Shopsmith Forums

OK, I'm a bit frustrated.

I tried using (did use) my Shopsmith wobble dado to make a set of logs for the grandsons for Christmas. It was cutting at an angle. I discovered the old arbor was pretty worn from being slightly loose. I replaced it with another arbor which appears to be good.

I'm still cutting at an angle, with one side of the dado significantly shallower than the other side. What gives? What is it about these that I don't see, don't know??? What could be making it "tilt?" The table is level and square. It cuts just fine with a standard blade in it. I'm about to start on a birthday project for a daughter and have about a 2 week deadline. I need two dadoes. I really don't want to set up the router table for this.

Any ideas? Need pictures?

Is your table square to the blade? You can have the table level but if it is not square to the blade it will cut on an angle.

The two wedge sets(two on each side?) must be in sync with each other. If one side 'tilts' differently from the other the depth of cut will be slanted(deeper on one side than the other). This also causes non-vertical sides of the kerf.

If you are using the 'Magna Precision Dado', it is very easy to assemble the washers improperly.

That said, I have never got mine to perform satisfactorily. Curved bottoms and 'different depth of cut on the sides'. Assembling it 'wrong' makes it much much worse.

If you do not have a stack dado, I think routing is yer best approach.

Wobble dados, by their design, will cut a domed dado. For narrow dados, this is not real noticeable, but it shows more on the wide cuts. There are some reasonably priced stacked sets that will probably do as well for you.

trainguytom wrote:Wobble dados, by their design, will cut a domed dado. For narrow dados, this is not real noticeable, but it shows more on the wide cuts. There are some reasonably priced stacked sets that will probably do as well for you.

Judging by the piss-poor responses I got on Fleabay when i sold some N.O.S. Stackers from Craftsman (late 60s), I would say that is the best place to look.
I like the ease of use of a wobbler, but the precision of a stacker can't be beat.
Also I would imagine that the wobbler would be rough on spindle bearings with prolonged use.

wiredone wrote:Judging by the piss-poor responses I got on Fleabay when i sold some N.O.S. Stackers from Craftsman (late 60s), I would say that is the best place to look.
I like the ease of use of a wobbler, but the precision of a stacker can't be beat.
Also I would imagine that the wobbler would be rough on spindle bearings with prolonged use.

In spite of their appearance, they run balanced.

It seems that the non-carbide tipped blades go pretty cheap, and might be a deal if they haven't seen much use & if you have a local guy who sharpens blades.
It seems that many shy away from non carbide steel blades maybe because they think they don't stay sharp. I find that if I don't cut stuff like nails, screws, etc, that I get a lot of use from a regular blade before it needs to be re-sharpened.
Also, another way to save money on dado blades is to buy only the size you'll use. Here's what I mean. I have both a 6" & an 8" stacked dado set. (I bought the 6" set & the 8" one came with a Shopsmith I bought)
Because of the Shopsmith's great depth-of-cut, I've never needed to use the 8" set. I can cut a 1 3/8" deep dado on my 10er & probably about the same on my MK5 with the 6" set. Hard to believe you'd need to cut deeper than that...I certainly haven't, and I keep one of my 10er's set up as a dedicated dado saw, because I cut a lot of dados.
6" (even carbide tipped) sets aren't too pricey.

I bought this set (on sale, and with a Christmas gift card) a couple years ago and I've been VERY pleased.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page ... ter=Oshlun