Bought a 'pro-grade' dado stack that chipped on the first cut

Saw a deal online for a 8-inch dado set, said it was carbide tipped and could handle plywood. Cost me $120. Set it up on my table saw for a kitchen cabinet job, went to cut a dado in some birch ply... and it chipped three teeth on the first pass. The cut was rough and needed a ton of cleanup. Has anyone found a dado stack that actually holds up without costing a fortune?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_murphy2mo ago

That's rough but honestly what did you expect for 120 bucks? Pro grade tools usually cost three times that. Maybe the plywood had some hidden nails or something hard in it. Could have just been a bad batch of blades too, happens sometimes. You gonna try to get a refund or just eat the cost?

jake_martin162mo ago

Yeah, the "bad batch" thing harper mentioned... I used to buy into that too. Then I had the same thing happen with a cheap stack, and a friend let me borrow his old Forrest set. The difference wasn't even close. Now I just save up for the one good tool instead of buying the same thing three times.