DF

"Dick Fitzwell"

30/12/2003 10:02 PM

Dados for 3/4" birch plywood

When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy setup)
or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but do
not want to expend effort unnecessarily.

Thanks,
Dick Fitzwell


This topic has 14 replies

MM

Mark

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

31/12/2003 2:25 AM

Try to cut a test piece a little oversize on the width. Find which shim
fits in the gap between the test piece and the plywood that is going
into the dado. Remove that size shim from the dado. Has anybody with a
stacked set tried this??? Mark

Dick Fitzwell wrote:
> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy setup)
> or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but do
> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>
> Thanks,
> Dick Fitzwell
>
>

HR

"Howard Ruttan"

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

30/12/2003 5:29 PM

"Dick Fitzwell" wrote ...
> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy
setup)
> or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but
do
> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.

I start small then shim to the point where a dado in a scrap fits the way I
want it too. Plywood isn't made exactly the size they say it is and can
vary from sheet to sheet, especially if you buy cheap plywood. I never
trust any measurement, just the fit. What may seem unnecessary effort now
will pay off in the end with better craftsmanship.

--

Cheers,
Howard

----------------------------------------------------------
Working wood in New Jersey - [email protected]
Visit me in the woodshop - www.inthewoodshop.org

LH

"Lew Hodgett"

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

31/12/2003 1:35 AM

"Dick Fitzwell" writes:

> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy
> setup)
> or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)?

My Freud set has the necessary chippers to handle that problem on the table
saw.

If I'm cutting them with a router, I always use an undersize bit and make a
pass in each direction against a fence on each side of the dado.

Had a router get away from me and climb cut when using a full size bit ONCE
which obviously screwed up a piece of very expensive wood.

That is the last time that happened.

HTH


--
Lew

S/A: Challenge, The Bullet Proof Boat, (Under Construction in the Southland)
Visit: <http://home.earthlink.net/~lewhodgett> for Pictures

BA

Bay Area Dave

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

31/12/2003 3:15 AM

Hi Mark,

Yes, I was out of town for a while for the holidays. Now I'm busy in
the shop, so I'm keeping a low profile here for a bit. Did I miss
anything extraordinarily interesting?

dave

Mark wrote:

> Been away for a while? Haven't seen anything from you. Mark
>
> Bay Area Dave wrote:
>
>> to do a good job you have to expend SOME effort. :) ie. check the
>> thickness of your "3/4" thick ply, and set up the dado to be a good
>> fit with the ACTUAL ply, as opposed to the advertised thickness.
>>
>> dave
>>
>> Dick Fitzwell wrote:
>>
>>> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy
>>> setup)
>>> or 23/23"
>
>
> wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job
>
>>> but do
>>> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>
>
>
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Dick Fitzwell
>>>
>>>
>>
>

BA

Bay Area Dave

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

31/12/2003 3:16 AM

Freud's new dial dado for $269 is adjustable in .004 increments. Sounds
a bit coarse to me, but what do I know?

dave

Mark wrote:

> Try to cut a test piece a little oversize on the width. Find which shim
> fits in the gap between the test piece and the plywood that is going
> into the dado. Remove that size shim from the dado. Has anybody with a
> stacked set tried this??? Mark
>
> Dick Fitzwell wrote:
>
>> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy
>> setup)
>> or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job
>> but do
>> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dick Fitzwell
>>
>>
>

TS

"Thomas Satrom"

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

30/12/2003 11:15 PM

What he said. Plus don't scrimp on the length of the test scrap as a short
one may fit fine but the longer real piece will not because the plywood is
wavy.
"Mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Try to cut a test piece a little oversize on the width. Find which shim
> fits in the gap between the test piece and the plywood that is going
> into the dado. Remove that size shim from the dado. Has anybody with a
> stacked set tried this??? Mark
>
> Dick Fitzwell wrote:
> > When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy
setup)
> > or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job
but do
> > not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Dick Fitzwell
> >
> >
>

ER

"Eric Ryder"

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

30/12/2003 9:42 PM


"Dick Fitzwell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy
setup)
> or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but
do
> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>
> Thanks,
> Dick Fitzwell
>
>

Snug for glued jobs - my setup for the stack dado is to lay the stack on the
iron saw top next to a piece of the same plywood the project is coming from.
Add shims on the teeth until it's a bit over the ply. Mount the set and
test - I get about a 75% fit rate without reshimming.

