freud dado tear out?

[bbradd1]

I just bought a freud dado and it tears out (red oak) with every pass I take. The only way I can keep it from tearing out is using a backer board on the piece that I want to dado. Am I doing something wrong? I want to make a few fingerjoints and using a backer board with my jig would be a huge PAIN. Any help would be appreciated..... Thanks in advance.

[Charles M]

Most dado sets these days are made with negative hook angles to reduce face tearout/chipping and this can result in blowout at the back of the cut, particularly when making deep cuts. The backer board is the most sure fire way to reduce or eliminate it. Making multiple passes will help but is not necessarily a good idea for box joints because each subsequent pass would have to register exactly or the fit of the joint will suffer. The SBOX8 box joint set we make has positive hook angles so it is less prone to blowout.

[bbradd1]

Thanks for the info.

[Charles M]

By the way, welcome to the group!

[NCPete]

Brad, welcome to the site!

which dado set do you have? The dial-a-width set has recently been reviewed, and considered a solid performer, I don't have nearly that kind of budget and am considering the SD-208, which generally runs around $95-100... Interested in which set you are experiencing the issues with. thanks!

[bbradd1]

It is the DD208. It is the same as the SD208 but the DD has the perma shield covering I think. Other than a little bit of tear out it works great. Square corners, flat bottoms, everything you want a dado to do. I have never had a dado before and was thinking I may be doing something wrong to cause the tear out. I will just have to get used to using a backer board to prevent it. Thanks

[NCPete]

Thanks for the quick response! It looked like a good piece, but if something is available at Lowe's and Sears? Prolly gonna get the box set, too. We'll see what the future budget allows.