arkwood

Maybe I am lazy, but I would like a permanent setup for dado,s, as I use them often. Changing saw blades is an option, not one I like;router table bit is one. Like to know what those of you do, does anyone have a dedicated setup for dado's that you leave set up for that purpose. Is the easiest with hand held router and good straight edge. Love to hear new ideas.
Welcome to all new members, there is a wealth of knowledge here. Jerry

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kp91

Jerry,

When I sold my BT3000 table saw a while back, the guy who bought it from me surprised me when he told me he already had one. What he ended up doing was tying the two saws together on a long set of rails, one with a combo blade, one with a dado blade. At first, I thought it a little 'extreme', but basically he got an extension table and a ton of storage for the $150 bucks I sold him the saw for.

I personally use a 7" square baseplate, and 1 or 2 clamp on tool guides. The square base is nice because it helps you keep the same contact point on the guide, so your dado won't wiggle if any imperfections in your round base. The 2 clamp on guides come in handy if you forget which way to feed your router when you're in a hurry.... It won't allow it to pull away from the fence making a sloppy cut.

If you're really fancy, you can make the four sides of the square plate different lengths, so it's easy to add the same offset to your guide, no matter if you're using a 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch dado groove.

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Doug
1 John 1:9

challagan

Jerry, I much prefer to make dados with my router, however, these days with plywood thickness all over the board ( no pun intended) I use a dado for plywood. Just easier to do a few test cuts and get it set. Otherwise I use a straight edge and the router for normal sized dados. For smaller pieces I just use the router table if I can.

Corey

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arkwood

Thanks Doug and Corey for responding to my decision making. I had really thought of buying another smaller, than my 10" Grizzly, table saw and use it for Dado's.
I like your suggestions , I really do not want to give up the space another table saw would take up and have a ryobi router I will gladly dedicate to dado's . (Good reason to convince the wife I need another router). The square base makes sense too. I have heard a suggestion I like for materials a little off such as some 3/4 plywood. Plane a piece of hardwood to exact dimension of a 1/2" bit. Use this 1/2 piece between guide and router base aligning router bit on dado line nearest guide . After making this cut, remove 1/2 inch spacer and insert thickness of material to be placed in dado and cut should be exact. I probably heard that here and maybe from one of you guys. Thanks again for the comments and suggestions. jerry