harbor Freight Dado

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75
Location
New Jersey
Harbor Freight just sent me a coupon for an 8" dado set for $18. I don't have a dado & have never used one. I'm wondering if this might be a good, inexpensive set to learn on? I know mentioning Harbor Freight inspires great controversy but has anyone any experience with this product?
Thanks
Dennis
 
Dennis,
To learn on, it might be questionable since you won't know if any issues are you or the blade. BUT, it would be good for MDF and other high wear materials.

FWIW,
Wes
 
Inspect it carefully. We had a presentation on blades at our WW club a year or so ago by a pro shaprener (who did not sell blades.) During the discussion blade quality was discussed. Some cheap blades he had seen had carbide that wasn't brazed in the correct position, causing the teeth to be out of line with each other and not leaving clearance for the plate.
 
Hi Dennis - Someone on another site bought the same dado and posted some pics of some questionable results from the set. I "borrowed" a couple and will post them for you.

I think you'd be better off spending a bit more and getting more. I've heard rumor of the Delta 6" on sale for $30...if I see a link, I'll edit this post and include it. If you need to do dados now and don't have the cash for a good dado stack, it's very possible to them cheaply with a router if you have one.

Edit:
Delta 35-530 for $29...discussion
 

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Dennis,

I have to agree with Scott.

I think you'd be better off spending a bit more and getting more.

I have learned the hard way, unfortunatly too many times :doh:. It is better to save up/hold out for some thing better than jumping at something just because of the cost.

I looked at their web site and saw 2 differnet low cost dado stacks one for $29 and one for $39. I can't help but think there has to be a quality issue in dado blades at those prices.

If you are looking for a lower cost but still quality dado, you should check out the Freud 6in set or the Freud 8in set. Rockler sells them both, 6in=$85 8in=$95. They both are quality blades that get good reviews. If you watch Rockler for sales you might be able to pick one up at a better price. Sometimes you can get a deal on these on amazon.com, too.
http://www.rockler.com/CategoryView.cfm?Cat_ID=2407

I got the 8in 24tooth Delta Dado stack from Rockler on sale for about $105. It was regularly about $145. It has received good reviews, and it gets one from me too. :thumb:

Edit: I'm not affiliated with Rockler, Freud, Amazon.com, or Delta. I'm just throwing out a few ideas and my 2 cents worth.
 
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I have the set. And have used it often with great success. True it is not a flat bottom blade set but in most cases it is servicable and you can clean out the bottom with a sharp chisel, in a few minutes.

Cheap, no.... inexpensive, yes.... Good starter, yes..... bad choice, no.....


I have been pleasured with some expensive sets in my teaching history but have been well pleased with the results of this set. No I do't work for or belong to HF, just providing my insight and experience.
 
I have this set and have been pleased with it. On the contractor saw the blade sat on the theards which is smaller than the shalft and was not a flat bottom cut and will happen with any arbor of this type.. On the uni saw it makes a usable and pretty nice cut. I have always wanted to know what the difference is between the $ 29 and the & 39.
Bob
 
Dave in my .002 cents
Have to agree with others get the better set.

Have gone the cheap route one to many times, and have regretted
90% of the time.
 
True it is not a flat bottom blade set but in most cases it is servicable and you can clean out the bottom with a sharp chisel, in a few minutes.

Dennis,

Something to consider.... Is the cost in the time it takes to clean out a dado with a chisel worth the cost savings gained by going with a low price dado, like the one you mentioned? This is totally an individual question. As Bill implied, it is in his case. This is something that you will have to weigh out.

Also something to consider, if you have a router table, or maybe just a router you can make clean flat dados with that too.

I have found, in doing this as a hoby, there is always more than one way to do something.

Well I guess I'm up to 4 cents worth on this topic. :dunno:


Edit:
I didn't see Scott's post when I was putting this up. Between the HF and the Delta 6in for just about the same price.... I really don't think you can beat the Delta.
 
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I have a good quality dado set I bought from Lee Valley, it is fantastic, I've used it a LOT and it is still sharp.

The router will do, but if you have to do a bunch of dados, the router is slower, messier and you are going to work that bit fairly hard.

I think the Delta set looks good, I'd spend a bit more and get it.

Good luck! :wave:
 
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