Was thinking of purchasing the Freud Dial-A-Dado but didn't want to drop
the $225+ without some good reviews. Anyone happy with theirs?

Monty

Monty asks:

Was thinking of purchasing the Freud Dial-A-Dado but didn't want to drop
the $225+ without some good reviews. Anyone happy with theirs?

Got one not long ago, but have had little time to use it. Once. It did a really
nice job, and saves shimming, so can save a few seconds in many set-ups.

You do know this is not a regular dial-in the wobble dado set-up, didn't you?
The dialing eliminates the need for shims, but you still stack the blades.

Charlie Self
"Character is much easier kept than recovered." Thomas Paine

http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/m.../business.html

In article , Monty wrote:

Was thinking of purchasing the Freud Dial-A-Dado but didn't want to drop
the $225+ without some good reviews. Anyone happy with theirs?

Just FWIW, I completely abandoned any thought of buying the Dial-a-Dado when I
saw the Ridge Carbide dado set at a show last fall for $159. The cuts are
smooth as glass. I can't see how the Dial-a-Dado could possibly make better
cuts, and I figured that $66 is a *lot* to pay for a small increment in
convenience.

--
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

On 27 Jan 2004 09:48:07 GMT, otforme (Charlie Self)
wrote:

You do know this is not a regular dial-in the wobble dado set-up, didn't you?
The dialing eliminates the need for shims, but you still stack the blades.

I was going to ask about this same tool.

Do I understand correctly that you stack the blades to get close, and
dial to fine tune?

If so, what is the adjustability range via the dial? For example,
+1/32 to - 1/32.

Thanks,
Barry

Hi Doug,
It may just be me but unless you are running a production shop it seems using the shims or the new
dial in type would take more time than just moving the sheet a hair and running it through again. In
other words, it seems like a solution to a non-problem. What am I missing? Thanks, JG

Doug Miller wrote:

In article , Monty wrote:

Was thinking of purchasing the Freud Dial-A-Dado but didn't want to drop
the $225+ without some good reviews. Anyone happy with theirs?

Just FWIW, I completely abandoned any thought of buying the Dial-a-Dado when I
saw the Ridge Carbide dado set at a show last fall for $159. The cuts are
smooth as glass. I can't see how the Dial-a-Dado could possibly make better
cuts, and I figured that $66 is a *lot* to pay for a small increment in
convenience.

--
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

In article , JGS wrote:
Hi Doug,
It may just be me but unless you are running a production shop it seems using
the shims or the new
dial in type would take more time than just moving the sheet a hair and running
it through again. In
other words, it seems like a solution to a non-problem. What am I missing?
Thanks, JG

The main benefit is that adding shims (or dialing in more width) allows you to
"sneak up" on the fit a few thousandths at a time while cutting test dados in
a piece of scrap. Once your shelf, or whatever, fits snugly in the dado in the
scrap, it's time to cut dados in the real thing. Remember that if you don't
practice (make test cuts) on scrap, you're practicing on your project. What do
you do if you move the sheet a hair too far?

Further, even in a home shop, I think that it would be a rare instance in
which you'd make only *one* dado at a given size: multiples of two (one for
each end of a shelf, e.g.) would be much more common. If you rely on "moving
the sheet a hair" it's unlikely that you'll cut both dados the same size.


Doug Miller wrote:

In article , Monty
wrote:

Was thinking of purchasing the Freud Dial-A-Dado but didn't want to drop
the $225+ without some good reviews. Anyone happy with theirs?

Just FWIW, I completely abandoned any thought of buying the Dial-a-Dado when
I
saw the Ridge Carbide dado set at a show last fall for $159. The cuts are
smooth as glass. I can't see how the Dial-a-Dado could possibly make better
cuts, and I figured that $66 is a *lot* to pay for a small increment in
convenience.

--
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 07:40:43 -0500, JGS
wrote:

Hi Doug,
It may just be me but unless you are running a production shop it seems using the shims or the new
dial in type would take more time than just moving the sheet a hair and running it through again. In
other words, it seems like a solution to a non-problem. What am I missing? Thanks, JG


repeatability

Monty:

I've used this dado blade several times and it does
a great job. I'm getting one as soon as my shop
gets set up. Look around for the best price tho.
Eagle America and Highland had the best prices
in December.

MJ Wallace