How to Cut Notches With a Dado Blade
Cutting notches can be both time consuming and challenging. Using a stacked dado cutter with your table, sliding compound saw or radial arm saw will produce neat and clean notches of varying widths in a fraction of the time it takes to cut them by hand. Woodworkinghistory.com defines a stacked dado set as, "A set of saw blades, consisting of two cutter blades and numerous chippers. The two cutters are always on the outside, and the chippers, "stacked" on the inside, according to the width of the groove require."
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Things You'll Need
- Dado set
- Table saw
- Wood stock to be botched
- Sacrificial wood stock
- Tape Measure or Machinist Ruler
- Several Wood Clamps
Instructions
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Methods for Using a Stacked Dado Cutter
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1
Use the conversion table included with the stacked dado set to assemble a combination of blades and chippers to cut the desired width of the notch.
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2
Mount the dado set on the arbor of your saw paying particular attention to the rotation of the blades.
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3
Inspect all of the mating surfaces and clean off any debris and sawdust before mounting the dado cutter.
Newwoodworker.com explains, "Small pieces of debris trapped between blade segments will alter the size of the groove the stack cuts."
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4
Take the time to measure the dado set once it is mounted to insure it will cut an accurate sized notch.
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5
Measure and mark the outline of the notch on the wood stock.
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6
Set the height of the dado cutter to one-half of the depth of the desired notch.
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7
Clamp a 6- to 8-inch piece of sacrificial wood to the saw's rip fence so that it is next to the dado cutter.
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8
Set the rip fence to the proper distance from the dado cutter, and then move the sacrificial wood back along the fence so there is vacant space from the end of the sacrificial wood and the dado cutter.
This space will allow the wood stock to move without binding against the rip fence thereby eliminating kickback.
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9
Install the saw's miter gauge, and verify that it is 90 degrees to the rip fence for making a square cut notch.
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10
Clamp a piece of sacrificial wood to the wood stock to be cut. This will eliminate tear out when cutting the notch.
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11
Slowly cut the first pass, and then readjust the height of the dado cutter with each successive cut until the desired depth of the notch is reached.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Stacked dado cutters are widely available online, as well as hardware and home improvement stores.
Re-measure the markings for your desired notch for accuracy before cutting.
Notches can be cut at angles using the saw's miter gauge.
Cutting notches with a dado cutter in incremental heights insures a clean and accurate cut.
A machinist ruler provides greater measuring accuracy than a tape measure.
Using a zero tolerance saw insert will produce professional results.
Be sure to notice the arrows on the outside blades of the dado set. They indicate how the blades must be mounted so that they rotate correctly with the saw.
Always trust your markings on the wood stock versus your saw's measurement indicators.
Always allow the saw to come to full speed before cutting.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit detail of industrial saw for furniture industry image by Tomo Jesenicnik from Fotolia.com
