Talked to an old timer at the lumber yard and now I feel like I've been doing dado joints wrong

I was picking up some maple plywood yesterday and this retired cabinetmaker in his 70s saw me loading the sheets. He asked what I was building and I told him a set of bookshelves with adjustable shelves. He just nodded and then said 'you probably cut your dados with a router and a jig, right?' I said yeah, that's how I've always done it. Then he said 'try using a tablesaw with a dado stack and a zero clearance insert. Takes half the time and the fit is tighter.' I kind of laughed it off at first but then he showed me a shelf he had in his truck that he cut that way and the joint was perfect, no gaps at all. I went back to the shop and tried it on a test piece and man, he wasn't wrong. The router leaves a slightly rounded bottom that never seats quite right. Has anyone else switched from router dados to tablesaw dados and noticed a big difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordanc6811d ago

I actually saw a comparison video online where a guy tested both methods on oak plywood and the difference was pretty stark. The router joint had a tiny fillet at the bottom, like basically a quarter round shape, that left a visible gap when he slid the shelf in. The table saw dado was just dead flat with no gap at all. I mean, I've been using a router for dados for like five years and never even thought about it because that's just what everyone does. Idk maybe it's just me but once you see that difference it's hard to unsee it. I'd be curious if that rounded bottom actually matters for strength or if it's purely cosmetic though.

noah_palmer4211d ago

Fair enough but that tiny round bottom actually helps glue wick into the joint for a stronger bond.