[Grandpa's old tools]

I just bought my first real table saw yesterday, a Delta 34-410 contractor saw for $200 from a cabinet shop that had closed down. When I got the saw home, I took off the dado blade that had been installed it and found out it is a Forrest 8" Dado King that appears to be a complete set. I looked them up online and they seem to go for about $300 new!

So here's my question: should I keep it and bask in my good fortune or try to sell it and re-invest the money in another piece of equipment like a drill press or a planer? I'm just starting out with woodworking as a hobby and don't have any grand plans to make a lot of furniture. Mostly stuff for around my own home.

For the hobbyists out there, is it worth having such a high quality set? Could I get by with a router and skip the dado blades altogether? Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Fred Hargis]

The new ones do sell for $300, but yours could be worth a lot less if it's been used regularly and re-sharpened several times. Anyway, for the question...most hobbyists can do very well with one of the $100 sets (Freud SD 208 and others like that). If you don't perceive needing a dado set for awhile, it might be a good thing to sell it and buy the other tools. But if it only has a market value of $150 or so, I'd keep it and use it....you probably won't need to ever buy another one. Dado sets do have a lot if use in a hobbyist shop, so don't discount the use it may get. BTW, have you got the entire set, or just what was on the saw (maybe that was the entire set)?

 

[Grandpa's old tools]

I have all the cutters and there were 2 or 3 real thin (like paper) shims between a few of the chippers. I don't know if there are supposed to be more of those or not.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[d_slat]

Keep it. You won't get as much for is it will cost you to replace it later, even if you buy a cheaper one.