8" Dado Blade Set

aloibl · Post by **aloibl** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:30 pm

Can you use a 8" Dado Blade set on a Shopsmith. I figure since Shopsmith only sells a 6" in their catalog that an 8" might not be the best thing to use. It was included in the Model 520 that I picked up last month. It is carbide tipped but it appears to be an off-brand. I have two of the older non carbide-tipped sets from Shopsmith so I don't need the 8" except for again it is carbide tipped and it would probably cut better than my steel ones. I would like any opinions on this.

Thanks,

SDSSmith · Post by **SDSSmith** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:15 pm

aloibl wrote:Can you use a 8" Dado Blade set on a Shopsmith. I figure since Shopsmith only sells a 6" in their catalog that an 8" might not be the best thing to use. It was included in the Model 520 that I picked up last month. It is carbide tipped but it appears to be an off-brand. I have two of the older non carbide-tipped sets from Shopsmith so I don't need the 8" except for again it is carbide tipped and it would probably cut better than my steel ones. I would like any opinions on this.

Thanks,

Yes you can use it. Whether it cuts better, probably depends more about how sharp it is versus the 6" and if the outside cutters and chippers are matched well (flat bottom). You may want to dial the speed down a little from that which you would use for the 6 inch stacked dado.

algale · Post by **algale** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:25 pm

Will work fine. I use Ininity's 8" stacked dado "Dadonator" which is probably the heaviest dado out there. Works fine. I think the suggestion of using at slower speed wouldn't hurt anything. I used it at Dado speed, however, with no problems (I did slow the speed down to slow between cuts so i didn't start up at Dado speed).

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 7:48 pm

As long as it is not nibbling at the table insert, I would give it a go! Do stay tuned to the SS to detect it is 'straining' and needs slowing down.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 2:33 am

aloibl wrote:Can you use a 8" Dado Blade set on a Shopsmith. I figure since Shopsmith only sells a 6" in their catalog that an 8" might not be the best thing to use. It was included in the Model 520 that I picked up last month. It is carbide tipped but it appears to be an off-brand. I have two of the older non carbide-tipped sets from Shopsmith so I don't need the 8" except for again it is carbide tipped and it would probably cut better than my steel ones. I would like any opinions on this.

Thanks,

I use Infinity's 8" stacked dado "Dadonator" on my PowerPro very, very successfully. With my 520 it took some noticable time to come up to speed when cutting 3/4" wide dados because of it weight. I posted some pictures elsewhere on this site of how well it cuts. I don't slow the saw down, but I did feed slower on my 520 and waited until the blade was at full speed. On the PowerPro i don't even think about it.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 5:45 am

paulmcohen wrote:I use Infinity's 8" stacked dado "Dadonator" on my PowerPro very, very successfully. With my 520 it took some noticable time to come up to speed when cutting 3/4" wide dados because of it weight. I posted some pictures elsewhere on this site of how well it cuts. I don't slow the saw down, but I did feed slower on my 520 and waited until the blade was at full speed. On the PowerPro i don't even think about it.

For your own safety sake, Paul, think about it. Having the virtues of a PowerPro at your finger tips does make make you immune to the hazards of woodworking.

I shuttered when I saw Mike Young ram that piece of hard wood through the blade at the Lowe,s demo. Yeah, he made a point but there are other, safer ways to make that point.

garys · Post by **garys** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 11:07 am

I have an 8" dado blade and it works great on my Shopsmith. Like everybody mentioned, I don't run it at top speed.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 1:30 pm

dusty wrote:For your own safety sake, Paul, think about it. Having the virtues of a PowerPro at your finger tips does make make you immune to the hazards of woodworking.

I shuttered when I saw Mike Young ram that piece of hard wood through the blade at the Lowe,s demo. Yeah, he made a point but there are other, safer ways to make that point.

Please describe that shuttering inducing demo.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 4:26 pm

JPG40504 wrote:Please describe that shuttering inducing demo.

Mike was demonstrating the ability of the PowerPro to adjust speed and torque to varying demand levels. He had a piece of oak that he was going to rip. I think it was 2" thick. He "simply fed it very aggressively (pushing hard and fast) into the blade demonstrating that the PowerPro would not bog down even under that extreme load condition.

The capability of the PowerPro was impressive. I was not impressed even a little bit by his technique. Hopefully no young (inexperienced) woodworker draws the wrong conclusion on how to feed the rip saw.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:15 am

dusty wrote:For your own safety sake, Paul, think about it. Having the virtues of a PowerPro at your finger tips does make make you immune to the hazards of woodworking.

I shuttered when I saw Mike Young ram that piece of hard wood through the blade at the Lowe,s demo. Yeah, he made a point but there are other, safer ways to make that point.

Point taken, I like all my body parts. I was only referring to running an 8 lb blade on a Shopsmith at the recommended speed. Nothing crazy or unsafe.

I am not willing to put a 350 lb tree on my PowerPro and try to turn it, as someone did on YouTube, but it did make an interesting video.