Handyman

Ok I was looking at dado blade sets at lowes today and I want some opinions on what will work and what is the best. Basically can someone tell me the scale from bad to best with an about price range. I am on a tight budget here so I really don't want to spend extra money on a brand name. I would rather get a good dado blade for the buck regardless of whos name is on it

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Woodchuck1957

Handyman, judgeing from your post you don't want to spend very much, and you don't want a brand name. I guess I don't understand why you want to know whats the best. If it was me I would go to Amazon.com, look around and read the customer reviews there. Only you know what your looking for, and you should know by now that cheap and good are usually just wishfull thinking when it comes to new. Don't get me wrong, I understand, money is very tight here also, I've been without work for awhile, the economy, the direction of this country, and the rest of the world has really got me down and very worried. Goodluck on your decision.

Handyman

Woodchuck1957 Thanks for the reply. I am not exclusive to any one brand. I generally try to buy a good tool at a fair price.
(you should know by now that cheap and good are usually just wishfull thinking when it comes to new) 99.5% of the time this is right. I have found a few new tools that where very cheep, and turned out to be the best tool of the year for me. Example: I bought a little yellow hacksaw and miter box that uses a 1/4 tall coping blade for $2.50 at a Walgreen Pharmacy and it is the best tool I have ever used to cut 1/4 round.
I am just looking for a good deal with braking the bank.

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knotscott

The cheapest way to make a dado is probably using a router bit, but it's not as flexible and isn't necessarily the best way. I usually prefer a dado set on the TS.

A basic set like the Freud SD206 or 208 will run in the $85-$95 range. It has two 12 Tooth cutters and five 2 Tooth chippers. It's a pretty good set that's good enough to suit many applications. The DeWalt DW7670 (or Delta variations) have 24T cutters and 4T chippers in the $100 range...excellent value, excellent performance, nice case, and nice shim stock. Spending more than that puts you in the range of the Freud SD506 or 508, Infinity Dadonator, or Ridge Carbide....great stuff for $150+. Holbren sells an Oshlun set for $70 (minus 10% with BT310, SMC10, or Woodnet10 discount code)....the Oshlun blades are surprisingly well made for the price. I've heard some decent comments about the $50 Grizzly set...it has a similar design to the Systimatic 42T set. Spending much less than that increases your odds of getting poor performance and blade life.

Woodchuck1957

Perhaps it would be better if you gave us your about price range.

boondocker

decide on a tool model then shop Pawn Shops, on ebay or Craigs List. Another place for reconditioned tools that carry Mfg's new tool waranty is Tool King in Denver. I've bought several power tools there and never been sorry.

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dbhost

The Skil branded dado set that Lowes carries is just a re branded Vermont American set, it works, but can leave an uneven bottom.

It might help to know what size you are looking for...

Bang for the buck wise, the Freud SD206 and SD208 (6" and 8" respectively) are seriously good blades that everyone seems to like, but they are nearly $100.00

What about cutting your dadoes on a router table with a straight bit instead?

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BHOFM

A board, a couple of clamps and a router seem to
give the cleanest cuts.

I have a dedicated dado saw, old 9" Craftsman I use
to rabbit the ends of my clock cases. I still have to
do some clean up. I have a Vermont American
dado set. It works fine, as good as any I have seen
any way. It didn't cost much.

For work where the joints are going to show I use
the router.

I think a RAS might be ok??

Edit..

Crap.. this is the one I have, I thought it was about $20.. probably was when I
bought mine.

I'm getting old in a hurry, gas was $0.15.9..

http://power-tools.hardwarestore.com...et-662195.aspx

jdixon

I picked up a 6" stacked dado set by Oldham at Menards last Friday on clearance for $27. I had been saving up for the Freud set but kept running onto deals on other equipment and had been putting it off. (still kinda accumulating tools..guess we always are) Anyway it may not be the best out there but I couldn't pass it up for the price. So don't forget to check the clearance aisles.

John

sweensdv

I know I'll probably take some heat for saying this but a fairly descent dado set on a budget is the Harbor Freight 44566. This was the first set I ever bought and for around $30, when it's on sale, it does a remarkably good job at making flat bottomed dados. Harbor Freight has two different 8" sets and the other one they sell is not worth a hill of beans so make sure it's the 44566 you get.

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Dave

knotscott

Cheapskate! You sprung for big bucks on your truck though!

Duzzat have 6T or 2T chippers?

Handyman

This is exactly what I was asking for. Thanks for the imput. I am looking at an 8" set at lowes. The Stanley or Skill is about $39.00 and the Freud is about $49.00 I think. I am going to put it on one of my RAS's and leave it there. I have cut dados in the past by making two passes with the skill saw and then routeing out the middle.

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knotscott

If you can get a Freud set for $49, jump on it!

LarrySch

I have to agree with knotscott - 39 dollars vs 49.00 - that is only 10 dollars and if you break that down in the number of years your going to have the set, it will come up pretty dang cheap. Money is always an issue, but I look at the time frame your going to have a item. If you have that dado set for 10 years, that is only 4.90 a year - not a bad investment.

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sweensdv

The 44566 set has 6T chippers. The full plate design of the chippers does make this set rather heavy when cutting wider dados but my 1½HP contractor saw never had an issue as far as spinning the blades was concerned.

I have to agree with the others about the $49 Freud set. If indeed one can be had for that price I'd definitely snap that puppy up.

As far as my truck is concerned, I waited and waited and waited but Harbor Freight never put one on sale so I was forced to pony up a little extra and buy it somewhere else.

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Gerry KIERNAN

You gotta have a good truck. Not having a good truck is just plain indecent.

Gerry

knotscott

That'd make that HF set similar in design to a US made Systimatic 42T/6T Superfine set that I had....just passed it along to a friend a few months ago. It was excellent, only upstaged slightly by a might impressive Infinity Dadonator for goes for alot more than $49! The Oshlun and Grizzly sets are similar to the Systimatic too, and I hear decent things about both of those are good value sets....good design is good design no matter whose name is on it, so long as it's reasonably well executed.

Nice truck BTW! (Did you try an HF coupon with the Dodge dealer? )

Nate1778

I can't speak for the cheaper units, but I have a Freud Dial-a-Dado and am very happy with it. The dados are clean and crisp and the setup is easy. The nice part is you can dial in a width and get a perfect fit. The downfall is returning to that width after you set it up for a different project, it requires several test cuts to get it back to were it was.

clarionflyer

I have 3 Freud blades (not the dado... someone gave a Delta set). The Freud's are becoming my blade of choice.
For $49? Pounce!

Handyman

Thanks for all the input guys, I think I will buy the Freud SD208. That should work well for me.

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Collector of Old Tools
Fixer of all things broke
Expert = Drip under pressure