Freud 8 In. Professional Stacked Dado (SD208)

After researching and shopping around for a dado set, I finally decided on the Freud SD208. Bear in mind, for the last 30 plus years, my personal set was a Craftsman Kromedge 8" 'Satin Edge' dado set, which wasn't all that bad. While the chippers were carbide, the 2 main blades were not. I could still cut plywood, but solid wood looked more like I was cutting my dados with a torch! Our shop had a nice 10" Freud set, but I've retired and no longer have access to it My main priorities for a replacement set were; 1) good carbide, 2) good clean cut and flat bottom, and 3) price that won't break the bank. Obviously that last point eliminated the 10" sets, and even if you could find a decent price on a 10" set, chances are you're going to sacrifice on the carbide and/or cut. As far as my intended use, since retiring I now just make cabinets, bookcases, and woodwork for family, friends and fun. So my budget was under $150. The first thing I noticed removing the blades from the case was how big the carbide teeth are on the main blades. The alternating bevel teeth are big, but the main chipper looks huge. Installing the blades, the shaft hole fits snug but doesn't catch like some of my old blades.The shims require a little patience as the thinnest ones can fall in the shaft threads, but from my experience that's just the facts of life. It cuts effortlessly, clean, and smooth. I'm satisfied overall, with only two small issues. First is, the smallest dado you can cut is a full 1/4" (using just one blade), which makes my drawer bottoms a little sloppy. I want a little clearance for expansion, but this is too much. I tried using one chipper blade as they're thinner, but that's not what they're designed for and it splintered the wood. Of course this has more to do with modern plywood dimensions, but dado manufacturers know the industry trends. Second, while there is a good assortment of shims for a wide variety of widths, I would like to see included in the set a 1/16" chipper. I have one in my old set and it seems like I used it in almost every setup I encountered. I don't know if even more expensive sets include them or maybe they're a thing of the past. And I know the shims give an almost infinite variety of widths. But after 30 plus years of using one, it was my go-to blade. I consider these minor nuisances, and the plus factor of beefy carbide teeth clearly outweighs my narrow dado issue. If I were to purchase another set today, I wouldn't hesitate to get this one. I've never had a bad experience with Freud, they are a top-notch company. I'm still using re-sharpened 20 year old Freud blades in my shop today!

Awesome dado stack at a reasonable price. Lots of possible configuration for precision dados. Comes with 2 outside cutter blades, 3 chippers, 3 spacers and a variety of thin shims in a range of thicknesses. I bought this to use on my SawStop pro and it fits great. If you have a Sawstop you need the dado brake and you will need to adjust the spacing every time you switch back and forth, which is not a huge hassle after you do it a few times. This would be the case with this saw and any dado stack. I like the blade holder it comes with. Make sure to hold on to the paper that comes with it because it shows you how many blades, spacers, shims, etc you need to achieve a give width of cut. Make sure none of the carbide tips are touching and are staggered when you install the stack so as to not chip any of the carbide teeth. My only complaint is that there are no detailed instructions on how to use a dado stack so if you are a beginner and never used one before I recommend watching some youtube videos.

I finally had the opportunity to put this to use. I needed to cut some 15/32 inch dadoes to fit what supposedly is 1/2" plywood. Following the guide on the case insert, I stacked the left outside blade, a 1/16" spacer, a 1/8" chipper, the .020" & .012 shims and the right outside blade. I set the height and fence and proceeded to make my cuts. The results in poplar were excellent. The dado width was spot on and the 15/32" plywood fit into the dado beautifully. The edges were perfect and the bottoms were flat. There was minuscule tear out when exiting the dado (maybe a half dozen wood fibers not cleanly cut off). If there was anything I wish Freud would have done differently is make the instruction sheet a little more permanent. I almost threw it in the trash with the rest of the packaging. Save the paper cover!

I was in the market for a new dado blade and decided to go with the Frued SD208. It made nice clean dados in practically every material I’ve used so far. The Blade – Right away you can tell it’s made of good material. I set I up to cut 3/4” dados at 3/8” deep. It made clean cuts in hardwood, softwood, and veneered Plywood. Flat bottoms and clean edges all the way down the face. There was some tear out on the trailing edge of the board where the blade exits. But that’s a standard table saw issue and a backer board solved that problem quick. The Arbor was supposed to be 5/8” but the inside blade arbor hole was slightly undersized causing it to get stuck on my arbor the first time. Once free, I took a Dremel with a sanding disk and made two passes around the hole. Works perfectly now. Accuracy – The 3/4” setting as described on the packaging was slightly under, closer to 47/64”. Which is perfect for accepting Plywood but not for perfectly cut 3/4” pieces. But it comes with various shims to slide in to fine tune the thickness. Just make sure to make test cuts. Case – the case is made of sturdy material and holds the blades snug in place. I also like that I can actually hang it on my pegboard with my other saw blades. Shipping and Handling – Came in perfect time and condition. I selected 2 day Shipping and it arrived the next day. It was wrapped up very tightly in bubble wrap. All in all it is a fine blade. Good quality like all Freud blades.

Cuts well. Does the job.

My first Dado Blade set. Instructions for set up on the saw are non existent in the package. However, after searching youtube and the Web, I found a video that explained pretty well how to do it. My saw is a Delta 36-725, it is not easy to exchange blades and even more of a challenge to install the Dado blades. (There is a blade guard that is not easily removed that you have to contend with) That is not the fault of the blade, once I was able to get the blades on and set up on the saw I made a beautiful Dado in a test piece of softwood. The results were worthy of the 5 stars I gave it. Very nice - flat bottom, sharp shoulders and straight edges. I would recommend this tool. For the price, it does a superb job!

This is a great deal of value and performance for the price point. The kit comes with multiple shims to precisely dial in the thickness of your dado and the resulting cuts are clean and flat. Highly recommend!

I bought this dado set for my DeWalt DWE7480 table saw. The saw manual says it cannot take a dado stack, most likely because of a short arbor with a permanently attached flange. There's certainly no shortage of power in the motor. Even with the short arbor, I can mount the main blades of the SD208 dado set with room to spare. I haven't attempted it yet, but I'm pretty sure I could go up to 3/8" without issue. As for the blades themselves, they are clearly made with care. They come razor sharp and are very pleasantly sturdy. The teeth are all cut cleanly, with no errant machining marks or burrs to clean up. I've been cutting box joints using this blade and an Incra iBox for the last two weeks and I'm very, very satisfied with the results. I have yet to be disappointed with a Freud product. Keep up the good work!

The dado set was high quality and 8 inch is more than adequate for my needs. Given the Freud quality I consider it well priced.

Excelente herramienta, indispensable para el trabajo de carpintería. Facilita el realizar ensambles de todo tipo. La recomiendo por su calidad

Excellent produce with smooth crisp cut, zero chipping or tear out on white melamine sheet material. Thin spacers were also provided to ensure you get an exact fit for the size of dado cuts, this is something I’ve never found any other blade brands to do. I did notice that the center hole was very tight on the shaft, a little difficult to put on and take off.

Never got to test it as was of no use as the centre hole was too small. This is only for smaller saws. Those with a 30 mm spindle will not allow this item to be used. Shame pindle diameter was not on the original info. Bear in mind also that these do not appear to be available in UK so are they legal over here under H & S guidlines/rules? My fault should have made enquiries. However returned no problem and refunded. Cost me the postage though!! But still better off with the refund.

This is my first dado so I don't know much, but it is very good quality with all of the shims. It was very easy to assemble for different sizes, instructions are understandable but could be better. Comes with a nice storage case. It cuts clean and effortlessly with no tear out. And best of all it is priced right.