Pro tip: The way you set up your table saw fence for dados is probably wrong

I keep seeing guys at the shop try to cut dados by just moving the fence over for each pass. They end up with a sloppy, uneven channel every time. The right way is to clamp a straight board to your fence as a stop block, then run the piece against that same spot for every pass. I learned this from an old timer in my dad's shop back in '98, and it still works better than anything else. It gives you a clean, consistent width without any drift. How do you guys keep your dados tight when you're running a bunch of them?

4 comments

4 Comments

phoenix_singh252mo ago

Honestly, I've had the opposite experience. I've been moving the fence for each pass for years and get really clean dados. The trick is to just be super careful about pressure when you lock the fence down. If you crank it over hard from the same spot every time, it can shift a tiny bit. I push it into position gently and then lock it. For me, adding a stop block is just another thing to set up and check for square. Maybe it depends on the saw. My old Unisaw fence is rock solid if I treat it right.

nathankim2mo ago

My old Delta contractor saw fence would shift a quarter millimeter if you breathed on it wrong. I finally gave up and just clamp a block to the table now.

val_shah13d ago

You're right that it can depend on the fence. My old Unisaw locks up fine if I'm gentle with it, but I've seen guys crank down on newer saws and throw them off way more than a stop block would.

kai_burns732mo ago

Remember when we used to just cut dados by hand with a router plane? That was a whole different kind of sloppy.