ZERO-CLEARANCE INSERT

J T wrote:
> http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/wood/story/data/289.xml&catref=cat5420002
>
> It ain't rocket science. First ones I ever made I just took the
> factory insert, traced arount it, cut it out, trimmed to fit flush.
> That was it.
>
>
Don't remember where I saw this but I'm going to try it when my plywood
insert needs replacing. Get one of those big white plastic cutting
boards and make the inserts out of that. Should be able to get three
or four out of good-sized board.

Wood Butcher wrote:
> Rather than removing the new insert from the original and raising
> a dado blade thru it ...
> Leave it attached. Place both in your saw and clamp them down
> with a 2x4 across the tabletop. Raise your blade up until it just cuts
> thru the surface of the new insert. Then separate the inserts. This
> avoids the need to change your blade and gives a perfect fitting
> ZCI.

The context of the article in question was a ZCI for a dado stack. No
extra blade changing necessary.

For regular blades, you can also just make a bunch of inserts at once so
that you have them available when needed.

Chris

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:01:50 -0400, [email protected] (J T)
wrote:

>http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/wood/story/data/289.xml&catref=cat5420002
>
> It ain't rocket science. First ones I ever made I just took the
>factory insert, traced arount it, cut it out, trimmed to fit flush.
>That was it.

I just use double sided tape to mount a factory insert to the material
and "trace" it with a pattern bit on my router table.

Rather than removing the new insert from the original and raising
a dado blade thru it ...
Leave it attached. Place both in your saw and clamp them down
with a 2x4 across the tabletop. Raise your blade up until it just cuts
thru the surface of the new insert. Then separate the inserts. This
avoids the need to change your blade and gives a perfect fitting
ZCI.

Art


"J T" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/wood/story/data/289.xml&catref=cat5420002
>
> It ain't rocket science. First ones I ever made I just took the
> factory insert, traced arount it, cut it out, trimmed to fit flush.
> That was it.
>
>
>
> JOAT
> Justice was invented by the innocent.
> Mercy and lawyers were invented by the guilty.
>

On 2006-09-01, RayV <[email protected]> wrote:

> Don't remember where I saw this but I'm going to try it when my plywood
> insert needs replacing. Get one of those big white plastic cutting boards
> and make the inserts out of that. Should be able to get three or four out
> of good-sized board.

That looks familiar to me, too. It's close enough to what Kenneth Burton
wrote on pages 98-99 of "Cutting Edge Table Saw Tips & Tricks."

I use 1/2" MDF because I have a bunch of it sitting here and it's
inexpensive. I make one for each blade (and mark it in pencil on the top).

Rich

> I just use double sided tape to mount a factory insert to the material and
> "trace" it with a pattern bit on my router table.

I tried that approach first, but it did not work for me. I have a Bosch
4000 saw and the factory inserts have a couple of protrusions that fit under
the saw table. The bearing on the router bit follows the shape nicely, but
leaves an insert that won't fit.

So, a couple of weeks ago I bought a 10" sanding disk designed for table
saws, and one sheet of 80 grit paper with adhesive on the back. This weekend
I'll put that on the saw and sand to the traced outline of the original
insert.

Rich

On 2006-09-03, tarballs <[email protected]> wrote:

> If you do get a ZCI after that sanding - use it on the router table to
> create a few more - chances are, you'll want another shortly.

I cut about a half dozen rectangles from scrap 1/2" MDF. Ended up throwing
away two before I got the technique down.

The sanding disk is teriffic for those of us who don't have (nor have room
for) a belt and/or disk sander. It rounded the corners nicely.

The drill press and a 3/4" spade bit made a finger hole for extraction.

Fitting the insert on the Bosch is tricky; after throwing away the first
attempt because I routed too much from the wrong places, I saw that a shelf
at the back end was keeping the insert from fitting completely into the
cutout. That and some hand sanding made a perfect fit.

The final step was drilling four holes and taping them for 1/4-20 x 3/8"
set screws (because I have that tap and didn't need to buy another). Leveled
the insert, put the fence across the right edge, turned on the motor, and
created a perfect zero clearance insert.

I now have two and need to make two more. Real Soon Now. :-)

Rich

If you do get a ZCI after that sanding - use it on the router table to
create a few more - chances are, you'll want another shortly.

> I tried that approach first, but it did not work for me. I have a Bosch
> 4000 saw and the factory inserts have a couple of protrusions that fit
> under
> the saw table. The bearing on the router bit follows the shape nicely, but
> leaves an insert that won't fit.
>
> So, a couple of weeks ago I bought a 10" sanding disk designed for table
> saws, and one sheet of 80 grit paper with adhesive on the back. This
> weekend
> I'll put that on the saw and sand to the traced outline of the original
> insert.
>
> Rich