One particular project is going to require a lot of dados. I looked
around the 'net and local stores and some catalogues. Most of the
google info is stale.

In this application, a router wouldn't be practical, so I need a new
set.

In simple terms, I would like it if you gentlemen gave me a few pointer
where to look for definitive information about these things:

1) Simply the best, regardless of price. I can see that it gets real
silly real quick.

2) Good performer for a decent price. (Had a Freud pack many moons ago,
the chippers were nasty.)

3) A great cheapie. (There is a brand called Mibro?)

4) What to stay away from (aside from the wobblers).

I want a set to last me for some time, because I suspect that if I had
a decent set, I'd use it more.

I value your opinions for which I thank you in advance.

Rob

On 3 Sep 2006 11:15:14 -0700, "Robatoy" wrote:

One particular project is going to require a lot of dados. I looked
around the 'net and local stores and some catalogues. Most of the
google info is stale.

In this application, a router wouldn't be practical, so I need a new
set.

In simple terms, I would like it if you gentlemen gave me a few pointer
where to look for definitive information about these things:

1) Simply the best, regardless of price. I can see that it gets real
silly real quick.

2) Good performer for a decent price. (Had a Freud pack many moons ago,
the chippers were nasty.)

3) A great cheapie. (There is a brand called Mibro?)

4) What to stay away from (aside from the wobblers).

I want a set to last me for some time, because I suspect that if I had
a decent set, I'd use it more.

I value your opinions for which I thank you in advance.

Rob

Well, I cannot say I'm much of an expert on dado's. I've used Freud
for years but earlier this year I picked up an adjustable, shime free
model from Amana Tool. I've used many of their Shaper Cutters and the
Rep gave me a nice discount on the Dado.
IMO, you cannot go wrong with Freud, but at the same time, I like this
Amana unit very much. ...fast and accurate.

"Robatoy" wrote in message
ups.com...
One particular project is going to require a lot of dados. I looked
around the 'net and local stores and some catalogues. Most of the
google info is stale.


I personally use the Forrest Dado King and it cuts perfectly. Flat bottoms
and sides and no tear out.

That said, if you are going to do the same size over and over that is what I
would recomend as Forrest products stay sharp for a very long time.

Freud however has a set that has an adjustable outer cutter. This does not
wobble as you still stack the set but the dial on the outer cutter moves the
teeth in and out a small bit at a time. Very accurate and easily repeatable
settings can be made with this click detent set and NO SHIMS. Swingman has
this set and we used it when we built 2 sets of kitchen cabinets this past
Spring. How long the set stays sharp compared to the Forrest is yet to be
determined.

As happy as I am with the Forrest, I would go with the Dial Freud set if I
were to replace the set today. If I were making tons of the same sized
dado's I would go again with the Forrest.

Robatoy wrote:
One particular project is going to require a lot of dados. I looked
around the 'net and local stores and some catalogues. Most of the
google info is stale.
snip

I have had a Freud for 10 years, it works for me.

Just bought a couple of router bits from Infinity Tool to check them out.

Haven't used them yet.

They have an 8" stacked dado.

Might be worth a look.

Think there is some Italian cutting tool expertise involved with Infinity.

Lew

"Robatoy" wrote in message

In simple terms, I would like it if you gentlemen gave me a few pointer
where to look for definitive information about these things:

1) Simply the best, regardless of price. I can see that it gets real
silly real quick.

I have a Ridge Carbide set and it is excellent. If was was buying today,
I'd look at Ridge Carbide, Infinity Tools, Forrest, maybe Freud.

In article . com, "Robatoy" wrote:
One particular project is going to require a lot of dados. I looked
around the 'net and local stores and some catalogues. Most of the
google info is stale.

In this application, a router wouldn't be practical, so I need a new
set.

In simple terms, I would like it if you gentlemen gave me a few pointer
where to look for definitive information about these things:

1) Simply the best, regardless of price. I can see that it gets real
silly real quick.

Reasonable people have disagreed about that here in the past. :-) I chose the
Ridge Carbide "North Woods" dado set over the Forrest Dado King on the basis
of quality of cut, after seeing both of them demonstrated at the Woodworking
Show.

2) Good performer for a decent price. (Had a Freud pack many moons ago,
the chippers were nasty.)

Ridge Carbide. Slightly better cut quality than the Forrest, at 60% of the
price.

3) A great cheapie. (There is a brand called Mibro?)

Is there such a thing?

4) What to stay away from (aside from the wobblers).

Anything that says "Craftsman" on it.

