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I am very new to woodworking and am taking a beginner woodworking class. I've made a few basic projects, and decided to try to make a George Nelson style bench. It seemed like something that would push my skills a lot, but be manageable, because there are a lot of tutorials and plans for it out there.

The problem I'm having is with cutting the half-lap joints using a dado stack on the table saw. It cuts through the plywood fence I attached to the miter gauge fine, but when I tried to make the cuts on a scrap piece of maple, it was really hard to keep a steady hold on the piece; it vibrated a lot and basically pulled out of my hand. I'm wondering if that means something is wrong, or it just means I need to clamp the piece to the fence before I make the cuts.

I'm asking because I watched a bunch of tutorial videos (like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc1iS30Wg6Y&t=263s) where it looks like they have absolutely no problem keeping the piece steady.

Are the stack's blades not sharp enough? Is it a signal that something is incorrect in the dado stack, or just something that happens?

Graphus
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momce
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    That doesn't sound right. Could you share some photos of your setup? – Eli Iser Mar 17 '23 at 01:08
  • Hi, welcome to Woodworking. Darn, I was all set to recommend doing the laps with just a blade installed before I looked at the link and obviously some of what you need to do does require the use of the stack, so you do need to diagnose if anything is wrong there. As @EliIser says this doesn't sound right. Kudos for stopping and asking a question! You did the right thing; one of the rules of thumb with the table saw is not to do anything that seems unsafe or feels insecure. It's a dangerous power tool, responsible for the most injuries, and should be treated with the utmost caution. – Graphus Mar 17 '23 at 03:32
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    "Is my blade not sharp enough?" We don't know, how much use has it had? Is it decent quality? Is it clean? (Pitch buildup can make tools cut like they're blunt.) But the one thing that concerned me right off was the reference to the blade — were you just speaking informally or do you indeed have only a single blade installed? If you do there's definitely something incorrect in the dado stack :-) Any time a dado stack is installed both outer blades should be fitted. – Graphus Mar 17 '23 at 03:41
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    are you trying to cut too much at once? – bowlturner Mar 17 '23 at 12:21
  • What @bowlturner implied... maple is frequently hard, and big bites can be tough. But pics of your blades as mounted in the saw would be educational. – Aloysius Defenestrate Mar 18 '23 at 00:47
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    Thanks for all the responses! I misspoke, I was using a dado stack with both outside blades installed. I am using the table saw and dado stack at the woodworking class I'm taking; unfortunately, the instructor said he's only used the dado stack once before and didn't have a lot of insight into if this was weird or not. I'm assuming because it hasn't been used much it shouldn't be super dull, but I'll take a photo next week!

    I am trying to do the full 3/4 inch cut in one go so that all of the depths are consistent, and the tutorials don't seem to have a problem cutting that much at once.

     – momce Mar 18 '23 at 13:50
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    "the instructor said he's only used the dado stack once before and didn't have a lot of insight" ! Walk swiftly away and don't look back. – Graphus Mar 19 '23 at 09:50
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    "I am trying to do the full 3/4 inch cut in one go" As your viewing has already suggested, this should be no problem at all — not only that, some people ploughing a similar groove would gang together common parts and run them through in a group (perhaps four all at once) and that too shouldn't be an issue. Edit: I just noticed something in the Q as I made the edit, this was a test cut on a scrap. Was it a short piece that you couldn't really hold on to properly? If so that alone might account for it. – Graphus Mar 19 '23 at 09:55
  • Are you doing Step 3 in the article you posted? Does the blade run smoothly without cutting? Is the blade installed in the proper direction? – LarryBud Mar 20 '23 at 01:47

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it was really hard to keep a steady hold on the piece; it vibrated a lot and basically pulled out of my hand.

Based on that, my first guess would be that you've got one or more of the blades installed backwards. It's extremely important to make sure that both the outer blades and the chippers are installed correctly. To help you out, the outer blades will typically indicate the direction of rotation. Also, the outer blades usually have some sort of printing on one side, and that side should face outward. Take a look at the direction of the teeth on the outer blades, and make sure that the teeth on the inner blades (the chippers) face in the same direction.

I am trying to do the full 3/4 inch cut in one go so that all of the depths are consistent, and the tutorials don't seem to have a problem cutting that much at once.

That normally isn't a problem, but do keep in mind that the folks in the videos you're watching may have different saws and different dado stacks. Even so, if the problem were that you're taking too big a bite at once, your saw would normally just slow down; it wouldn't vibrate or pull the workpiece out of your hands.

Caleb
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    I used a different dado stack this week and it worked beautifully! I don't know if the stack I used before was the problem, or if I installed it wrong last week, but thank you for letting me know that it shouldn't be so hard to control. I watched a couple of videos and made sure I was following all of their advice when I installed it today, and it worked! – momce Mar 22 '23 at 02:17