what dado blade should I get on a budget?

[fitzhugh]

I have no other table saw and I'm realizing just how useful a dado set would be. They come in such a range of prices, and no doubt quality, that I don't know what would be reasonable to spend too get one that doesn't suck.
I'm a hobby woodworker, no production work. I don't expect to work much with plywood, mdf etc. other than making jigs if that makes any difference in need for carbide.
I like the idea of buying used. Is this OK with blades? If they come from a reputable seller and seem OK is it likely they just need to be sharpened? Is this a dumb idea destined to end in tears and an even emptier wallet?

And one more question: did those wobble dadoes work? I am not considering one because they seem wrong. Yet they sold for a long time, did they not?

Thanks, as always!

[garys]

I bought a wobble dado back in the 1980s. It actually works great. The shortcoming of a wobble blade is that the bottom of the dado gets cut with a bit of a curve instead of straight. If you can live with that, they do nice work.
A few years ago, I added a straight multi-piece dado. It makes a nice straight cut at the bottom of the dado, but for me, the wobble blade seems to cut just a bit cleaner with somewhat less chipping of the wood.
Bottom line is that they both work. I can't really recommend one over the other.
Price is another factor to consider. The more expensive ones should cut a bit cleaner than the cheaper one, but I can't confirm that because I don't have a bunch of them to compare. Maybe someone here can recommend that "perfect" one that they own and love.

[dusty]

I originally used only the wobble blade. I bought it as part of a package when I bought the first Mark V. It served me well for many years and for typical home projects I would say that it is perfectly acceptable.

I later became obsessed with fit and appearance and I retired the wobble blade to the wall hook and bought a Freud set. The Freud set cuts a clean, flat bottomed dado whose width can be fine tuned with shims. If the resulting dado is not perfect it is because you did not set up perfectly.

The wobble blade now rests right along side the Freud set and gets used at about the same rate.

The result from either is a dado and the primary difference is the width. If you fine tune the wobble for the task at hand, you will have a dado the does what dadoes are intended to do and it fits the budget.

If you can afford it, buy the best 6" dado set you can find. Otherwise, get a good adjustable dado.

The less plywood and MDF you cut the longer the blade will serve you.

Added Comment: It appears that Shopsmith no longer offers a wobble dado blade. Mine is Part Number an AK-0590 and I paid $68 for it back then. Shopsmith now sells a stacked dado set by CMT for $169 plus shipping. I have never used anything from CMT so I can not evaluate.

[Gene Howe]

Being a cheap old bastard, I've gone the route of buying used and/or cheap cutting tools, dado sets included.
Take it from me, it's cheaper (and safer!) in the long run to buy the best you can afford the first time.
There's nothing wrong with a good adjustable dado or wobble blade, as long as it produces what you want. But a decent (Infinity, Tenryu, Freud)
Won't cost much more than a good adjustable dado blade.

[wa2crk]

I prefer the stacked dado sets myself. They can be fine tuned for a proper fit using the shims that should come with the set.
If you buy a used stacked dado you should take it to a well qualified sharpening service to have it tuned up. They will only cut a satisfactory dado if all of the blades and chippers are ground to the same diameter. If not, they will leave ridges at the bottom of the dado. They will still leave slight ridges at the bottom but they will not affect the joint.
Most of the newer dado sets will come with a 1/32 chipper to accommodate the current plywood thicknesses.
I use the SS dado set that I had tuned and it does a good job.
If you are a perfectionist like Dusty You may want to consider using a router and a jig for dados but that is another subject altogether.
Bill V

[dusty]

I don't know where you get the idea that I am a perfectionist. Every little that I do, if anything at all, comes out the way I would have it.

[MinnesotaMarty]

I have always used a stacked dado set. I have seen guys use the wobble set with good results but I inherited a 6" set from my dad and I purchased a 8" set for my grizzly table saw. Both work like a charm and I do need to sharpen both before next use.

[reible]

Might as well add my reply to the mix. I too have both types of blades. I got a wobble first and keep it mounted on an arbor for quick use. They are adjustable and can cut any width by just loosening the arbor nut and adjusting the blade. It may take a few tries to get it just right. Depending on the style they often do have a curved bottom, This is not a bad thing unless it is an exposed joint, a stopped dado fixes that problem or you can get a router bit designed to flatten the joint as a follow up to the saw cut.

Stacked blades have there own issues. The outer cutters can have a bat wing (small cut wide of the cut where the blade tips show. The shim kits that come with some blades are not as convenient as others in both selection and how they are added. Some cheaper sets have fewer chippers and getting a good fit on undersized plywood will be more effort. The chippers may have only two teeth, where better versions will have more giving a cleaner bottom.

I would look for carbide sets, costs a bit more but well worth it.

I personally never go for used blades or really cheap blades.

The next issue is 6" or 8", I have gone to 8" for the few times I need a deeper cut or for when I want to use a sled. More cost but for me much more versatility. Of course if you have an older shopsmith the 8" blades might not fit your needs.

In all honesty I would not look at a set that did not run in the $100 range, however that is me, what might not work for you depending on your situation.

The really cheap way is to make multiple passes with what even blade you presently have and clean them up with a chisel/plane after, that is what I had to do growing up in our home shop.

Ed

[benush26]

The best "budget" stacked dado I bought was 6" carbide tipped Vermont American. I think the carbide is C2 so not great for any long production runs, but handles most jobs. I think I found my budget set for less then $50 maybe even less than $40.

If you are worried about the quality of the edge cut, a friend uses his cheapo (aka not carbide) stacked system but cuts to final width with a nice Forrest blade. Personally I think it is a LOT of extra work, but he doesn't want to spend a large amount on a dado set which he uses twice a year at most.

You didn't write about any specific projects. Any still up in the air plans? If you find you are planning or building more projects which rely on a crisp exposed edge and or flat bottom dado, then I think that the advise given by those previously is very accurate, buy the best stacked system you can afford. Amana, Freud or Infinity (my personal choice) are brands to check out. If you do opt for the Freud, be certain you get a set produced for the U.S. market. Some times blades originally drilled for the foreign market can make their way in to a U.S. production run. Freud is great at exchanging, but it's just the hassle involved.

Just my two cents (with inflation that makes it closer to 1/2 a cent)

Be well,
Ben

[fitzhugh]

Thanks, all!
The only known upcoming project I have for a dado blade are something along the lines of rustic pine boxes to put on the shelves in our bathroom. The landlord redid it, thanks to a hidden leak, and the only storage now are some oddly placed shelves about 10" wide by 12" deep that run from floor to ceiling, with adjustable shelf spacing. Main thing is, being a bathroom, it would be nice to have things NOT all visible to everyone entering the bathroom, and doors won't really work. I'm thinking box joints on some cheap dimensional lumber because it will give me a chance to put the shopsmith to real use:
Bandsaw to rip the lumber, jointer and planer to clean it up, saw to cross cut (think I'll make the sled I need first), dado to make box joints and dado for box bottoms... not fine woodworking but decent practice with the machines and cheap enough that if they are awful or fall apart I can start over.

No ply this round. I know I'll have a few simple projects out of ply coming up but they are very much the exception. Same with other man-made sheet goods.

I ended up with a new condition old SS dado set, pre carbide, but cheap enough I can use it until I realize I need a decent one and spend the real money. Would I like to have purchased the "right" one first off? of course, but that wasn't an option at this time - spent way too much on ss stuff recently. A member here traded it for an arbor, a nice trade for both of us.