I want a set to last me for some time, because I suspect that if I had
a decent set, I'd use it more.

Probably any of the major brands should be plenty durable.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

You can use any old dado stack or even multiple passes on the combo
blade if you clean up all your cuts with a router and one of those
bearing-guided dado cleanout bits. So if it were me I'd get a lousy $45
Vermont American or Crapsman stack and stick a $20 cleanout bit in my
$50 Ryobi router and get perfect dados with no jigs. But that's just
me. Most woodworkers wouldn't let their dogs use a Vermont American
product.

On 3 Sep 2006 11:15:14 -0700, "Robatoy" wrote:

.... snip
In simple terms, I would like it if you gentlemen gave me a few pointer
where to look for definitive information about these things:

1) Simply the best, regardless of price. I can see that it gets real
silly real quick.

2) Good performer for a decent price. (Had a Freud pack many moons ago,
the chippers were nasty.)

3) A great cheapie. (There is a brand called Mibro?)

4) What to stay away from (aside from the wobblers).

I want a set to last me for some time, because I suspect that if I had
a decent set, I'd use it more.

Mine's about 10 years old now and I'm still pleased: CMT



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

"boorite" wrote in message
oups.com...
You can use any old dado stack or even multiple passes on the combo
blade if you clean up all your cuts with a router and one of those
bearing-guided dado cleanout bits. So if it were me I'd get a lousy $45
Vermont American or Crapsman stack and stick a $20 cleanout bit in my
$50 Ryobi router and get perfect dados with no jigs. But that's just
me. Most woodworkers wouldn't let their dogs use a Vermont American
product.

Twice the work just to save a few bucks. Not a good deal.
"boorite" wrote in message
oups.com...
You can use any old dado stack or even multiple passes on the combo
blade if you clean up all your cuts with a router and one of those
bearing-guided dado cleanout bits. So if it were me I'd get a lousy $45
Vermont American or Crapsman stack and stick a $20 cleanout bit in my
$50 Ryobi router and get perfect dados with no jigs. But that's just
me. Most woodworkers wouldn't let their dogs use a Vermont American
product.

"Robatoy" wrote in message
ups.com...
One particular project is going to require a lot of dados. I looked
around the 'net and local stores and some catalogues. Most of the
google info is stale.

In this application, a router wouldn't be practical, so I need a new
set.

In simple terms, I would like it if you gentlemen gave me a few pointer
where to look for definitive information about these things:

1) Simply the best, regardless of price. I can see that it gets real
silly real quick.

2) Good performer for a decent price. (Had a Freud pack many moons ago,
the chippers were nasty.)


Things change. A fairly extensive review this year put Freud and Forrest at
the top of the heap. I can't remember the precise details, but their
cutting performance was very close and excellent for both.

I bought the Freud 8" dial setup shortly after the review.

-Steve

Infinity Dadonator 8" set.
Excellent cut quality and good value for money
Review http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/rev...ydadonator.htm


--
Regards,

Dean Bielanowski
Editor, OnlineToolReviews.com
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com
Over 110+ woodworking product reviews online!
-----------------------------------------------
Latest 6 Reviews:
- PowerTwist Link Belts
- Ryobi "LiveTool" Range
- Triton 2.25HP Router
- Coldheat Cordless Glue Gun
- Festool Random Orbit Sanders
- Kreg Miter Gauge Update
=========================

CW wrote:
Twice the work just to save a few bucks. Not a good deal.

It's hardly anything to go over the dado with a bearing-guided bit,
which I would almost certainly do anyway. Maybe not if I had a Forrest,
but I don't know because I've never used one. For some of us, a $200
price difference is more than a few bucks. And it seems to me that lots
of pros prefer cutting dados with both TS and router. They say it's the
easiest way to get them really perfect.

But it's true that Freud and DeWalt make OK stacks for around $100,
which really is just a few bucks more than the steel el cheapo sets.

Freud dial a dado hands down. Great cut, and easy to dial in very nice
fitting dados. I can set mine up on the first try using a digital slide mic
on my stock. .004 per clik. Excelent investment.


"Robatoy" wrote in message
ups.com...
One particular project is going to require a lot of dados. I looked
around the 'net and local stores and some catalogues. Most of the
google info is stale.

In this application, a router wouldn't be practical, so I need a new
set.

In simple terms, I would like it if you gentlemen gave me a few pointer
where to look for definitive information about these things:

1) Simply the best, regardless of price. I can see that it gets real
silly real quick.