As you can tell, there was no Starrett dial indicator under my tree!
Eric

wW

[email protected] (Woodstock)

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

31/12/2003 12:02 PM

"Dick Fitzwell" wrote
> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy setup)
> or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but do
> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>
> Thanks,
> Dick Fitzwell

rather than make the dado match the ply, consider doing the opposite.
Machine a tongue on the edge of the plywood to match whatever size
groove seems right for the job and is easy to produce with one pass
from a standard router cutter or unshimmed stack dado. This is often
less fiddly and more accurate.

MM

Mark

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

31/12/2003 2:16 AM

Been away for a while? Haven't seen anything from you. Mark

Bay Area Dave wrote:

> to do a good job you have to expend SOME effort. :) ie. check the
> thickness of your "3/4" thick ply, and set up the dado to be a good fit
> with the ACTUAL ply, as opposed to the advertised thickness.
>
> dave
>
> Dick Fitzwell wrote:
>
>> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy
>> setup)
>> or 23/23"

wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job
>> but do
>> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.


>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dick Fitzwell
>>
>>
>

GW

Guess Who?

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

31/12/2003 9:47 AM

Depends on if you want nice, snug fit or a sloppy one. Measure
whatever is going in the dado and adjust for that width plus a few
thousanths

John

On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 22:02:33 GMT, "Dick Fitzwell"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy setup)
>or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but do
>not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>
>Thanks,
>Dick Fitzwell
>

MM

Mark

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

31/12/2003 7:08 AM

Interesting? Uh-huh. Extraordinarily? Nah.....

Bay Area Dave wrote:
> Hi Mark,
>
> Yes, I was out of town for a while for the holidays. Now I'm busy in
> the shop, so I'm keeping a low profile here for a bit. Did I miss
> anything extraordinarily interesting?
>
> dave
>
> Mark wrote:
>
>> Been away for a while? Haven't seen anything from you. Mark
>>
>> Bay Area Dave wrote:
>>
>>> to do a good job you have to expend SOME effort. :) ie. check the
>>> thickness of your "3/4" thick ply, and set up the dado to be a good
>>> fit with the ACTUAL ply, as opposed to the advertised thickness.
>>>
>>> dave
>>>
>>> Dick Fitzwell wrote:
>>>
>>>> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide
>>>> (easy setup)
>>>> or 23/23"
>>
>>
>>
>> wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job
>>
>>>> but do
>>>> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Dick Fitzwell
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>

RV

"Rob V"

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

30/12/2003 11:41 PM

My set comes w/ a special plywood chipper - to make the slight undersize of
3/4.
It still requires shims to make the fit perfect.


"Dick Fitzwell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy
setup)
> or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but
do
> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>
> Thanks,
> Dick Fitzwell
>
>

Bn

Bridger

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

30/12/2003 6:25 PM

if the joint is going to get glue you want it to slide neatly
together. the glue needs a tiny bit of space(a few thousandths)





On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 22:02:33 GMT, "Dick Fitzwell"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy setup)
>or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but do
>not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>
>Thanks,
>Dick Fitzwell
>

BA

Bay Area Dave

in reply to "Dick Fitzwell" on 30/12/2003 10:02 PM

30/12/2003 11:50 PM

to do a good job you have to expend SOME effort. :) ie. check the
thickness of your "3/4" thick ply, and set up the dado to be a good fit
with the ACTUAL ply, as opposed to the advertised thickness.

dave

Dick Fitzwell wrote:

> When cutting dados for 3/4" plywood, do you make them 3/4" wide (easy setup)
> or 23/23" wide (PITA setup with shims, etc.)? I want to do a good job but do
> not want to expend effort unnecessarily.
>
> Thanks,
> Dick Fitzwell
>
>


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