Choosing Dado and Groover Blades
Other Versions
Spanish
The voice of experience on different cutter brands. June 18, 2005
Question
Does anyone have experience with the Amana 46 tooth dado set? I'm considering a purchase, but could also buy the Freud 24 tooth set for about the same price.
Forum Responses
(Cabinetmaking Forum)
I've had the 46 tooth set for a few years. I originally bought it for pre-finished plywood. The Amana sets are like most of their tools - very high quality at a reasonable price. The only tearout on pre-finished is from defects in the plywood. The set is perfect for melamine or laminate dados/rabbets.
The Freud have won a number of awards recently, including one of Workbenches Top Ten Tools of the year for their SD608 Dial-A-Width dado.
I have had that Amana dado set for 15 years and it produces a very nice cut. I am fussy about quality, too.
I have had my Amana for about 3 years and many kitchens later, it is still sharp - never had to sharpen it yet. The only thing I need to do is replace the shims, which tend to get a little torn after putting them on and removing them so many times. I highly recommend it.
Does anyone know of a dado blade manufacturer that will cut under 1/4"? I thought I saw one advertised somewhere.
What you want is called a groover. Unfortunately, groovers are not adjustable. Once you try to go less than .25", you either have to use a .125" blade and make two passes or buy a groover which is a fat sawblade with 90 degree tooth edges.
You could look at an insert adjustable groover. Stark offers a groover that will do a 4mm(5/32") up to a 7,5mm (19/64") wide groove and uses disposable replacement solid carbide insert knives.
