Good dado set recommendations

Joshua. Use the Lumberjock woodworking store if you buy from Amazon. Martin gets a commission if you link there through LumberJocks web site. It helps to pay for us to play.

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Appomattox Virginia [email protected] †

Just checked Amazon.com again today. The SD-508 is back up to $200. I always miss these sales because I hesitate.

I found another important difference between the SD-208 and SD-508. The outer blades on the SD-508 have 24 teeth whereas the SD-208 has 12. I imagine the higher tooth count would result in cleaner cuts. Am I right?

I’m leaning toward the SD-508. I’ve never heard anything negative about it except the cost. I’ll just wait for Amazon to put it on sale again. $135 isn’t bad for a premium dado set.

-- Joshua, Olathe, Kansas

Joshua, I have the Freud SD-208, and I love it. It makes great flat-bottomed, splinter free cuts. I don’t have any experience with the 508, so I can’t directly compare them for you, but I definitely wouldn’t shy away from the 208. I bought mine new on Ebay for $71, including shipping. If price isn’t an object, then maybe the 508 is worth the difference.

-- Robb

Joshua, I also like Robb have the SD-208, and it has done a great job for me. For the money it is a great dado set.

-- Greg Mitchell--Lowell, [email protected]

I have the 508 and I give it the same rating as Greg and Robb give their 208’s. I really don’t think you can go wrong with a Freud stack of any number.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Tom referenced some useful shims for dado sets from Lee valley for matching the width of plywood. In another post. People interested in this post may be interested in them as well.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=30063&cat=1,41080,41165

The other discussion is Cutting Dados for Plywood Thickness.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Wow, Robb, you got a deal at $71 for that set. Amazon wants $95 and that’s with “Free Super Saver” shipping.

Was your’s used, or did you just get a super deal?

I have one of the “wobble” dado blades. It’s a hassle to use, because you have to do several trial cuts to set it, so it cuts the width you want. I probably need to get one of these type (I guess I found out the hard way why this kind costs more than mine – because it’s better….).

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28