No problem unless you intend to cut a 1" grove 1 1/2" deep in some hard maple, then saw may need to chew it's way through?

 

I don't see a problem. Like Andre mentioned, dado cuts are typically shallow, and just slow down your feed rate and you should be ok.

 

Although I'm sure you could use an 8" stack, the manual does warn, in big capital letters, not to use anything over 6" - which begs the question as to why? It could be that the arbor is not up to the task of slinging around that much mass. Regardless, be cautious if you do use it!

Cheers,
Brad

 

Gotta love it when they tell you don't do something but not why. It could be as simple as the blades will hit part of the saw if tilted 45 deg. like anybody would do that with a dado stack anyway.

 

Gotta love it when they tell you don t do something but not why. It could be as simple as the blades will hit part of the saw if tilted 45 deg. like anybody would do that with a dado stack anyway.
- controlfreak

LOL - well, they also warn about that as well

Cheers,
Brad

 

I used that exact saw for quite a few years with a Freud 8" stacked dado and never had a problem.

 

Thanks all. I picked up a 8 inch dado stack today.

 

I used that exact saw for quite a few years with a Freud 8" stacked dado and never had a problem.

- Fred Hargis

Well that's proof the designers of the saw don't know what they're talking about.

 

I used that exact saw for quite a few years with a Freud 8" stacked dado and never had a problem.

- Fred Hargis

Well that s proof the designers of the saw don t know what they re talking about.

- WhyMe

Ahhh, I love the smell of sarcasm early in the morning. But those same designers also rated that motor at 1.5 HP (120V when in fact it's 2 HP @120V. It was downrated to comply with some UL requirements at the time. So who knows why these things are done, but they are often a legal CYA…or some other reason. I guess i should have added to my experience with the 34-444: YMMV.

 

One simple word: Liability

 

One simple word: Liability

- becikeja

That was my thought. When I see a big warning without a reason not to do it i just assume its because I can do less stupid with a 6" stack than i can an 8" stack.

 

I ignore that label on my step ladder that says "DO NOT STAND ON OR ABOVE THIS STEP" because it doesn't give a printed reason as to why. ???

 

PresidentsDad-
I've been using an 8" freud dado stack (up to 3/4" wide dado) in my 1.75hp contractor saw (sawstop) without issue. As others have mentioned, the size of the dado and material to be cut will impact your saw's performance. If I use dado stack on hard maple and I need a deep and wide dado, I would probably make two passes to get the job done. Also, I recently used the 8" freud box-joint blade set to cut a flat bottom dado 1/2" deep x 5/16" wide in soft maple. One pass with normal feed rate and motor had NO issues.

 

Ahhh, I love the smell of sarcasm early in the morning. But those same designers also rated that motor at 1.5 HP (120V when in fact it s 2 HP @120V. It was downrated to comply with some UL requirements at the time. So who knows why these things are done, but they are often a legal CYA…or some other reason. I guess i should have added to my experience with the 34-444: YMMV.

- Fred Hargis

I agree. The motor performance is the same at either voltage. Derating it to 1.5HP at 120V is all about the plug. If it were rated at 2HP it would need a 20A plug. The target market for that saw won't buy funny looking plugs so it needs to have a 15A plug, and that requires derating the motor.

I suspect the prohibition against an 8" dado stack is to deal with trying to start the saw on a 15A circuit. Derating the motor doesn't change it's start current, it still acts like a 2HP motor. An 8" dado stack has nearly twice the rotational inertia of a 6" stack so it draws start current for a lot longer. This might be too much for some 15A breakers and cause them to trip unnecessarily.

 

As always, good advise and comments. For me it is a question of money. Save your dinero for something else. My small collection of tools are a mix of cheap screwdrivers, chisels and others. On the other hand, I have tools that are more expensive, but not exorbitant…... ex: a 6" dado set. It's all personal preference and subjective. As mentioned, it's all about liability.

 

Gotta love it when they tell you don t do something but not why. It could be as simple as the blades will hit part of the saw if tilted 45 deg. like anybody would do that with a dado stack anyway.

- controlfreak

I've done that with a stacked dado. Not on that particular saw though.

 

Ahhh, I love the smell of sarcasm early in the morning. But those same designers also rated that motor at 1.5 HP (120V when in fact it s 2 HP @120V. It was downrated to comply with some UL requirements at the time. So who knows why these things are done, but they are often a legal CYA…or some other reason. I guess i should have added to my experience with the 34-444: YMMV.

- Fred Hargis

I agree. The motor performance is the same at either voltage. Derating it to 1.5HP at 120V is all about the plug. If it were rated at 2HP it would need a 20A plug. The target market for that saw won t buy funny looking plugs so it needs to have a 15A plug, and that requires derating the motor.

I suspect the prohibition against an 8" dado stack is to deal with trying to start the saw on a 15A circuit. Derating the motor doesn t change it s start current, it still acts like a 2HP motor. An 8" dado stack has nearly twice the rotational inertia of a 6" stack so it draws start current for a lot longer. This might be too much for some 15A breakers and cause them to trip unnecessarily.

