Andy Hall wrote in message
Andy Dingley wrote:



Use of them is constrained in Europe, but for the supplemental
reasons
you mention, not because dado heads are themselves a bad idea. You
might note that it's hard to find a saw that can accept a dado head,
but you can buy the heads themselves easily enough.


Sure.

I have a portable DeWalt contractor type saw which I bought in the
U.S. and imported myself. This has a long 5/8" arbour and will take
stacked dado cutters quite happily. It actually stops withing 10
seconds, even with all blades and chippers mounted.

My husband was wondering about using the stacked cutters as you suggest
too, for tenons etc, but the arbour on his standards saws are too short.
Another thing for his tools wish-list then :-)


It's legal for me to import and use for personal use, but not to
import and sell or use commercially, as I understand it.

For my Felder combination machine there is a dado option for the saw
arbour but instead of using U.S.-style stacked sets, it uses tooling
which is rather like spindle moulder tooling consisting of two halves
between which spacers can be installed. There are disposable main
and scoring cutters with four cutting edges each giving very clean
cuts and the same tooling can be installed on the spindle moulder
instead.


Andy, I am SO glad you described these things first! Otherwise I was
going to have to attempt it since these are what we bought. They have
two horizontal blades also for cutting smooth the 'top' and 'bottom' of
the tongue/groove as well. I really can't describe it but you will know
what I mean, perhaps that is what you mean by main and scoring cutters?
Anyway, he is going to use this same set of cutters which will cut 5-9mm
by use of spacing rings to cut both tongue and grooves in three passes
instead of the two it would have taken with the tool-holder system we
saw on the web page.

Decided against those since any damage to the blade was going to involve
new blades for T&Ging. Sharpening not practical, at least not much, for
obvious reasons with T&G. We may well get one with other cutters if we
ever have to do more mouldings than are practical with the De Walt
router.

Interesting thing about these tool holder systems as on the web page.
You will be aware of the multi-function ones and the safety ones which
hold backing blades of the same moulding as the cutting blade, so that
only a mm or so of blade is exposed. Salesman says both are legal in
France, it's only Germany which has regulations against them.* We were
not convinced and still umming and ahhing about the safety ones. He said
that for every 90 or so ordinary ones he sells he would only sell 1
safety one, because of the cost (30euro./pair ish) of the 'contre-fers',
or backing blade thingies (what are they called in English?), has only
sold 3 in 16 years!

*don't worry, I didn't believe him!


Although the tooling is steel of about 230mm dia.,

Ours are 160mm

the electronic braking spins it down very quickly.

Ours alas will not, he will just have to be very careful. At least this
system won't 'grab' the timber so it will be better that the standard
American cutters from that point of view.


Thanks very much for all your input into this Andy, you have been very
helpful, as have others.

Holly