TIL I've been cutting dados wrong for 10 years

I was over at a buddy's shop last weekend watching him knock out some bookshelves and realized he never flips his board over when cutting a dado stack. I always just ran it through once and called it good, but he flips it and runs it twice to keep the cut clean on both sides. That explained why I've been fighting tearout on half my jobs, anyone else learn something basic way later than they should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_hayden20d ago

Pat's dead on about the little things. I spent years getting frustrated with chipped edges until a guy at a cabinet shop showed me that flip trick, now I never skip it. Simple stuff like that is what separates a clean job from one you're always trying to hide with putty.

pat_coleman1mo ago

And it's amazing how something that simple can make such a big difference in the final product. I had a similar moment a few years back when a carpenter I sub for showed me the same trick. Sometimes it's the little things we overlook that save us the most grief.

tara_jones941mo ago

Read an interview with this old school furniture maker who said he spends more time on setup than actually cutting wood. Says it's the only way to get clean results every time.