Drool-worthy: Hidaka Dado Cross-Cut Machine

[Chris Hall]

Anyone making shōji, coffered ceilings and the like has to deal with making many many dado cross-cuts. Yes, it can all be done by hand, however there's a point in the scope of volume where a powered option makes sense - I refer to crosscutting machines set up for dado work. Of these, the ultimate has to be the Hidaka HCM-450 Radial Saw ラジアルソー:

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The table rolls back and forth - notice the many stops mounted on the front rail of the machine. You could easily calibrate the stop lengths with a digital caliper. 350mm cutting length, by the way, and the head can tilt up to 45˚ left or right. Magnetic clamping mechanism. It can accommodate cutters up to 250mm diameter.

These have a very stout sliding beam mechanism, reminiscent of the Donau Radial Drill press, so forget about slop in the travel:

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The machine would normally take dado cutters like these:

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These cutters come in many sizes, from 1mm on up to 30mm and beyond. There are also cutters available for making dadoes with 45˚ abutments.

Hidaka also make a very similar machine for sawing only, the KMR-21:

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Just geeking out over these this fine morning