What to look for in a dato blade set?

What kind of quality cut are you looking for?
personally i think wobble dado blades are worthless…I’ve got a good Freud 8” set, came with an undersized chipper for use when plowing a dado for Plywood (as its a bit under 3/4”). I’ve been real happy with it.

-- "Democracy is by far the worst system of government. Except all the others that have been tried." ~ Winston Churchill

I have a woble set. I agree worthless. What i was looking at was more like this.

(2) 22 tooth 8’’ Outer blades (fits 5/8” arbor) Maximum RPM: 4500
(4) 1/8” 2T Chipper Blades
(1) 1/16’’ 2T Chipper Blades
(4) Brass Shimstocks

Vern,

After a bit of research I purchased my first stacked dado set last year. My considerations were as follows:

1) Price Range – This can vary quite a lot
2) Size – 6 or 8 inch
3) Length of saw arbor – Can the saw handle the whole stack + shims? If not, what is the max it can handle?
4) Quality of Cut – Clean edges, flat bottom
5) Reputation & reviews

After careful consideration I purchased the CMT Dado Pro set and have no complaints at all.

Hope this helps!

-- Chris

Not even a brain drain, Freud dado blades. Clean cuts, sharp sides and very adjustable with years of use. No I don’t work for Feud but I love their pricey dado blades!

-- Never board, always knotty, lots of growth rings

One of the things, in general, to look for in a dado set is the ability to cut undersize. Most plywood today is 1/32” or more undersize. There is also the diameter consideration, usually 6” or 8”. If your saw operates on a 115V 15 amp circuit, saw blade manufacturers consider it to be in the “underpowered” category. In this case, best results might be obtained with a 6” dado.

Last year I purchased a 6” dado Oshlun dado set from Rockler for only $70. It is fully carbide tipped and it has performed quite nicely.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

I’m also looking for my first dado… Any opinions on the Freud D208 8-Inch Professional Dado???

-- good fences make good neighbors...

or this one??? http://www.amazon.com/Mibro-416371-8-Inch-Stacking-Blade/dp/B000HE87VI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1233182479&sr=8-7

-- good fences make good neighbors...

The Oshlun 6” dado at Rockler;

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17313&filter=oshlun

Rockler has a 10% off sale until 1/31

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

I just went for the 8” dado Oshlun dado set from Amazon at under $85.00 delivered… That sounded like a fair deal…

-- good fences make good neighbors...

Did anyone mention wobble head dados are probably NOT the way to go?? There are a few threads on these.

As usual you don’t want to skimp too much. Buy the best your budget will allow.
Freud is great, and some others are quite good. There are some low priced choices that you would likely regret buying. Make sure you can vary your sizes well. Quality ply is harder to find and at least around here, may vary slightly in thickness from sheet to sheet in the same store. Remember a 2×4 isn’t, and 3/4 probably isn’t either.
Your saw will guide you somewhat as to size it will accept. My radial arm won’t handle the 8” for my tablesaw.
And I shouldn’t try to make it~

-- CaptnA - "When someone hurts you, write it in the sand so the winds of forgiveness will scatter the memory... "

I have the Freud SD208 and it is awesome. Super smooth cuts in plywood with never any tear out on the way out of the piece.

For reference, I am using it on a Craftsman 22124 Hybrid Saw. The saw doesn’t even change pitch when digging in a to a 1/2” dado.