Router or Dado Blade?

Messages
178
I'm building a utility shelf for the basement (i.e. nothing fancy) out of laminated particle board. There will be a lot of dados for the shelves. I can use either a router with a 3/4 straight bit or a dado blade in my table saw. Any recommendations ?

Thanks, DKT
 
The word 'lot' applied to Dados would seem to indicate the need of a tablesaw. For a lesser number, a router would provide improved cut quality.

I am about to invest in Festool equipment precisely to cut Dados, using their clamping table and guide rail/router combination. If I were doing production quantities, I'd spend more money on a good Dado stack and use the TS.

Gary Curtis
 
I'm building a utility shelf for the basement (i.e. nothing fancy) out of laminated particle board. There will be a lot of dados for the shelves. I can use either a router with a 3/4 straight bit or a dado blade in my table saw. Any recommendations ?

Thanks, DKT

By 'laminated' I'm guessing you mean melamine coated. If so, then chip-out will be a potential problem if using the tablesaw. (same also if it's a Formica® type laminate).

A router will give a cleaner cut. The downside of that, though, is (you did say a LOT of dados) that particle board is very hard on cutting tools - especially router bits. You may find that you go through two or three bits - even carbide ones - while cutting the dados. Expensive bits wear nearly as fast a cheap ones in particle board, so I'd suggest getting a couple (or more) bits from MLCS, or Woodline, or someplace like that.
 
Jim has a good point. You may want to try making a scoring cut at about 1/64th. Just enough to score the laminate. Then make a deeper cut. Either way I usually make several passes depending on the depth to prevent tearouts and strain on my router.

You can essentially do the same with a dado blade. Try a few test cuts and see what you feel more comforable with. Personally, I use dado blades more than routers for dado cuts.
 
I made a LOT of storage cabinets for my garage. I used a Router and straight edge. It was very fast to route across the sheets for the shelf dados, and then rip with a straight edge for the sides, top and bottom.
Cabinets002.jpg

Cabinets001.jpg

Cabinets008.jpg

Cabinetsdone001.jpg


These took a couple of weeks off and on with SWMBO and I working mostly on Weekends. Total 3-5 days of work, Hope this helps.

Tom...
 
I'm another person who makes a lot of dado (and rabbets) using a router and a straight edge (Festool in my case). I used to make dados on my table saw (using a good Freud stacked dado set) but they were not as accurate or as clean. Once I tried a router, I gave away the table saw dado blades.
 
this could seem like more work, but it might save the router bits a little. you could possibly do a rough cut with a dado stack on the TS, let's say if your finished dado needs to be 3/4", you could plow out a 5/8" dado on the TS centered where it needs to be, then come back after with the router and take the rest off, probably leaving a cleaner cut on the melamine or formica and not putting such a strain on the router bits.

but like i said, it may be more work than you want to do.

you could also do a test run on the TS with a really good homemade zero clearance dado insert, this is how i do my dadoes in my ply for my cabinets and i have nearly no chip out on the sides, even when the blades starts getting dull.


good luck with whatever option you choos.

chris
 
A down spiral router bit will help preseve the edge of your surface (melamine, formica, or even nice venier plywood). A standard straight router bit and a up spiral bit might cause chip out at the edges.

Just be sure to take several light passes, as the chips won't be cleared efficiently with a down spiral.
 
I've got the same problem. I'm about to make a bunch of pantry shelves (for the laundry room... long story... ;) Anyway, they're going to be 48" wide, and about 7 feet tall. They'll be painted, but I haven't decided between ply or MDF yet. The reason I'm considering MDF is because a 3/4 router bit dado will leave the plywood shelf pretty loose, rattling around in the slot. I do have a dado stack, but I'd have to make a new zero clearance insert. And if I go that route, I'd be essentially crosscutting a 12 by 84 piece, several times, which could get pretty icky... not only that, but each shelf will need a 1/4 dado in the middle, since the span is so long and my beloved doorlink tends to overload shelves. I'm going to have a 1/8" back and a face frame. It's a pretty simple design, but I keep going back and forth on this same question, dado blade or router bit? Usually, when I write something out, I find I've answered my own question, but not this time... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
Yet another thing to consider.... Thickness, with todays squeezing of dimensions in materials, do you have a router bit that fits "Exactly" the thickness of the material? Dados can be shimmed and adjusted, Bits cannot.

For larger sheet goods I use the router smaller pieces easier to handle, I use Dado.

Just another option to consider.
 
Get the correct bit for the shelf. A 23/32" straight cut or down cut spiral. In my post above, I used standard off the shelf B/C Plywood, B side inside and painted. If you look at the photos above, you will see a small block of wood under the center stile to hold the front edge of the shelf up so it does not bow down under a load. If you use MDF to span 48" it will definitely sag. I also used solid maple front edge to dress up the cut plywood on each shelf.

When you plow the dadoes across a 48" sheet for the shelves, it goes fast. Then after that rip the side pieces, you can get 2,3, or 4 pieces out of a sheet. I always make my sides 3/4" under the finish dimension to allow for the face frame to final dimension. Rip shelves 1" smaller to allow for a 1" face strip.

Just my .02 worth....
 
Got to agree with the guys on a router here.

It is WAY quicker and easier, for me, as my shop is small, steering 4x8 over a table saw, unless you have a big one with large wings and a good infeed and out feed table will be work, and you will be hard pressed to get straight accurate cuts of all the same depth.

now if you make up a simple dado jig for the router, you use a router bit that is say 1/2", then you take a piece of the wood that you want to make the dado for, and set the jig up for that piece, you then do a push-pull with the router, two small cuts are easier on you, and the router bit, as well as making the dado the exact size of the wood you want to put into it, if that makes sense. You then rip the sheets into the pieces you need and there you go.

I did a whole bunch of dados on some wine shelves I made......

wine_shelves_3_done.jpg


because my shop is small, I ripped the pieces down to size first, then I did the dados, if you follow that link above, you will see a bunch of pics of my method and the jig I slapped together.

Cheers!

YMMV :wave:
 
I use Glenn Bradley's adjustable jig for router bit dados and it works perfect every time.

Sometimes I use the table saw with the Freud SD608 adjustable dado set and can zero in to width very easily.

Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
 
Top