Shopsmith Forums

I am interested in setting up my 520 for a dado blade. I will not be doing advanced work so I do not need the best blade out there. SS has a sale (15% off) a new dado blade. You can purchase a used SS dado blade from ebay at a considerable cheaper price, however it is not the same dado blade that SS now offers. Besides the sharpness is there an advantage of the new blade over the previous version? Also is there another blade that is recommended? Thanks in advance.

Steve

There are quite a few variables. Two completely different versions exist, wobble dado and stack dado. Wobble is less expensive and usually, if not always, carbide tipped. Wobble's biggest disadvantage is that the cut is slightly rounded at most dado widths, but it is adequate for many things.

The stack dado has two common sizes, 6" and 8". Most, if not all, SS brand (or sold) dados are 6". The newer ones are carbide, the older ones are not. Personal opinion - I'd be concerned about any used blade unless I factored sharpening into the price and savings. Some eBay products are new/unused, so this may not apply. Carbide has a much longer life and goes longer between sharpening, only you know how important that is for your need.

IMO Carbide is the way to go. I still have one of the older SS steel dado stacks, it's actually the only non-carbide blade I ever use. It does a very good job. But I will replace it with carbide rather than have it sharpened when it becomes too dull.

- David

I agree with David on this. I have both types (stacked and wobble) neither are carbide blades and when needed I'll replace them with a carbide stack set.

There are also different advantages and disadvantages in both the 6 inch and the 8 inch blades , the 6 inch has less circumference and teeth meaning the cut does not require as much torque on the motor or amps required to maintain a set speed , if you use a lot of hard woods like hickory or oak the smaller dia cutters can be a advantage , it may not make a difference on your set up but it will in some situations .

I say use whatever dado blade you have. I've had wobble and stacked blades. Both work well for any jobs I've attempted with them. I've had a steel one and a carbide one. Again, both work well. I've had a 6" one and a 8" one. Both work equally well.
I have never needed to cut dados so deep that the size of the blade matters. The 6" one reaches deep enough for all my jobs, and the 8" one on these jobs doesn't take noticably more power so for me, size doesn't matter at all. The variable speed of the Shopsmith deals with all these differences.

Thanks for all the advice. Probably will go with a non-SS blade for now.

Also might want a dado set that cuts flat-bottomed grooves, for shelving, etc. where the joint would show. Another consideration is that most of todays plywoods are not true 1/2" or 3/4 dimension. So having a dado set that has various shims to get a join tight is important too.

https://www.amazon.com/Freud-10T-Pro-Da ... B0000223O8

Jim

pngeezer wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 12:47 pm Also might want a dado set that cuts flat-bottomed grooves, for shelving, etc. where the joint would show. Another consideration is that most of todays plywoods are not true 1/2" or 3/4 dimension. So having a dado set that has various shims to get a join tight is important too.

https://www.amazon.com/Freud-10T-Pro-Da ... B0000223O8

Jim

I think quality Baltic Birch plywood is the solution to dimensional problems.

I think baltic birch metric sizes are likely the reason for imperial sized plywood being under sized.

Baltic birch is made to metric dimension and so isn't exactly equivalent to inch dimensions like 1/2 or 3/4