Dado

Channel some support for shelves and cabinets with a dado groove in a board

Chris HillJanuary 1, 2000

Houzz Contributor. Chris Hill, of chiefs-shop.com, has been woodworking for more than 25 years and has family members who have been involved in nearly every aspect of home building. Chris also builds custom furniture and furnishings and restores and repairs pieces. You can find him on Houzz every week and at http://chiefs-shop.com.

A dado is a channel cut across the width of a board. It can be made using a dado blade set designed for a table saw or a router with a straightedge bit, or by making a series of cuts with a single circular saw or table saw blade. It's most often used in bookcase and cabinet construction as a means of attaching shelves or partitions.

Chris Hill

A through dado is cut from one edge of a board to another. A stopped dado does not reach completely to the other end.

Centre Sky Architecture Ltd

Dados on the ladder shown here hold and support the steps.

Kerf Design

Here you can clearly see the dado cut in the plywood shelves to allow for the partition.