Another migration from that dodgy site which was posted on Dec 12, 2019. For a man of convenience, I believe this item speaks for itself,
albeit from down under. You may notice the 'pecker's setup jig, however, don't get distracted... I have it and I use it... I'm not spruiking it at the moment. Having mentioned it, use it's concept and you may nail non-Freud dados quicker.
One of the better things of evaluating an item many months after purchase, you tend to forget the often exorbitant price you paid for it.. if it works. As I've given this item 5 stars it goes without saying that I do not begrudge the cost. I had to order it form USA and I did begrudge the $111.00 shipping cost, however, Amazon did advertise free shipping at the time (… even internationally) and they refunded my shipping cost after being challenged.
I decided to review this item as I plan to make a few related posts.
I find that setup is a breeze and probably get an 85-95% first time hit… the 10% range is governed by the number of vinos one may consume. Nevertheless, the follow up 1st. adjustment has yielded 100% satisfaction.
Previously, I used to use a CMT 8" dado set, which required using shims to fine tune the width of cut,
Depending on the adjustment required, the shims may need to be staggered which would require removing several blades
On the Freud, adjustment and fine turning requires the use of this setup matrix and the dial turns specified gets you those 95%+ achievement.
Usually most errors occur in potential losing count once the turns pass 2. Most adjustments only require the removal of the dial blade and a simple 1 or 2 + or - click twist(s) which is not that easy to stuff up (by normal people) when you have the sheet in front of you,
The downside is that you do need a special spanner (supplied in the kit)
to step over the dial
and if you misplace it, can cause many hours of frustrating searching as you always put it in the last place you look for it. This did slightly frustrate me as I have grown accustomed to using a 22mm ratchet spanner which I use extensively for normal TS operations.
Bacause of the dial, you need to consider whether it will fit onto your particular TS.
though the dial blade replaces you normal TS washer.
The one thing I will criticise is the shitty plastic packing that is supplied with the unit.
The soft brittle plastic breaks far too easily. I have decked it out with MDF separators (another blog to follow… may retro link to this review) which add some extra weight to the box but not enough to be of a concern… after all I won't be taking the box on my next marathon run.
Just as an aside, there is a Woodpecker dado setup jig that I use which makes setup even easier. I plan to follow this up by a review on that item as well.
Unless you know about it, it is cool, however, once you find out about it you can easily make your own, especially if you have a phobia about red aluminium.
One other word of advice, consider your intent. This 8" set has a depth capacity of 54mm on my tablesaw which uses a 6mm thick ZCI. Only once I have needed a 50mm deep dado… most, if not 100%, will be satisfied with the cheaper 6" set.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not poo-pooing the BCT Kerf Maker,
(pictured with it's setup/operational jig… of course this duck had to try it out and I'm not famous enough to get test samples), however, I will always prefer a one pass operation to a multi pass if possible (excluding router and depth of cut operations).
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
I rarely every use my dado stack just because I really dread the dance of the shims to get everything correct.
and if you misplace it, can cause many hours of frustrating searching as you always put it in the last place you look for it.
I find discipline to be the cure for that. No lecture on putting stuff back in its place after use, just keep looking for a few more minutes after you find the tool/part to invalidate your claim.
My biggest issue is that my arbor is too short (a common complaint among middle aged males). My old Craftsman contractor saw is a hassle to mount even one additional blade on. The blades slip down onto the threads and end up slightly out of alignment.
I stack my dados on the bench and clamp them together, then slip the stack on the arbor and tighten down the nut, then release the clamps. It works most of the time. I wish I could find a sleeve to cover the threads and allow me to slide on individual blades, but I feel like the wall thickness would just be way too thin.
Anyone have any ideas?
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
SplinterGroup .... I find discipline to be the cure for that.
Nothing wrong with discipline, however, when the welts dissipate, I still cant find those bloody shims. I have more chance of dropping 10 shims and not finding all of them than the dial blade, whose oopsie could sever a big toe... just ask the surgeon to return it.
RyanGi ..... My biggest issue is that my arbor is too short (a common complaint among middle aged males)
Just middle aged males?... bragger!
RyanGi ..... I stack my dados on the bench and clamp them together, then slip the stack on the arbor and tighten down the nut, then release the clamps. It works most of the time
I bought the 'peckers jig, which basically actually does what you are saying. It just looks prettier than anything I would have whipped up out of MDF. While I reckon it's great, I could have achieved it with some large bolts, fender washers and an accurate set of calipers.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
Yeah, the issue with that woodpecker gizmo is that eventually you have to take the stack off the gizmo and install it on my cute, little arbor.
I can get the stack square on the bench (I milled down the threads on a bolt so it’s perfectly 5/8” dia, letting me stack the blades). But what I want is a piece of tube stock that I can stack the blades on, then slip over the arbor threads (hence the need for ridiculously thin walls), then tighten the whole stack up leaving the tube in place
I think I’d need several of them, almost one for each 1/8” increase in dado width…
Honestly, what I’m probably gonna do, is buy one of the CMT locked dado stacks when they come back in stock. The blades fit together so they don’t move independently, which should fix my issue.
Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".
I have a cheaper than dog-💩 HF set for construction type stuff (serious wings) and a Freud 208 (very tiny wings).
Love my Freud box joint set as there are absolutely 0 wings and it produces no tearout which is what I fine most amazing.
I hate shims because they are such a pain to get right but I do respect the ability to get precise cuts when a single pass is require. Another thing I hate about the shims is they drop into the arbor threads and get sheared off when I tighten. The center holes just keep getting bigger. Tried tape between the blade and shim to hold them centered but that brings up its own issues.
Was told about magnetic shims but have never tried them.
To be honest GW I can't remember as I haven't had the need for quite a while and its a pain to fit as the tolerance on my spindle is quite tight to put on and get off... always worried about chipping blades... so I'm not gonna rush off and fit and try at the moment.
However, having said that, by the fact that I cant remember makes me think it has not been an issue as I can remember the batwings with some of my blades with my spline jigs.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
Ok, just always wondered, swinging round and round in a sweeping action, I had guessed they would have. I dislike them, they make the joint look bad, or require work to look good.