2) Good performer for a decent price. (Had a Freud pack many moons ago,
the chippers were nasty.)

3) A great cheapie. (There is a brand called Mibro?)

4) What to stay away from (aside from the wobblers).

I want a set to last me for some time, because I suspect that if I had
a decent set, I'd use it more.

I value your opinions for which I thank you in advance.

Rob

"Wayne K" wrote in message
Freud dial a dado hands down. Great cut, and easy to dial in very nice
fitting dados. I can set mine up on the first try using a digital slide
mic
on my stock. .004 per clik. Excelent investment.

And how do you handle the slightly convex curve left at the bottom of the
dado which is common with dial dados?

On Mon, 4 Sep 2006 01:27:50 -0400, "Upscale"
wrote:

"Wayne K" wrote in message
Freud dial a dado hands down. Great cut, and easy to dial in very nice
fitting dados. I can set mine up on the first try using a digital slide
mic
on my stock. .004 per clik. Excelent investment.

And how do you handle the slightly convex curve left at the bottom of the
dado which is common with dial dados?

I don't have one, I haven't used one, I've never even looked at one,
so you might regard my answer as potentially suspect. However, my
understanding is that unlike a "wobble" dado (produces some degree of
convexity regardless of how many blades they wobble with) the Freud
uses more of an eccentric (not the right word, but perhaps it'll
conjure a vision that will suffice) washer arrangement. The outer
blades stay parallel, and of course chippers overlap, just as in
conventional dados, and they use the "dial-it" feature to vary the
thickness of some washers. It's not a 1/4" - 15/16" omnibus dado, as I
understand it--more like a fine tuning feature.

The net result should be bottoms just as flat as a fify year old
barrel racer (maybe that'll conjure a vision).

They are pricy. I've also been led to believe that they are too thick
to work on some saws--I don't remember which, but Crapsman comes to
mind. Same reason as you usually can't use your outside washer in a
full thickness setup of a conventional dado--too much hub.

Get one of the guys that actually has one to verify, amplify, or
contradict whatever I said.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

"LRod" wrote in message

The net result should be bottoms just as flat as a fify year old
barrel racer (maybe that'll conjure a vision).

My error then. I assumed that your dial-a-dado was essentially a wobble dado
and subject to the convex bottoms left by wobble dados.

In article ,
Upscale wrote:
"Wayne K" wrote in message
Freud dial a dado hands down. Great cut, and easy to dial in very nice
fitting dados. I can set mine up on the first try using a digital slide
mic
on my stock. .004 per clik. Excelent investment.

And how do you handle the slightly convex curve left at the bottom of the
dado which is common with dial dados?




OOH! OOH! CAN I ANSWER?

This one doesn't work like that.


--

Larry Wasserman Baltimore, Maryland

"Robatoy" wrote

One particular project is going to require a lot of dados.

Good day Rob,

I don't see Morris chiming in yet, so I'll grab this one!

I just spent some time in the shop making the parts for a clamshell bookcase
(it folds up to secure all the books) for a preschool. I used my Freud dado
set with the shims. While this is a much better dado set than the Craftsman
"wobble" blade, it still takes far too much time as compared to the ShopBot.

Unless you are doing tons of IDENTICAL cuts, the shopbot is going to win.
Accurate, infinite width adjustment, stopped dados, stepped dados ... you
name it. Morris' registration rails and clamps make it much easier to cut
dados on already prepared blanks, and if all the dados are on one side, you
can cut your dados and then cut your parts out with the same bit in the
router.

Make no mistake ... I really enjoy the ShopBot. I thought this project was
going to be a very quick one; I apparently have forgotten how to judge
completion times.

*****

I know the ShopBot will leave a rather large hole in your wallet ... the one
I have paid for itself on the first job. If you haven't found anyone in your
area that owns one, check on the ShopBot forum (www.shopbottools.com) and
get in touch with someone that is willing to show you how things work. My
door (near Winston-Salem, NC) is open to such visits, though it IS a bit of
a commute for you.


Regards,


Rick

"boorite" wrote in message

CW wrote:
Twice the work just to save a few bucks. Not a good deal.

It's hardly anything to go over the dado with a bearing-guided bit,
which I would almost certainly do anyway. Maybe not if I had a Forrest,
but I don't know because I've never used one. For some of us, a $200
price difference is more than a few bucks. And it seems to me that lots
of pros prefer cutting dados with both TS and router. They say it's the
easiest way to get them really perfect.

