Fell for the hype on those 'zero clearance' dado blades for my table saw

Spent $150 on a set that promised perfect cuts but just burned the wood and chipped out on my oak cabinet project in San Jose, anyone else been burned by those fancy blade claims?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren_rodriguez1mo ago

Used to think expensive blades were the answer too but after trying a few sets I learned the hard way that marketing hype doesn't replace proper setup and feed rate. That oak just laughs at cheap tooth geometry no matter what the box says.

kevin_hernandez831mo ago

Whoa wait, oak LAUGHS at cheap tooth geometry? That's wild, I never thought about it that way. I mean I knew oak was hard but I figured a new blade would just chew through it no matter what. I've got this old dado set that was my dad's and it's got like weird tooth angles on it, maybe that's why it struggles so bad on red oak. The box said it was for hardwoods but it just burns the wood and makes a mess. So you're saying the actual shape of the tooth matters more than how much I spent on the blade?