The Freud Diablo stacked dado set consists of seven different parts. There are two outside blades that look exactly like normal saw blades and five "chipper" blades that look similar to airplane propellers. The chippers are single blades that fit between the outside saw blades. Each chipper blade is 1/8 inch wide. You control the width of the stack by adding or subtracting chipper blades. The stack controls the width of the dado that you wish to cut.
Remove the throat plate, the shaft nut, the large retaining washer and saw blade from your table saw.
Open the case containing the Diablo dado set. The first blade that is exposed is the right hand blade. This will always be the first blade that you install on the saw blade shaft, or arbor. Slide the blade on the saw shaft. There is a slight arch to the tips of all saw blades, make sure that the arch is pointing toward your body when you slide it on.
Slide on chippers next, using the same arch reference as the saw blade. Each chipper and each saw blade is 1/8 inch wide. So, if you want to cut a 1/2 inch dado, slide on the right hand blade, two chipper blades and then slide on the left hand blade, which is at the bottom of the Diablo case.
Add the appropriate number of chipper blades between the two outside blades to cut dado's up to 7/8 inch wide.
Slide the retaining washer and the nut on the shaft and tighten just as you would any other saw blade. Do not put the throat plate back on the saw. It will not work with the Diablo dado set.
Tip
To cut dados deeper than 1/2 inch, try making multiply passes, raising the blade slightly with each pass. Some Diablo sets may have one chipper blade that is 1/16 inch wide. Use this blade to add measurements when a 1/16 increment is needed.
Warnings:
- Be extremely careful when operating a dado set. They are capable of doing bodily injury. Don't operate one unless you are trained, or have an experienced woodworker to assist you. You can create a custom throat plate when running a dado set, but you can also run the set without one.
Writer Bio
Specializing in hardwood furniture, trim carpentry, cabinets, home improvement and architectural millwork, Wade Shaddy has worked in homebuilding since 1972. Shaddy has also worked as a newspaper reporter and writer, and as a contributing writer for Bicycling Magazine. Shaddy began publishing in various magazines in 1992, and published a novel, “Dark Canyon,” in 2008.
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