# diff. between box joint blade and dado blade???



## frankjay02 (Dec 14, 2009)

Hello folks, 
I am new here and being I have more time now I want to upgrade my weekend skills to better woodworking skills. Maybe someone can help me with this question.

Is there any difference between using a dado blade and using a blade that is advertised as being dedicated to making box joints? I have a dado blade set and just bought a "box joint" blade and they look similar..but I do'nt know if they are identical or not because I have never used a box joint table saw blade before. My dado is stackable and sometimes I have to clean up the cut but don't see how I an clean up an 1/8" accurately enough for a tight box joint. 
any help will be appreciated. I don't have a router table.
I can't help much with woodworking questions but I can help if anyone has a camera or photography question. Just email me offlist and I will help if I can.
thanks 
Frank in NJ


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Frank,
IIRC the box joint set will cut either 1/4" or 3/8" wide. These will make nice box joints.

The 1/8" that you speak of can be made nicely with either a combination blade or a rip blade. 

A stacked dado blade will cut from about 1/4" to possibly 13/16" wide, depending upon your dado set and table saw.

With either set up you'll need to set up your box joint jig so that the cut is a zero clearance cut. (Cut through the jig and the jig supports the stock and prevents tear out.)


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## frankjay02 (Dec 14, 2009)

*dado blade, box joint blade difference*

Thanks Rich...I don't know what IIRC means. I made a mistake with the 1/8th..it should have been 1/4"
I sort of understand how the box joint jig works, I am little confused as how to make the pin, but I haven't tried to make one yet....... but are you telling me that BOTH blades will do the same job equally...in regards to a square, clean cut for box joints? Or is the box joint saw blade better engineered to make box joints, or is the dado blade also a good blade to use.
Sorry if I seem dense on this but I am learning.
thanks again
Frank



rrich said:


> Frank,
> IIRC the box joint set will cut either 1/4" or 3/8" wide. These will make nice box joints.
> 
> The 1/8" that you speak of can be made nicely with either a combination blade or a rip blade.
> ...


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## jraksdhs (Oct 19, 2008)

*box joints.....*

Box joint sets cut perfectly flat bottoms. They have one FTG(flat tooth grind) tooth that cuts a flat bottom. Some dados dont cut perfectly flat. I have a few dado sets, one being a forrest, which cuts perfectly flat bottoms, and the other being a freud that cuts good enough for cabinet dados and rabbits. The freud leaves two small nicks in the corners of the dado, but like i said, its good enough for casework.

jraks


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## frankjay02 (Dec 14, 2009)

*thanks guys*

Thanks Rich and Jraks. I appreciate the help. Next I just have to figure out how to make an accurate box joint jig.
thanks again
Frank in NJ


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Frank, I only had to search back to March of this year...*



frankjay02 said:


> Thanks Rich and Jraks. I appreciate the help. Next I just have to figure out how to make an accurate box joint jig. thanks again Frank in NJ


Here's a great link: http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f5/first-attempt-finger-joints-8558/


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

Frank - As stated the box joint sets have flat top ground (FTG) teeth and do leave a flatten bottom, and have limited width and limited combinations compared to a dado set. The flat top teeth are designed to cut smoothly with the grain as most box joints are, but tend to have more tearout at the exit of a cross grain cut. 

I'm going to clarify that the vast majority of dado sets do not leave a "perfectly flat bottom". The majority use bevel top grinds on the outside cutters to reduce tearout, and have FTG teeth on the inside chippers. The tip of the bevel is intentionally design to protrude slightly beyond the chippers, and leaves a small groove at the outside of the dado (aka "bat ears"). The better sets may include alternate flat rakers on the outside cutters to minimize the effects of the "bat ears". The bat ears may be very small with the better sets, but they are likely to be there if you look closely. Some dado set that uses 100% FTG teeth on the outside cutters will leave a flat bottom, but will also have greater tearout....there's always that tradeoff.


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

Frank,

If I Recall Correctly, IIRC means just that.

:blink:


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## frankjay02 (Dec 14, 2009)

*diff. between box joint blade and dado blade*

Thanks again guys. I appreciate all the help, photos and explanations. It helped a lot.
Frank


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