- clagwell

I have put on the strange looking plug! I converted it to 20A / 240V service, including a new, larger, magnetic on OFF switch and a larger gauge cord.

Likely the most dado's I'll cut will be of 3/4" wide and 3/8" deep variety. Don't really need the extra capacity, but the lower price of the 8 inch stacks is helpful.

 

Ahhh, I love the smell of sarcasm early in the morning. But those same designers also rated that motor at 1.5 HP (120V when in fact it s 2 HP @120V. It was downrated to comply with some UL requirements at the time. So who knows why these things are done, but they are often a legal CYA…or some other reason. I guess i should have added to my experience with the 34-444: YMMV.

- Fred Hargis

I agree. The motor performance is the same at either voltage. Derating it to 1.5HP at 120V is all about the plug. If it were rated at 2HP it would need a 20A plug. The target market for that saw won t buy funny looking plugs so it needs to have a 15A plug, and that requires derating the motor.

I suspect the prohibition against an 8" dado stack is to deal with trying to start the saw on a 15A circuit. Derating the motor doesn t change it s start current, it still acts like a 2HP motor. An 8" dado stack has nearly twice the rotational inertia of a 6" stack so it draws start current for a lot longer. This might be too much for some 15A breakers and cause them to trip unnecessarily.

- clagwell

I do believe it's the weight difference in the blades, as pointed out so eloquently above that is going to be the difference in warning labels between saws rated for 8" versus 6" Dado blade sets. They NEED to look at optimum capacity so they can cover all possible situations at once. Rather than a list of warnings you can this, but you can't….

I'm just wondering if the OP really is going to make that many Dados deeper than 3/4" deep? The only NEED for an 8" Dado set is for a deeper Dado. I have rarely had need of any Dado blade to be higher than 1/2". Yeah I know I'm weird and all, but… The 6" sets will do adequate work. You can get a 6" Dado set from low end to top end. Sometimes the 6" sets are less money, and in the range they can work do as well as an 8" set. So I guess I don't understand the why? Probably don't need to, just it has me wondering if the OP is aware a 6" likely will not limit much, if anything.

Infinity Dadonators, IMHO the best Dado blade out there.

Ridge Carbide, a pretty good set.

Forrest Dado King

 

I m just wondering if the OP really is going to make that many Dados deeper than 3/4" deep? The only NEED for an 8" Dado set is for a deeper Dado. I have rarely had need of any Dado blade to be higher than 1/2". Yeah I know I m weird and all, but… The 6" sets will do adequate work. You can get a 6" Dado set from low end to top end. Sometimes the 6" sets are less money, and in the range they can work do as well as an 8" set. So I guess I don t understand the why? Probably don t need to, just it has me wondering if the OP is aware a 6" likely will not limit much, if anything.

Infinity Dadonators, IMHO the best Dado blade out there.

Ridge Carbide, a pretty good set.

Forrest Dado King

- therealSteveN

The OP (me) will likely never need the extra capacity the 8 inch provides, unless perhaps I make a dado sled. But…the main question was will it hurt anything, because the difference in pricing 6 to 8 currently is lopsided, with the 8 inchers being cheaper currently. Based on several internet opinions from multiple sites, coupled with the experiences listed here, I ordered the DeWalt DW7670 8 inch stack from Amazon. If it doesn't live up to expectations, I'll send it back. Thanks all.

 

I use the Oshlun SDS-0630 6-Inch 30 Tooth Stack Dado Set and it is cheaper than the 8" version. I don't get why the 6" in some other brands are more expensive than the 8". Must be an effect of demand.

 

You should be able to use the 8". Does the arbor on your 1 1/2hp table saw have enough arbor to fit a dado blade set. If you already have the 8" dado set, you may want to use the 1/2" width for initial cut and rest the fence for another pass, to get your 3/4" width. My saw is a 2 hp table saw and use a Irwin #316120, 3/4", 6 1/2" Adjustable dado set, and I keep it dialed in for a 1/2" dado and move the fence for the second pass for accuracy of width cut.

 

I have the DeWalt DW7670 and its a pretty decent set. I use it on a DeWalt DWE7491RS jobsite saw and follow what WoodenDreams mentioned above. I've never put anything wider than 1/2" on it. I use a piece of scrap to figure out exactly where my 2 fence stops need to be and then cut my production dados.

The only thing you have to remember on the DW7670 is the outside blades aren't interchangeable. There is a left and a right side to the stack. My set didn't have any markings on the blade to tell me which went where and I had to look at the tooth profile to figure it out. So i used a paint marker and wrote a giant L and R on each one respectively.

 

You should be ok, but with this saw I expect at some point you will hear a voice yelling "more power, Scotty!! But Captain we'er already at 110%!!"

BTW the HP of a motor does not change by converting to 240. HP = watts x volts/746. IMO you still have a relatively underpowered tablesaw @ 1.5HP. You might consider changing to 2HP if you hear Captain Kirk in the background fairly frequently.