Dado Stack Recommendations

I have the Freud 8” and it has been ok. It does leave nice clean shoulders but less than perfectly flat bottoms, especially in ply. SD508 I think is the model. If I had to do it over I may continue looking for other options. I bought the set a few years ago and it has been used on a Cman 1 1/2 hp hybrid saw, I have yet to set it up in my unisaw. I dont know if the extra hp would make a difference or not. I have heard good things about the Infinity and Forrest but they are a little spendy. Good luck and hopefully the family will make a good decision for you.

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

come on Charlie what have you tried to cut that your Rigid won’t handle. My 3650 has the same motorand they only time it slows down its generally me pushing to hard. OK I just brought home a 3in oak plank so at some time in the future I may change my mind but will probably consider changing to motor rather that the saw. I have the less expensive set of Freud dados and the saw has no problems at any width with any wood including hickory. This is around $100.000 +/- I have seen a couple of cheaper sets but I really have questions about the quality. I think that its a matter of how much as well as how often you really intend to use them. If I really expected to be using them every day I would probably consider other, more expensive and presumably better sets. But I don”t think that your saw is going to preform that much deferentially one way or the other sets will effect the saw one way or the other. If worse comes to worse ( and it hasn’t happened to me yet) you could always make multiable cuts. (same set as Medic Ken)

-- RTB. "dumb animals are not stupid they simply can't talk "

i use the freud SD508 too ,
no probs . so far had it for 8 years ,
never sharpened .
still works great !
got it at
http://www.woodworkers.com

$199.00 ,

but they always match prices with anyone !

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

First of all Charlie I think that you should go ahead and treat yourself to the Sawstop that was pictured. It would be a nice Christmas present and would handle any dado stack you wanted to run. :)

I run a Forrest set and get clean crisp shoulders and flat bottoms. I did run the same stack on my Craftsman 1.5hp saw without any problems (other than those inherent to the saw itself). Your Rigid will cut better than the Craftsman so you will not have any problems with running a dado stack. If you want to save a little money go with a 6” set rather than an 8”. Most dado cuts go no deeper than 3/4”.

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

RTB, I have not had any problem at all with my saw bogging down…. I’m well satisfied. I only brought it up because I thought it might play a factor in whether I should choose a 6” or an 8” dado, and if, in anyone’s experience, a certain model worked better on lighter-powered saws.

I don’t intend to use it all that much, but I’d rather pay a little more money for something that is going to make decent cuts when I do have a job that calls for it.

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

I believe Ridgid recommends a 6” Dado for that saw. I have the Oshlun SDS0630 6” stack which has been an insanely accurate dado. Laser sharp cuts, no ridges, flat flat flat bottoms… What more do you want? Oh yeah, calipers to dial in your cut width. Like most dadoes, the chippers are slightly undersized due to undersized plywood.

-- Trying to follow the example of the master.

howdy charlie i personally own to stack set the first is the dado king as scott said perfect dado’s every time all the time.

the second is a shop fox stack of all things and believe it or not it make great dado’s nice shoulders with a damn near flat bottom and for 40 bucks i cant complain.

happy hunting

-- 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

Is the only advantage of an 8” over a 6” the depth of cut? I don’t see myself ever going deeper than 3/4”.

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

Charlie I also have a Ridgid TS3660 and a 6” set of Craftsman’s stack. I’m not to happy with the Craftsman setup so I’ve been doing some research and from what I’ve found is that I will be purchasing the Oshlun SDS0630 6” stack very soon.

-- Only the Shadow knows....................

John,

I really think I’m leaning to that one as well. From the reviews I have read, and the reasonable price, it seems like the way to go.

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

Okay, I didn’t waste too much time on this decision. The Oshlun SDS-0630 it is. I just placed my order at Amazon for $58.99 with free shipping.

David, you may be right about the Freud, but I just can’t pry $200 from my moth-filled wallet for an occasional-use blade. :-)

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

Hi Charlie – I haven’t tried the Oshlun set but did own a Systimatic 42T/6T dado set that the Oshlun 8” set is based on, and it was excellent. I do have an Oshlun 40T blade that I think is well made and is a super value at $25, so hopefully you’ll be pleased with the dado set…you got a great price on it!

I’ll keep you guys posted once I’ve tried it out.

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

I have an 8” Forrest set. It cuts very well…very nice dados. Its nice to have the extra 2 inches over a 6” if you are going to do any tilting of the blade for an angled dado.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

Charlie…...I wrote a review on the Oshlun 6” set about 3 weeks ago….....Check it out “To Dado, or Not to Dado. What a Question”
Have used the set quite a bit and it performs well.

-- Doug, New Mexico.......the only stupid question is one that is never asked!........don't fix it, if it ain't broke!

Doug, thanks. Actually, your review was one of the things that helped make my mind up.

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

Glad you found it informative….......BTW my saw is the same hp as yours and to date never had a prob with this set of dadoes.
I see you already ordered….....enjoy!!

-- Doug, New Mexico.......the only stupid question is one that is never asked!........don't fix it, if it ain't broke!

I hope you’ve been a good boy and don’t end up with a lump of coal!!

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Topamax…buying your own gifts insures success!

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

Good topic, thanks! My dado is junk and leaves very ragged surfaces. I didn’t even stop to think about the poor job it was doing until I read this. Now I know what to replace it with. Once again, I have learned from you guys.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."