Nonsense ... a "pro" would use good equipment and would be the last to waste
the time.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 8/29/06

"Upscale" wrote in message
"Wayne K" wrote in message
Freud dial a dado hands down. Great cut, and easy to dial in very nice
fitting dados. I can set mine up on the first try using a digital slide
mic
on my stock. .004 per clik. Excelent investment.

And how do you handle the slightly convex curve left at the bottom of the
dado which is common with dial dados?

The Freud dial set is not a wobble set and leaves a flat bottom. Quick
setup, easy repeatability, and not having to futz with shims, is well worth
the money if you cut a lot of dadoes.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 8/29/06

This is NOT a woblier. Different deal entirely.

"Upscale" wrote in message
...
"Wayne K" wrote in message
Freud dial a dado hands down. Great cut, and easy to dial in very nice
fitting dados. I can set mine up on the first try using a digital slide
mic
on my stock. .004 per clik. Excelent investment.

And how do you handle the slightly convex curve left at the bottom of the
dado which is common with dial dados?

$200.00 for a dado blade or several thousand for a CNC. Hard choice.

"Rick M" wrote in message
...

"Robatoy" wrote

One particular project is going to require a lot of dados.

Good day Rob,

I don't see Morris chiming in yet, so I'll grab this one!

I just spent some time in the shop making the parts for a clamshell
bookcase
(it folds up to secure all the books) for a preschool. I used my Freud
dado
set with the shims. While this is a much better dado set than the
Craftsman
"wobble" blade, it still takes far too much time as compared to the
ShopBot.

Unless you are doing tons of IDENTICAL cuts, the shopbot is going to win.
Accurate, infinite width adjustment, stopped dados, stepped dados ... you
name it. Morris' registration rails and clamps make it much easier to cut
dados on already prepared blanks, and if all the dados are on one side,
you
can cut your dados and then cut your parts out with the same bit in the
router.

Make no mistake ... I really enjoy the ShopBot. I thought this project was
going to be a very quick one; I apparently have forgotten how to judge
completion times.

*****

I know the ShopBot will leave a rather large hole in your wallet ... the
one
I have paid for itself on the first job. If you haven't found anyone in
your
area that owns one, check on the ShopBot forum (www.shopbottools.com) and
get in touch with someone that is willing to show you how things work. My
door (near Winston-Salem, NC) is open to such visits, though it IS a bit
of
a commute for you.


Regards,


Rick

"Upscale" wrote in message
...
"Wayne K" wrote in message
Freud dial a dado hands down. Great cut, and easy to dial in very nice
fitting dados. I can set mine up on the first try using a digital slide
mic
on my stock. .004 per clik. Excelent investment.

And how do you handle the slightly convex curve left at the bottom of the
dado which is common with dial dados?


It dies not wobble. The outer adjustable blade has wider teeth that overlap
the chipper blade. When it is dialed and cuts slightly wider, the overlap
of the outer wider teeth is less. When cutting narrower, the overlap is
greater. All blades rotate in a plane perpendicular to the arbor. The
adjustment dial works like an adjustable width shim.

Swingman wrote:
"boorite" wrote in message

CW wrote:
Twice the work just to save a few bucks. Not a good deal.

It's hardly anything to go over the dado with a bearing-guided bit,
which I would almost certainly do anyway. Maybe not if I had a Forrest,
but I don't know because I've never used one. For some of us, a $200
price difference is more than a few bucks. And it seems to me that lots
of pros prefer cutting dados with both TS and router. They say it's the
easiest way to get them really perfect.

Nonsense ... a "pro" would use good equipment and would be the last to waste
the time.

If it's "nonsense," then it's nonsense that Woodsmith (for example) saw
fit to print (Feb. 2004, p. 10. "All about: Getting a Flat-Bottom
Dado.") Their advice: "Combine the table saw and a hand-held router to
get clean, perfect dadoes." I find similar advice all over the place.

If you have a different preference, then OK. But it's a tried and
tested idea, not "nonsense."

Too much bluster here.

Good advice for the guy that has a cheap dado set but, if I were doing this
for a living, I would not have a cheap dado set. The time it takes to do it
twice is not worth the savings on the blade. BTW, just because it is written
doesn't make it right.

"boorite" wrote in message
oups.com...
If it's "nonsense," then it's nonsense that Woodsmith (for example) saw
fit to print (Feb. 2004, p. 10. "All about: Getting a Flat-Bottom
Dado.") Their advice: "Combine the table saw and a hand-held router to
get clean, perfect dadoes." I find similar advice all over the place.

