Size of table saw blades

Hopefully, there will be people more knowledgeable than I responding to your question. The short answer is “yes” you can use an 8 inch dado set on the 10 inch tablesaw. I suspect that the main question will be how many hp your Ryobi saw is. It may not be powerful enough for an 8 inch dado and you may want to use a 6 inch set.

-- Dave, Colonie, NY

Make sure your arbor is long enough to accomodate a dado stack. and i would go with a six inch stack. I have used 8” dados on a contractor saw, but it is hard on it, and you will have to baby it through there.

-- the bent mashed up nail is my signature.

Is your saw a benchtop, cabinet, or contractor style? Do you have enough h.p. to turn an 8” set?
But the main question is: Do you have a dado insert in place of the regular blade insert?
If you got the juice, you should have no problems. If it’s a benchtop, you might get a little “walking” effect, but no problem with the other two, as they are on the floor,solid.

Rick D.

-- Remember--- one good turn-- gets most of the blanket!!!!

Also you will need a dado insert . If your saw dosen’t have one you could make one.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

I have been wondering the same thing as I’m new to woodworking. Can someone post a picture of a dado insert so I would know what to look for?

i have to agree with the others stick to a 6 inch set heres a link to the dado insert for ryobi
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000P8LKBU/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=228013&s=hi

-- I buy tools so i can make more money,so ican buy more tools so I can work more, to make more money, so I can buy more tool, so I can work more

Thanks guys as I thought maybe it was something that you needed to install the blades on shaft.
When you get old you get a little slow too.

Thanks everyone for your quick replies. I am pleasantly surprised. Many other forums don’t have the responsive members you all are.

-- Peter, Utah, www.digitaltrainlab.com

My tablesaw is a benchtop with a leg set attached. The saw is here:

http://www.homedepot.com/hd1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100058430/hd2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

sounds like a 6” set would be best. I just want to do basic rabets and dados. I also want to get a basic router table w/ router. Since I don’t do very much, I was looking at the ryobi router/table set for $99. Would it be easier to just use a straight bit instead of getting a dado set for the table saw?

thanks

-- Peter, Utah, www.digitaltrainlab.com

Peter, to answer your question about dadoes on a router table, that certainly is possible. I prefer to run them, when I can, on the table saw however. On the saw you can cut a dado in one pass. With the router table you will have to make at least 2 passes depending on the depth. With a router I do not take off more than 1/4” with each pass to relieve the stress on the bit and the router.

The other challenge is that with router bits getting a series such as a 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 straight bits will work in some instances but will leave you with sloppy dadoes in plywood since plywood is 1/32nd undersized. You will also need a series of plywood bits. But even plywood thickness can vary so it takes some fine tuning to get the dado correct even with the “correct” bit.

With a stacked dado set- please do not even consider a wobble dado- you have an almost infinite range of widths up to the stack limit that can be achieved using the set and a set of shims that are used to fine tune the dado width.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Peter – A 6” dado blade will actually be easier to spin than a comparable 8” if the blades are otherwise equal…the 6” requires ~ 25% less torque. Power for a dado set is not a problem for many saws, but it could be a concern for a very small underpowered saw. You’ll give up some cutting depth with a 6” set but rarely will you need deeper dados unless you use a crosscut sled. Note that not all dado sets are available in 6” though. Be sure to get a carbide tipped set as opposed to steel.

If you’re looking for a good value set, Holbren sells the Oshlun 6” carbide set, and offers very reasonable shipping….free s/h over $75. Discount code “SMC10”, “BT310”, or “Woodnet10” gets you a 10% discount. The Freud SD206 is also a good value on sale, but has fewer teeth.

You can certainly do dados with a router. There are pros and cons to each, and it really boils down to preference, and/or what you have. I do most of my dados on the TS, but if the workpiece is really big, I just use the router with a straight bit and a straight edge. One advantage of spending your dado blade budget on a decent router, is that you’ll have the router for other things when you’re done!

A couple of current router deals:
Milwaukee 5615-24 combo kit (single speed, ~ $103 shipped)

Hitachi M12VC fixed base (variable speed, $123 shipped)

Hitachi M12VC fixed base (VS, $99.71 shipped thru 9/11 w/code “tt090909”)

Freud FT1700 fixed base recon (VS, above table bit changes, $107 plus s/h)

I had that little Ryobi saw. The first problem is that there is no commercially available insert for it. The second problem is that the arbor is not long enough to accommodate a whole dado stack. (I don’t remember exactly how much thickness it would take.)

Because of these limitations, combined with the small table size and minimal power, I would recommend staying away from using a dado set with this saw.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I have one of those saws. I just went out and removed the blade and the correct answer is NO. the shoulder on the arbor is only long enough for 1 blade. the second blade in the stack will not run true. remove your blade and look at the threads on the arbore where the blade goes. yu will see what I am talking about. where the threads start is smaller than the blade hole.

skeez

-- hey honey! watch this!

I was actually getting ready to ask the same question as Peter only it looks like I’m planning for a much bigger saw. I’m going to order a Grizzly 1023SLWX this weekend. That’s the 5HP 10” version.

Do I want an 8” or 10” dado stack? I’ve been looking at the Freud D208, Freud SD508 and the Forrest DK10244. On Amazon they are $95, $200 and $250 respectively. I can’t decide if I’ll need the extra cutting depth of the 10” Forrest or if one of the 8” Freud models would be sufficient. I don’t yet know how much arbor I’ll have to work with but I’m not expecting the Grizzly to have any problems even when using a full set of chippers. The dados I’ll be making will mainly be for cabinets and bookshelves so they shouldn’t need to be exceedingly deep.

What do you folks recommend? I’m planning on getting a Forrest DH10807125 (80 tooth) for the hardwood plywood that my cabinets will be made with and a Forrest WWII WW10407125 (40 tooth) for general purpose cutting. I’m also going to get a blade stiffener to help take the wobble out of the 10” blades.

Thanks Justin

with the wwII full kerf blades you won’t need blade stabilizers. get the best dado blades you can afford.

-- hey honey! watch this!

macdaddy said: “What do you folks recommend? “

Premium dado sets are so expensive, that it’s tough to get exposed to more than a couple of them. I’ve had 4 good sets…Freud SD208, DW7670, Systimatic S42Fine, and the Infinity Dadonator. The Dadonator is the best dado set I’ve used. The Systimatic 42T/6T $300 is excellent, the DW/Delta 7670 is a very good value at ~ $100, and I’ve had several excellent Freud and Forrest blades, but it’s hard for me to imagine that there’s a better performer than the Dadonator out there.

p.s.: save your money on the stiffener unless there’s a problem, and even then the stiffener is a bandaid, not a cure.

Thank you for posting the link to your saw. I looked up the owners manual. On page 29 it clearly states… ”Do not install dado blades on this machine.”
If you are going to keep this saw, learn to use a router for dado tasks.

-- Trying to follow the example of the master.

I have had a similar problem with the small Ryobi bench tops. The bigger issue is that you won’t have a plate that will really fit right for the throat. But, you can build a throw-away out of some scrap. Just take a sheet of plywood (1/4”) and clamp it to the table top flat. Then, turn on the saw and raise it through the board very slowly.

-- He said wood...http://hickbyassociation.blogspot.com/