Freud Inc SD208 Dado Blade
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend Stack dado set has anti kickback, splinter free cuts, negative hook angle for flat bottom grooves. Can be used on table saws, radial arm saws for cutting slots, grooves, dadoes, and rabbets in plywood, hard, and softwoods. Includes: (2) outside blades, ca Product details and pricing info |
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56 Customer Reviews Posted
- The Good and the Bad
- As a carpenter who cuts a lot of plywood, I was interested in upgrading from a 'wobbly' dado to this system. In general I was impressed with this set. The plates and chippers are all substantial. They are manufactured out of nice thick, flat stock, with large carbide teeth and a nice clean black finish. I do my work on a Craftsman Professional 10" tablesaw with a 1-1/8" long threaded arbor. The first thing I had to do was reassemble the outer plates to change the setup from a right-tilt, to a left-tilt configuration. Before making dado cuts the user must consult the manual and determine the appropriate type and number of chippers to install between the outer plates. A little color coding or some stenciled part numbers on the components would simplify the process, but if a person can read, they should be able to figure this out. I found slipping the assembly over the arbor threads to be a little bit of a challenge due to the thickness of the components. There is no 'slop' in the 5/8" arbor hole so you need to have room to slide them on square with the arbor threads. Practical Feedback: This system works nice. Pretty quiet for a dado and very clean, flat cuts. I found the dial settings recommended in the manual to be only approximations. Adjust your settings and make notes for future reference. On the negative (and its a significant point) I found I could not safely utilize the wider settings on this dado. When I installed the components required for a 3/4" dado I found I couldn't even get a full turn of the arbor nut when tightening up everything. ...and that still leaves one chipper in the box. So, using this set for wider dados will require me to make two separate passes at different settings. (Seems like it kind of defeats the purpose of a dado, doesn't it?) I don't know whether to place responsibility for this problem with Craftsman or Freud, but as a buyer it seems like a little more up front information would be helpful. In summary, this is a great product if your tablesaw arbor threads are long enough to accept the unit(1-3/8" or over). If not, keep looking.
- 2007-01-13, 10 of 10 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- THE BEST DADO CUTS EVER, BUT...
- As one reviewer has already noted, the dial a width dado by Freud is a bit of a challenge to tighten on the Dewalt 746 hybrid saw. But it is worth the hassel. You cannot use the supplied wrench, and your saw wrench will not fit either. I found that a big ol craftsman combo wrench works just fine to tighten the nut. The "box" end grips just enough to allow you to tighten the nut perfectly. It is worth the extra effort. This is absolutely the best dado I have ever used. Even cuts across grain in veneer plywood are clean and have no tearout, and dadoes cut in hardwoods are things of beauty. Adjustment of the cut is fast and easy, and if you keep a "log" of settings, you can return to a particular cut with confidence that it will duplicate the last cut. Hard to do with shims.
I haven't had the problem getting it sharpened as one reviewer has. I routinely take all new blades, bits, and cutters in to my local saw shop before I use them. I learned the hard way, new doesn't mean sharp. Their only comment was that it was a nicely balanced unit and has a good amount of carbide. Of course this shop has been in the same location for over 75 years, so they have probably seen it all.
I gave this unit 4 stars instead of 5, because of the wrench problem. But as I said before the end product is really nice, so it is worth the little extra effort. Highly recommend this one. - 2006-12-29, 4 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Excellent cut--but make sure it fits your saw
- I bought the SD608 dado set a couple months ago for use with a Delta 36-717 hybrid saw. As someone else mentioned here, it's very difficult to determine before you buy whether it'll fit your saw, so I contacted Freud. I received the following from a company rep:
"Check to see what the specifications are for dados on your machine. Many manufacturers limit the diameter of the dado to 6" while others allow 8" but may limit the width of cut. If your machine is rated for a 6" or 8" stacked dado, then there is the consideration of the arbor nut size, inside flange diameter, and arbor length. Unfortunately there are too many saws for us to keep a list of what these specifications are for every machine and be able to keep it up to date with changes made by the manufacturers, but with some quick measurements you can determine if your saw is capable of running the Dial-A-Width.
1. Arbor Nut Size - The arbor nut wrench size can not be larger than 1 3/16" (30 mm). The set includes a 7/8" wrench. If your arbor nut uses a wrench other than 7/8" (22 mm), you will need to use a wrench other than the one that comes in the Dial-A-Width.
2. Inside Arbor Flange Diameter - If the inside arbor flange is under 2-1/2" diameter you are OK. If it is over that, the Dial-A-Width will not work on your machine.
3. Arbor Length - Measure the length of the arbor on your machine and subtract the thickness of the arbor nut from that measurement. If what you have left is at least 1 3/32" then you can cut up to a 3/4" dado with your saw. If you have 1 3/16" or more then you can stack all the components on the arbor at one time. Still keep in mind that you must comply with maximums that the manufacturer of saw has for dadoes.
We have also heard of a few saws on the market that have an interference problem with the inside blade. To check this disconnect power to the saw, and with a blade on the saw look down inside the saw beside the blade. If there is anything like belts or structural members closer than 1/2" from the sides of the blade then this could be a problem. If there is any question after this visual inspection the take an old saw blade (can be a 10" or a 7 1/4" as long as they have the same arbor as the saw) and on the side opposite the arbor nut hot glue 6 US Pennies in a stack about 1 1/2" from the center of the arbor. Put the blade on the saw (still with the saw disconnected) and rotate the blade using the arbor wrench. If the pennies do not contact anything then you should not have an interference problem."
On the Delta 36-717 hybrid saw, the arbor is just long enough to use the full set of dado blades. I worry about getting the arbor nut on incorrectly and stripping the arbor, so I'm really careful about it. It's a pain to arrange the blades so that the teeth of one blade don't interfere with others, but that's not unique to this dado set.
However, I was most concerned about whether a hybrid saw could push an 8-inch dado; some recommend at least a 3-HP saw with this diameter. But it worked great with the 36-717, a 1-3/4-HP model. To be safe, I still make deep cuts in a couple passes, but I've never had a problem.
The dialing mechanism requires some trial and error to figure out. I was dialing it in, dialing it out, and having trouble figuring out which way I was supposed to be dialing, because I could only see a difference after I'd made a cut. Then I figured out that by watching the threads on the inside of the dialing mechanism, I could get a better idea of whether I was increasing or decreasing the width of cut.
The quality of cut is excellent--flat bottoms, smooth cutting, and minimal tear-out. I'm quite happy with the purchase, especially at the price I got it for: $175 on Amazon in March 2006. - 2006-06-17, 12 of 17 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Doesn't fit RIDGID tablesaws!
- The Ridgid TS3650's blade-mounting arbor is too short for this dado set. The widest dado setting you can *safely* dial up to is about 1/2". Also, the special wrench provided by Freud doesn't fit the arbor nut.
C'mon, Freud, why no warnings in your sales literature?? As a regular user of your saw blades, you really let me down. So much for my brand loyalty. - 2006-05-18, 9 of 20 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- The best 8" Dado Set I have Used
- I have been building custom furniture for 30 year. I have four different dado sets in my shop. The Freud SD608 Dial-A-Dado is by far the cleanest cutting dado I have ever used. The finished dado appears that it was cut with a straight router bit. The bottom of the dado is so clean it requires no claen up. The adjustment for narrowing or widening your cut slightly is a real time saver. It works just as advertized. If I only had one dado set to pick from the SD608, 8" would be the one I would buy.
- 2006-03-20, 7 of 9 people found this review helpful, Rated:
