Freud 206 Dado Question

[Lildrgnoflb]

Hi Guys,

Okay, my first question for the forum. Bare with me, as I am a still novice.

I just got my Freud SD206 in the mail and am getting ready to cut dados for todays undersized 3/4 ply. There weren't any instructions that came with the set other than the little paper cover on the front. It says to use two shims along with two blades and three chippers. But the shims aren't marked so do I how do I know which ones to use? I guess I could bust out my calipers and measure, but is there an easier way?

[wwsmith]

While I can't speak for sure on the SD206 as I own the SD208, but can say that the shims that came with my 208 are all the same.

[Gofor]

My SD208 has 6 shims, all different sizes. Range from .008 to .019. I measured them with a micrometer and marked the thickness on them with a felt tipped pen.

Go

[Lildrgnoflb]

Thanks Guys,

I figured measuring was in order, but I wasn't sure. I'll get my calipers out. :)

[jbateman]

Regardless of what they measure, since the plywood is undersized, you will have to make test cuts and adjust the amount of shims until you get a good fit.

[Tom W]

Interesting that WWSmith's shims are all the same size. I just checked my 208 and I have eight shims, all different sizes. I bought mine at Sears a few years ago maybe it was packaged according to a Sears spec.
Tom

[BadgerDave]

I just dug out my trusty HF digital caliper and SD206 set and the shims that came with my set are as follows;

a. One (1) 0.020" thick shim
b. One (1) 0.012" thick shim
c. One (1) 0.008" thick shim
d. Five (5) 0.004" thick shim

[erngum]

When I got my SD508 on sale last year it came with a real nice chart with many if not all of the common setups for different widths, which included which size shims to use. I'm sure it is available from Freud if you call them because the color chart shows many models of Freud dado to include the 206/208 series. By the way, I also had to use calipers to size the shims and label them with a sharpie.

And as Jbateman noted, test cuts are key because although the dado may cut a perfect undersized dado (23/32 for example), all of the ply from the big box stores seems to be under-undersized. I've always had to go smaller than the standard setup with the ply I get from HD.

Ern

[wwsmith]

It seems I must apologize for my erroneous post earlier. I did just run out the shop and check and my shims are in fact different thickness. I have not yet had the need to actually use them and fell into the trap of assuming that they were the same size. My calipers are not in my shop at the moment so I can't verify their thickness, but I laid them out side by side on the saw and can see a slight difference in the thickness. They are not marked as well though. Sorry about that!

[BadgerDave]

Well, I for one totally forgive you. :D Let he who has not been guilty of the dreaded "assume" miscue throw the first stone.:p

[Lildrgnoflb]

Badger Dave,

Thanks for the info, I came up with the same results as well. Great info all, I have since labeled my shims, and indeed made some test cuts. As you gents pointed out, plywood I had in my garage two weeks ago from HD, was different then the stuff I bought this weekend at a true lumber yard. Test cuts sure did help.