Freud dado set not cutting true width

[jonmulzer]

For the first time since I bought my dado set I had to cut a true 3/4" width for t-track on my drill press table. I set it all up and cut a test piece and the t-track did not fit so I checked it with my calipers and it is exactly 3/4" so I checked the dado width and it was off by 1/64". I ran it back through twice very slowly to make sure that it had all the chance it needed to do a thorough plough and no dice, still too narrow.

Has anyone else noticed this problem? I found a shim that spaced it out perfectly and marked it before I put the stack back away but it still bugs me that it is off. Am I expecting too much?

[Daryl]

I think they do that in case you are using sub 3/4 plywood. It is a better deal than trying to adjust an over size dado. I have used copy paper for shims before.

[dbhost]

For TRUE 3/4" cuts, you will actually need to add a shim or two. At least that is what I found with my Oshlun and the Skil I jettisonned...

[Tom Miller]

That's really pretty standard, and I wouldn't think of it as a defect. There are very few situations where you want to cut a dado that's exactly 1/2", or 3/4", etc. anyway. When the set is a little undersized to start with, then at least when you want to cut a nominally 3/4" dado, you use the chipper set that nominally gets you there. Then, you add a shim or two, like you did, if it truly is 3/4", or more shims if it's a little oversized.

Regards,
Tom

[pecker]

You might want to look at this thread:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ght=freud+dado

The poster named Charles McCracken actually works for Freud.

[Roloff]

Slightly off topic - dbhost had an Oshlun dado set? What did you think of it?

[jonmulzer]

You might want to look at this thread:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ght=freud+dado

The poster named Charles McCracken actually works for Freud.

While I understand what he is saying, there should at least be a note in there that says they will cut undersize. Label 1/4" as 15/64" if that is what it is going to cut. Make a note in the instructions. The truth is, if I had cut a dado 1/64" oversize, I would not have noticed probably. The dado I cut had to fit the t-track though. I suppose I am just a stickler for details but I expect it to cut what it says it will cut. If I grab my 5/16" drill bit, I expect it to cut 5/16". I expect my 1/2" straight router bit to cut 1/2". I expect that after I align the scale on my table saw fence that setting it to 6" gives me 6" and setting it at 16" gives me 16".

[jonmulzer]

That's really pretty standard, and I wouldn't think of it as a defect. There are very few situations where you want to cut a dado that's exactly 1/2", or 3/4", etc. anyway. When the set is a little undersized to start with, then at least when you want to cut a nominally 3/4" dado, you use the chipper set that nominally gets you there. Then, you add a shim or two, like you did, if it truly is 3/4", or more shims if it's a little oversized.

Regards,
Tom

I completely agree with what you are saying, and that is why the higher dollar sets include a 3/32" chipper. If it were cutting 23/32" I might have thought of it as a nice extra. Then it would fit plywood. Now it fits nothing.

[dbhost]

Slightly off topic - dbhost had an Oshlun dado set? What did you think of it?

I haven't done a review of it yet, that will come in the Tool Reviews section when I get more time...

I have had it now for 3 weeks. It was a B-day present to myself sort of. And I am not sure how to phrase this... It makes cutting Dadoes what I thought it should have been all along... In MDF, Ply, SYP, Red Oak, and Melamine, not to mention a few other woods that slip my mind right now, it cuts laser sharp, completely flat bottomed dadoes when set up right. I messed up and had the outer cutter on the threads of the arbor and caused a little wobble when I first set it up and it left a nasty side. Set up right the cuts are fantastic!

I posted a Bargain alert on this in January, my local Rockler in Houston had them for I think it was $45.99 or something obscenely cheap like that... I paid close to that for the Lousy Skil HSS one it replaced...

BTW, I have the 6" not the 8". I see no need for an 8", and the BT probably wouldn't like it anyway...

[Tom Miller]

I completely agree with what you are saying, and that is why the higher dollar sets include a 3/32" chipper. If it were cutting 23/32" I might have thought of it as a nice extra. Then it would fit plywood. Now it fits nothing.

But, even if you had that high dollar set that cut 23/32" dadoes to the utmost precision, when you bring your 23/32" plywood home from the BORG you'll find some pieces fit perfectly, some fit sloppy, and some won't go in at all. Keep in mind that "perfect" and "sloppy" are themselves subjective.

IMO, a 3/32" chipper is kind of a gimmick, just like "plywood-sized" router bits. But, I'm sure some people think they're the greatest thing, and I'm sure they have their place.

Personally, I think dados need to fit within 5 - 10 mils or so (~2 post-its). Even baltic birch ply varies more than that; sometimes across the same piece, depending on when you cut the edge.

Wow, that even bored me. Sorry!

The whole thing is subjective -- just didn't want you to feel like you got a clunker dado set.

Regards,
Tom

[dbhost]

Perfect Fitting your Dadoes. is a great video from Wood Magazine. It's the same Technique I have learned to use. Basically start just shy of the final size you want, and sneak up on it...

[rnelson0]

so I checked it with my calipers and it is exactly 3/4" so I checked the dado width and it was off by 1/64".

A question I have is, why did you use the calipers afterward and not before cutting the dado? You should run a piece of scrap across the dado first to check for effective width, regardless of what any box instructions say the dimensions will be.

[jonmulzer]

A question I have is, why did you use the calipers afterward and not before cutting the dado? You should run a piece of scrap across the dado first to check for effective width, regardless of what any box instructions say the dimensions will be.

I set it all up and cut a test piece......

Refer back to the first post. I did exactly what you suggest.