I finally gave up on my old way of cutting dados after a demo at the Woodworking Show in Columbus

I was at the Woodworking Show in Columbus last month and watched a guy set up a router table to cut a dado. He used a simple straight bit and a fence, but he made a zero-clearance insert from scrap MDF right there on the spot. He just traced the bit hole, cut it out roughly with a jigsaw, and then plunged the router through it to get a perfect fit. I always used to fight with store-bought inserts that never fit right, wasting like 15 minutes per job. Seeing him do it in under two minutes with perfect results made me switch my whole method. What's your go-to trick for setting up clean dado cuts on a router table?

3 comments

3 Comments

nora_walker571mo ago

Oh man, that zero-clearance trick is a game changer. Honestly, my best trick is just using a piece of the actual project wood as a test piece. I'll run it through, check the fit, and if it's even a hair off, I'll stick a playing card or two between the fence and the wood for a micro-adjustment. Saves so much headache.

emmag221mo ago

Totally get using the project wood as a test piece, that's the only way to be sure. I've ruined good stock by trusting a scrap piece that was slightly different. The playing card trick is genius for those tiny tweaks, way better than messing with the fence dial and losing your setting. I keep a junk deck in the shop just for that.

oscar74322d ago

Yeah, I've done the same thing with shims from old gift cards.