# Arbor size -- 5/8" or 16mm ???



## Timberfreak (26 Nov 2012)

I have a Makita MLT100 T/S and can't seem to find out whether the arbor is 5/8" OR 16mm.

Can anyone inform me!

I can't tell from the blade because the supplied blade has a 30mm centre fitted to the arbor with a compensating 30mm 'washer/spacer'.

I'm looking at getting a blade with a 5/8" centre and I guess that would be just too tight if the arbor turns out to be 16mm ???

I'm also wondering about the alternative of having the 5/8" centre reamed/ground to fit the 16mm size if that is the size of my arbor -- how practical is that? :shock:


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## Steve Maskery (26 Nov 2012)

There is only a few thou between the two, so I would have thought that reaming was quite practical. Do you know what the thread is on the arbor? If it is a metric thread, I would expect it to be 16mm. If the thread is imperial, I'd expect it to be 5/8"
S


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## Timberfreak (26 Nov 2012)

Thanks for your response Steve.

I eventually did the sensible thing ~~~ I asked Makita !

. . . and for anyone else who may be interested (or wondering), the answer from Makita was:-

"The spindle is 16mm thick" (Not the one I was hoping for  but at least I now know.)


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## HillClimb (3 May 2013)

I realise that the original post is a few months old - but for the benefit of any others that stumble upon this post, I have just checked my Makita MLT100 and tried the 8" freud DADO set on it which fits 5/8" arbours - fits perfectly. Also checked it with some digital callipers, the arbour OD is 15.8mm as is the ID of the blade bush that Makita supplied with their original 30mm ID blade. So 5/8" blades and Dados fit perfectly :lol:


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## carlb40 (3 May 2013)

I have used both sizes on various saws without issues. The reason i have used both was due to whichever blade was the cheapest at the time of purchase. So as said the size difference will not be noticeable.


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## Steve Maskery (3 May 2013)

It all rather depends on the tolerances. I had a saw that was 5/8" and 16mm did not fit. There is only thous in it.
S


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## Johnnyr (10 Apr 2014)

Hillclimb, I have searched high and low and could find nothing about using a dado set on the MLT100, then I stumbled across your post. Can you tell me more? Did you use the Freud SD208 8-Inch Professional Dado set? There is just not much room on the spindle of my saw. It looks like I could get maybe a 1/2" dado with only a few threads left to hold the nut. I sure would like to know more!!!


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## AndyT (10 Apr 2014)

Johnnyr":1llxn5ip said:


> Hillclimb, I have searched high and low and could find nothing about using a dado set on the MLT100, then I stumbled across your post. Can you tell me more? Did you use the Freud SD208 8-Inch Professional Dado set? There is just not much room on the spindle of my saw. It looks like I could get maybe a 1/2" dado with only a few threads left to hold the nut. I sure would like to know more!!!



As Hillclimb has not visited the forum since 2013, I'll offer an answer.

It's a topic that has come up on here many times - people watch US videos where dado sets are the Norm, and want to do the same. But over here, table saws are sold with arbors that are too short to put a dado set on. "A few threads" would not be enough.

There's plenty more already been written about the legalities and risks so I won't repeat it all - try this thread for example https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/table-saw-safety-t59804.html


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## Johnnyr (12 Apr 2014)

Andy, thanks for the reply. I think I've figured out how to get the MLT100 to safely accept a stacked dado set (involves changing the inner long-shouldered flange and making a zero clearance insert). I've ordered the parts and will report back. I just do not see any increased risk brought by a stacked dado set -- injuries are always caused by operator error/carelessness. While a router is an alternative, there is nothing like the efficiency of a stacked dado set if you are making a couple of bookcases or a few dozen drawers. 

Also, here in Thailand, I can't even find a router table. I am currently setting up my workshop and have not yet gotten around to building one. 

At the link you provided, I noted the following statement, "Dado's are beloved by our American cousins but they little sense of the safety aspects so highly prized in Europe." I do not think this a fair statement (nor is the grammar very good). It may well be that Americans simply take greater personal responsibility for their own safety. Safety is not a matter of devices; it is a state of mind. I seriously doubt that the number of injuries per capita of woodworkers is higher in the US than in Britain. If interested in some statistics of saw injuries, this is a fascinating article at tablesawaccidents with an h-t-t-p in the front and a "." com after. 

I have been using table saws (and stacked dados) since 1963 (I was 13 years old), when there were no riving knives and few guards. Safety and respect for power equipment was pounded into me and I have never forgotten the lessons. That said, I use available safety equipment. But when it interferes with the work, I never hesitate to take it off. I know many will say I am "lucky" to never have been injured in 40 years of "American style" woodworking. But my answer that that is that safe practices and care are NEVER a matter of luck.

By the way, dado sets are perfectly legal in non-business hobby shops all over Europe. You’ll have to pry my dado stack from my cold dead fingers.


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## Johnnyr (12 Apr 2014)

Somehow the thing posted twice.


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## Richard S (12 Apr 2014)

Johnnyr 

Good luck with this. I've never found a state of mind that will save you if you slip, but you are correct to a degree, the right state of mind is essential for shop safety but mechanical devices do play a paramount role. I am an advocate of the stack dado, to the extent that I too converted a saw to accept one. The main difference though was that my saw was an American design adapted for the UK, so in effect I returned it to its original specification with OEM parts. This saw was also a heavy weight cast iron cabinet saw. I would be very wary of using a full 8" stack in a light weight bench top saw like the Makita. You may want to consider using a smaller 6" version, the difference in weight is quite marked and therefor the centrifugal forces generated in use are less. The Americans recognise this as a problem with lighter weight bench saws as there are a number of products marketed specifically for such machines. At one time I owned an Irwin 6" wobble dado designed specifically for a bench top saw. As this consisted of just one blade and a split flange the weight and associated forces were not significantly different to a standard saw blade, you may want to consider this route also. 
Good luck 

Richard


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## Johnnyr (13 Apr 2014)

I did, in fact, order a Freud 6" stack w/5/8" (16mm) arbor. Waiting for my sister to reship it from the States to me in Thailand. The 6" stack is probably better for the MLT100 for a number of reasons, including the one you describe. Another reason is that the MLT100 is underpowered compared to its larger cabinet cousins and a 6" stack will be less strain on the motor. Then there is the issue 8" stack having more mass to drag on the brake, and perhaps loosen the nut. Finally, at 4,500 rpm, the MLT100 is spinning much faster than many cabinet saws. An 8" stack is turning faster at the teeth than a 6" stack, but the faster speed of the little saw makes up for that. All things considered, the 6" stack seems to be a natural for this saw.


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## Rigger68 (29 May 2021)

Johnnyr said:


> Andy, thanks for the reply. I think I've figured out how to get the MLT100 to safely accept a stacked dado set (involves changing the inner long-shouldered flange and making a zero clearance insert). I've ordered the parts and will report back. I just do not see any increased risk brought by a stacked dado set -- injuries are always caused by operator error/carelessness. While a router is an alternative, there is nothing like the efficiency of a stacked dado set if you are making a couple of bookcases or a few dozen drawers.
> 
> Also, here in Thailand, I can't even find a router table. I am currently setting up my workshop and have not yet gotten around to building one.
> 
> ...



Hi Johnnyr

Just come across your post regarding the dado set for the makita MTL100
I was looking to somehow fit a dado blade to my Record Power rp250rs but unless you change the arbour to five eights then it can’t be done 
I have the same makita saw but didn’t think it capable of taking a dado set , could you please advise which parts you changed and where you purchased them from 

Regards

paul


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