maxl93•6d ago

Spent 6 months cutting dados with a router before a pro showed me the table saw trick

I was at a shop in Portland last month helping out on a custom kitchen job. This old cabinetmaker watches me set up the router and asks why I'm making it so hard. He walks me over to the table saw, sets up a simple jig with a scrap piece, and cuts a perfect 3/8 dado in like 10 seconds. I felt like a complete idiot. All that time setting up bits and cleaning up tearout for nothing. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize you've been overcomplicating something basic?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_murphy6d ago

Yeah that dado stack setup is a game changer once you figure it out.

robinp896d ago

Honestly I used to be one of those people who thought dado stacks were overhyped and not worth the hassle. But @cole_murphy your post actually convinced me to give it another shot after my first bad experience. Tbh I was completely wrong once I took the time to dial in the shims and really pay attention to the setup. Now I can't imagine trying to make precise grooves without it, it really is a total game changer once everything clicks.

wells.christopher5d ago

Ha yeah that story hits close to home. Though I gotta say the router isn't always useless for dados, it's actually better for stopped dados where you don't want the groove to go all the way across. But for through dados the table saw is just faster no contest.