Choosing Dado and Groover Blades
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.
