What is a Dado Blade for a Table Saw?
A dado is a circular shaped saw blade used for ripping woods. Dado blades help cut down wooden pieces with grooves or interlocking pieces.
They are also used to provide slots for components to come together such as door panels, shelves in any case, or drawer sides and bottles.
There are two different types of Dado blades, and they work differently. Before you start using a dado blade, you need to check whether you can use one on your table.
In this article, we have gathered necessary pieces of information that will help you understand the basics of Dado Blades in a better way. Also, we’ll define what a dado blade is, outline the various types, and point out the benefits.
Let’s have a look-
What is a Dado Blade?
A dado set or dado blade is a type of circular saw blade that is commonly used on the table with the help of a curl or radial arm which used to cut a dado. There are various types of dado sets like the stacked dado sets, submerged blades etc. In short, grooves and inter-lockable patterns result in the creation of dado blades.
What is a Dado Blade used for?
A dado blade is used to cut a more significant notch than the sawed edge into the material. Sometimes multiple dado blades are tied together ( known as stacked dado set also), or the blades get submerged sometimes that helps in producing a full cut more potent than a single blade.
Types of Dado Blades:
There are mainly two types of Dado blades, and they are used in various purposes. A stacked dado blade is assembled with various wide-angle blades, whereas a submerged dado blade looks very similar to a standard table saw blade. However, the submerged ones are specially designed in a way so that it can be bent slightly from left to right side and helps in cutting in more elaborate patterns.
Stacked Dado Blade Set
A Stacked Dado Blade Set is a kit that comes with several parts in it, and you stack the blades together with so that you can accurately figure out the portion that you want to cut. Most of these “stacked dado sets” have two exterior cutters and one inside. Stacked dado sets have a number of these cutters that you can choose from.
There is a sure way to set up and stack the blades, but don’t worry, it’s not very difficult to do. You need to be cautious while working with the inner blade along with two outer blades, and if you use multiple cutters they should be offset from each other.
A submerged blade
A submerged blade has a single blade through which you can cut a notch on your preferred material. The best part is submerged blades don’t sink. Instead, they have an offset rotation that produces the same result that the stacked dado blade does.
Wobble Dado Blade
Compared to other blades mentioned above, Wobble dado blades are a lot simpler and easier to use. These blades only contain a single blade, and you can easily cut according to your needs. With the offset rotation, you can almost get an accurate result similar to a stacked dado blade. The best part about wobble dado blades is that they’re easily adjustable and you can adjust them by just turning the plates in the middle.
How does Dado Blades work?
A stacked dado blade set uses two external blades, which almost look like standard set of blades. The double blades spin with a very light “S” type pattern, and they are capable of cutting woods with ease using just a single blade.
Dado Blades are easily adjustable, and you can have full control over your cutting. Depending on what table and dado blade you choose to start the process, you can adjust the width of the cut by adjusting the blade, and you can either increase or decrease the number of cuts you are using.
Types of cuts using a Dado Blade:
It’s not only that you can start cutting with a Dado blade in a high-quality cabinet table saw, only. Though cabinets are probably the best option to make dado cuts with, as long as you understand the process of using the dado blade on your saw, you’ll be able to make the following cuts with ease:
- Dado Joint – You can perform a slot to cut a piece of wood. With Dado’s joints, you can cut lengthy or grains, depending on your needs.
- Finger Joint – This wood joint involves cutting two pieces of wood interconnected. When the fingers are connected vertically, the result looks like the size of a human hand.
- Rabbet Joint – This cut involves machine-enabled materials such as wood, and it looks open-edged from the surface when viewed at the cross-section.
- Tenon Joint – This joint can be folded into a rectangular- or square-shaped holes.
Are Dado Blades dangerous?
Like every type of blade, dado blades, too, can be dangerous if you are unaware of the fact on how to use the blades correctly. It’s highly recommended that you never use a dado blade on a small piece of wood as this can be dangerous.
You need to understand that dado blades are designed in such a way that it can cut almost any material they come into contact with. So, at first, you should learn the process of handling the blades with finesse so that you never get hurt anyhow.
Final Thoughts
Dado blades can work effectively, but they can be a little hard to work with at first. However, once you get the hang of how to use the blades with ease, they can be your best friend while you perform the cuts. Besides this, you should know that cutting with dado blades can be quite a time-consuming task if you are not at all familiar with the cutting process, but once you learn it, you’ll be able to cut quicker. Make sure you take your safety precautions seriously, and you are good to go.
