom-cleaning bit? Answer is No; the straight bit alone will give you the results you want. A bottom-cleaning bit is something you'd use ONLY with a table saw dado set that won't cut a flat bottom (either a cheap/crappy set, or a wobbler). Since you're routing the dados, one bit is all you need.

[Never2old2start]

Ditto what Larry said. Btw, the Freud SD206 is a nice dado set.

~ Paul ~

[glencross]

dado question

thanks for all your replies: most enlightening and useful.

can now put the money i was thinking about spending on a bottom cleaning bit towards something more useful, like another router!!!