If you have a different preference, then OK. But it's a tried and
tested idea, not "nonsense."

Too much bluster here.

CW wrote:
Good advice for the guy that has a cheap dado set but, if I were doing this
for a living, I would not have a cheap dado set. The time it takes to do it
twice is not worth the savings on the blade. BTW, just because it is written
doesn't make it right.

It may not be right, or, more aptly, one might have a different
preference. But if it's widely advocated by professionals, it probably
rises slightly above the level of sheer nonsense. Perhaps there is a
tendency to overstate one's case on the internet.

I totally agree that if I were doing this for a living, I'd get a
Forrest stack. In that case, $240 really is pocket change.

On the other hand, if I were visiting an in-law who had half a mind to
slap a bookcase together, and I'd somehow forgot to bring my entire
shop, I'd probably stack 3 circ saw blades on the TS and clean up the
resulting mess with a router bit, and it would look great. And the
poster did ask about el cheapo solutions that would actually work.

There's more than one way to get things done. Too often, what I hear on
RW is that the only way is to spend top dollar on a certain brand, and
any other way is simply dismissed as absurd. It's one of the reasons
I'm not a frequent poster.

B A R R Y wrote:
On 4 Sep 2006 13:30:58 -0700, "boorite" wrote:


If it's "nonsense," then it's nonsense that Woodsmith (for example) saw
fit to print (Feb. 2004, p. 10. "All about: Getting a Flat-Bottom
Dado.") Their advice: "Combine the table saw and a hand-held router to
get clean, perfect dadoes."

That's because "Woodsmith" is often full of nonsense. G

The pictures are nice.

Yep. only reason I could see for doing it twice would be to fix a screw up.

"B A R R Y" wrote in message
...
Why not just rout it and skip the table saw altogether? G

"boorite" wrote in message
oups.com...
Swingman wrote:


If it's "nonsense," then it's nonsense that Woodsmith (for example) saw
fit to print (Feb. 2004, p. 10. "All about: Getting a Flat-Bottom
Dado.") Their advice: "Combine the table saw and a hand-held router to
get clean, perfect dadoes." I find similar advice all over the place.

If you have a different preference, then OK. But it's a tried and
tested idea, not "nonsense."

Too much bluster here.


Most pro's don't change a fast way to a slower way because WoodSmith shows a
novice how to achieve good results with cheaper tools.

" And how do you handle the slightly convex curve left at the bottom of
the
dado which is common with dial dados?


It dies not wobble. The outer adjustable blade has wider teeth that
overlap the chipper blade. When it is dialed and cuts slightly wider,
the overlap of the outer wider teeth is less. When cutting narrower, the
overlap is greater. All blades rotate in a plane perpendicular to the
arbor. The adjustment dial works like an adjustable width shim.
Exactly- Bottoms are plenty flat. I tried a adjustable twin blade years
ago. What a exercise in frustration. When Freud came out with thier
adjustable, I couldn't wait for the ww show to see it in action. I
questioned the demonstrater and he answered all my questions while showing
me how on the saw with the blade on the saw. Bought one right there and
have not regretted the extra dollars. BTW-I was in the market for a new set
and was ready to spend a couple hundred dollars on the last set I would ever
buy. This one fit the bill perfectly.

B A R R Y wrote:
On 4 Sep 2006 16:13:46 -0700, "boorite" wrote:


On the other hand, if I were visiting an in-law who had half a mind to
slap a bookcase together, and I'd somehow forgot to bring my entire
shop, I'd probably stack 3 circ saw blades on the TS and clean up the
resulting mess with a router bit, and it would look great.

Why not just rout it and skip the table saw altogether? G

Faster and easier to set up and rough out and repeat on the TS, I
think. You don't have to make a jig and set it up for each cut.

Everyone's talking about how much extra time the cleanout bit would
take. What, like 5 minutes for an entire piece's worth of dados? If
that. It's a piloted bit.

Whatever.

Freud is still the best in my opinion...

http://www.freudtools.com/woodworker.../Dadoes_1.html

I have two sets... a 8" and a 10" and they are very nice.

The dial up model does appeal to me very much...

Robatoy wrote:

One particular project is going to require a lot of dados. I looked
around the 'net and local stores and some catalogues. Most of the
google info is stale.

In this application, a router wouldn't be practical, so I need a new
set.

"CW" wrote in
nk.net:

$200.00 for a dado blade or several thousand for a CNC. Hard choice.


If you look at it that way, no.

"Several thousand for a CNC" vs $200 for a dado blade, and $1700 for a
Unisaw makes the economics a little closer.

