That day I realized I'd been using the wrong blade angle for 3 years

I was at a job last month and a older guy I was working with just stopped and looked at what I was doing. He asked why I was cutting my dados like that. I said what do you mean. He grabbed my router and tilted it a tiny bit and said try that. First pass was cleaner than anything I'd done in years. I felt like an idiot. All those sanded edges and filler I didn't need. Has anyone else had a pro just walk up and show you something simple you missed the whole time?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethanderson3d ago

Wait, are you saying you never adjusted the base plate on your router to make sure it was perfectly flat against the bit? I did the same thing for years, but it was the fence on my table saw that was slightly off, not the blade angle. It took a guy at a cabinet shop showing me how to shim the fence with a business card to get dead-on cuts. Felt like a complete fool, but at least the fix was free.

gibson.sean3d ago

Man I gotta push back on that, lol. Routers aren't precision tools like table saws, a little wobble in the base plate isnt gonna mess up a dado or a roundover. I've ran mine with a dent in the subbase for like 5 years and my joints come out tight enough. Feels like lowkey overthinking it to me.