What Size Dado Blade 6" or 8"

Don, I have the sd508 and love it. If the price is difference is not to great I would go with the 8". You never know when you might need that extra depth.

I've got both and while the SD506 does fine in my 1.75hp Ridgid TS3650, the SD508 is a little sluggish. I think it would do fine in a 3hp or 5hp saw though. Just my $0.02.

It somewhat depends on how much you plan on using it and what type of cuts you will be making.

A 6" will somewhat limit the depth of cut you can make. While this may not be a problem with the blade at 90 degrees, if you want to make a cut with the blade tilted, you may not have enough blade height to do what you need.

The depth of cut and the motor HP would dithchate what you would need.

I needed a 10" on my saw because a 8" would only cut about 1/4" The blade is a 17" on a Fay Egan saw.

I would check the manual of the table saw you have 1st. I use a craftsman 6 inch and love it

I agree with what everyone has said. If you have the power with your saw, I would get the 8" As already said, the place you will notice it the most is when you are cutting angles with the blade tipped.

I agree with what others have said if your saw can handle an 8" that is what I would go with. I bought this set about 3 months ago and could not be happier, flat bottoms and easy set up.

http://www.holbren.com/oshlun-8-42t-dado-set-5-8-arbor.html

Thanks for all the responses. I've made the decision to get the Freud SD506 - the 6" because of one really big issue - power. I have a Craftsman 22124 and although I could re-wire it for 220, I probably won't ( I have a garage shop). I also found an article in Wood mag (183-17) that actually compares the 6" and 8". The 8" provides an extra inch which I don't think I've ever used. Trying to think back over 30 years using my wobble blade, I don't think I've ever gone above 3/4". If I have a need to kick myself in the future - I'll let y'all know.

Don

OOOOOO … I never gave any thought to sled use. There is always something.

I have the SD508 and I used to use it for years on a 1 3/4hp contractors saw (wired for 220 not sure how much difference that would make), it worked fine for me, but I usually don't stack my dado set up very wide maybe 3/8" or less, then just make multiple passes to get to the desired width, I still cut them that way on my 5hp cabinet saw. I also use a sled on my saw alot.

Mike

the other thing to consider is if you have a RAS if you plan on using it in that i know on mine a 6" wouldn't work not big enough

The craftsman saw you have has plenty of power to spin an 8" dado blade, not to worry. You wont gain any power by switching to 220v just cooler running, and maybe a little faster spin up, but that doesn't make a difference.

I also have a 22124 and a Freud 8" dado set. I also run the saw at 110V and I have not seen any issues with it. No vibrations either just beautifully cut dados and rabbets.

By the way the amount of power (HP's) and torque a motor deliver have nothing to do with the voltage you run it at or to be more precise the relationship is the Voltage and the Current drawn are what is important.

If you run your motor at 220V the current it will draw will be exactly half the current it draws at 110V

In Europe one of the reasons and I would estimate the primary one they opted to have 220V in the households was the savings realized in copper wires. You would be surprised at how thin are the wires they use over there.

I haven't purchased the SD506 and I'm glad I didn't. Last night I actually measured the wobble blade that came with my old table and found it was 7". The manual for the new TS made mention of a dado blade, but did not say anything about the maximum size. And after hearing from skidooman93, mikedddd, jerryz, and others I decided to go with the SD508. Plus the fact that it is currently on sale for $199 which is only $20 more than the SD506 makes it a no brainer. -- Thanks all for all the info. Being a new LJ I've found this to be an awesome place to not only show my stuff, but to get some excellent feedback.

Don - I have no doubt the SD506 or 508 will give great results, but would like to muddy the waters a bit and suggest the Infinity Dadonator at the same price. It has the same number of teeth on the cutters, and 50% more teeth on the chippers, is made to world class standards, and has a stellar design that reduces tearout and reduces the size of the "bat ears". It's easily the best of the 4 "good sets" I've owned. It worked well on my 22124, and is the cat's meow on my Shop Fox 1677.

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