If that's the way one justifies tooling costs, at least.

Patriarch

Well stated. While a CNC router is not the "only tool you'll ever need", it
sure does some jobs much better (go ahead and ask me!). Rob has been looking
at CNC routers for some time now ... and I was just reminding him that this
was yet another job that might be better done (expecially in volume) with a
CNC router.

Regards,


Rick


"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 136...
"CW" wrote in
nk.net:

$200.00 for a dado blade or several thousand for a CNC. Hard choice.


If you look at it that way, no.

"Several thousand for a CNC" vs $200 for a dado blade, and $1700 for a
Unisaw makes the economics a little closer.

If that's the way one justifies tooling costs, at least.

Patriarch

If you've got the work for them, they are the way to go (we have six). I was
under the impression that he was more of a hobbyist. Don't know why I
thought that other than that is mostly what makes up this group.

"Rick M" wrote in message
news
Well stated. While a CNC router is not the "only tool you'll ever need",
it
sure does some jobs much better (go ahead and ask me!). Rob has been
looking
at CNC routers for some time now ... and I was just reminding him that
this
was yet another job that might be better done (expecially in volume) with
a
CNC router.

Regards,


Rick


"Patriarch" wrote in message
. 136...
"CW" wrote in
nk.net:

$200.00 for a dado blade or several thousand for a CNC. Hard choice.


If you look at it that way, no.

"Several thousand for a CNC" vs $200 for a dado blade, and $1700 for a
Unisaw makes the economics a little closer.

If that's the way one justifies tooling costs, at least.

Patriarch

CW wrote:
If you've got the work for them, they are the way to go (we have six).

*boggle*

Rick M (in ) said:

| Well stated. While a CNC router is not the "only tool you'll ever
| need", it sure does some jobs much better (go ahead and ask me!).
| Rob has been looking at CNC routers for some time now ... and I was
| just reminding him that this was yet another job that might be
| better done (expecially in volume) with a CNC router.

The CNC router offers two advantages: (1) It can really boost
productivity for many repetitive shaping operations; and (2) It can
provide a fairly high degree of precision when that's what's needed.

I cut a bunch of (stopped) dados today in hard maple. Pix posted to
news:alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking. The job could have been done
with a conventional router; but I was glad to unleash the CNC.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto

boorite wrote:

Everyone's talking about how much extra time the cleanout bit would
take. What, like 5 minutes for an entire piece's worth of dados? If
that. It's a piloted bit.

Piloted and pattern bits are great. The dado clean out bit is great if
that's all you've got.

I think where the confusion is created is when "pro" got mentioned. G

A pro (or a serious hobbyist as I am) would already have some sort of
reliable, reusable, quick to set up method already in place. He or she
would already have a quick and easy to use dado routing guide, a GOOD
dado set, a sharp shoulder plane, or even a CNC machine, so the cleanout
bit and extra step is simply a waste of time.

Heck, I've got over a 100 plywood boxes out there dadoed with a $79
Freud 208 where I didn't give a crap about a few ridges in the bottom of
the slot, and time has proven me right.

For a casual hobbyist, extra time is often meaningless.

What is also left out here is that a decent dado cleanout bit, ex://
Amana, is $25-30 in additional, very specialized tooling.


Nobody said it wouldn't work, or that it wouldn't work well. G

"Morris Dovey" wrote in news:44fe16ca$0$10307$815e3792
@news.qwest.net:

Rick M (in ) said:

| Well stated. While a CNC router is not the "only tool you'll ever
| need", it sure does some jobs much better (go ahead and ask me!).
| Rob has been looking at CNC routers for some time now ... and I was
| just reminding him that this was yet another job that might be
| better done (expecially in volume) with a CNC router.

The CNC router offers two advantages: (1) It can really boost
productivity for many repetitive shaping operations; and (2) It can
provide a fairly high degree of precision when that's what's needed.

I cut a bunch of (stopped) dados today in hard maple. Pix posted to
news:alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking. The job could have been done
with a conventional router; but I was glad to unleash the CNC.


Morris, as I understand it, one of the beauties of the CNC is that, after
the process starts, the operator can think about/do other things, while the
CNC does its cutting. At least while the machine has material.

In other words, it multiplies operator time by some positive factor, after
the setup.

I'm a hobby guy, and I enjoy the work, but I dread repetitive machine
operations. They bore me, and threaten to bite body parts without major
operator attention. But this CNC stuff interests me a lot.

Patriarch