A stacked dado blade cutter consists of multiple thin saw blades that are stacked next to each other to achieve a desired cutter width. When you are installing the blades for a stacked dado blade cutter on your table saw or radial arm saw for the first time, you may be wondering how you are supposed to install the teeth relative to the other blades. You need to make sure that the teeth are aligned so that they never contact teeth on the adjacent saw blades.

If the teeth touch, several bad things can happen. First, if the teeth are in contact this increases the stress on them and a tooth can chip or break off. Flying metal in the shop is a bad idea, and it can cause serious injury. Second, if the teeth are touching this will make dado stack wider at this point. If these teeth are on the outside of the stack, the width of you cut will be affected and you won't get a good dado.

So do yourself a favor and make sure when you are using a stacked dado head cutter that the teeth are never touching.