My elderly Craftsman TS needed a zero clearance insert. Because of the design of the TS, 1/8" fiber board seemed to fit perfectly. Is there any reason not use use this material in this context (as opposed to 1/8" wood materia)?
Table sawing minds want to know ...
If there is room, you could glue (WeldBond/epoxy) some vertical ribs along the bottom of the 1/8" piece parallel to the blade and close to the blade to reduce flexing.
1/8" board like can be pulled downward creating an angle relative to the blade which can become a problem if it happens between the blade and the fence. You do not want to have any skew there. Aluminium?Yeah, what he siad. I needed a new one for my Delta Contractor II and decided to use 1/8" fiberboard because I had it around. Of course, I had a bunch, so I decided to make a few. Used set screws to make adjuster pads, put the first one in and made my initial cut. All llloked good, about 3 or 4 cuts later, i noticed the insert flexing down and as I wondered to myself, "I wonder if that is bad", the saw sucked it in, shatered it and then ejected the pieces it didn't want at rather high speed.
Now I used 3/4" MDF and use my planer to bring it to exact thickness, use a flush trim bit in the router table to make it fit and I am thinking of adding a splitter from hardwood that I have seen on a few other homemade inserts.
Good luck.
If there is room, you could glue (WeldBond/epoxy) some vertical ribs along the bottom of the 1/8" piece parallel to the blade and close to the blade to reduce flexing.
1/8" board like can be pulled downward creating an angle relative to the blade which can become a problem if it happens between the blade and the fence. You do not want to have any skew there. Aluminium?That "flexing" is a real issue, I suppose. I regularly create inserts out of "whatshandy," and currently am using some plastic salvaged from a store display or a sign shop dumpster (can't recall which at the moment).
I guess I'm not the "craftsman" you need to hear from as I regularly settle for tolerances glue can fill and creative joints can disguise and have yet to make a fancy-ass piece of furniture. But I have successfully employed a variety of materials to create TS inserts and would, in your case, heed the advice of the fellow suggesting laminating a stiffener to the underside. Use the piece you have as a template, and cut another 1/4" or so - (measure the widest part of the "lip" on your TS to determine how wide) smaller all around. Line it up, glue it up, insert and raise the blade. That should take care of the flexing issue for you.
Mean while, when you go shopping, cruise around behind the stores and peer into those large green dumpsters. A wealth of materials can be found. My chicken coop nesting boxes have a floor and read wall of easy to clean while plastic Bi-Lo signs (red on the side one can't see) with bright red 1/4" dividers made from some plastic divider materials from a Staples display. Those chickens will be so happy!
Hey there, good idea! I just happen to have a piece of that material about 3/16" thick. Now, which router bits do I want to choose to trim that out!? If I get it done, I can use an old saw blade to riase up and make the slot for the blade, then install the finishing blade.
Aluminum scrap is wonderful stuff to use for jigs. If you are buying any, ask for Architectural rather than structural scrap (they sell cut- offs by the pound at my local outlet) as it has nice sharp, corner intersections and appears square. Take your fence with you and you can test fit bits of channel - I found stuff that perfectly fits my Craftsman fence - straddling it on three sides - and works to cut on the ends of a board held vertically. Wear lots of eye protection when cutting it - $160.00 to get a sliver out of my right eyeball a couple years back - actually hit my forehead and the perspiration carried it down into my eye!
I like Rob's idea. I use fibreboard too Tim, but I'm finding that when I make one, I make half a dozen because they break so easily. The vertical ribs might make them last a bit longer.
Tanus
I had a similar thing happen when I had cut a lot of plexiglass strips and the shards ended up in my hair...then via the shower water into my eye. Fun, that. All friggin' night in emerge and I KNOW people there. I had to wait for an eye specialist. Then when he showed me the piece that had given me that grief, it was virtually invisible.... in fact, it was. a fleck smaller than fly shit.
RE: Subject
3 pieces, 1/4" hardboard, some double back tape and I'm in business on a Delta contractor's saw.YMMV
Lew
PS: Make the blanks from 1'4" scrap, at least 10-15 at a time.
Another method is to keep a sheet of plywood or mdf that will cover the blade side completely with only a blade width hole cut in the plywood. This creates a temporary top with zero clearance.
This clamps down and makes nice zero clearnace setup.
Tim Daneliuk wrote:
For my Craftsman saw I simply used 3/4 inch MDF.....took a little routing and creative trimming to fit...1st one a bit of a pain or trial and error, making multiples was easy. Held up fine until a water leak on the table saw, in the basement shop warped it a bit.... maybe a little finish on it would have been wise. Rod
I'd use a metal-cutting blade in the jigsaw and some locksmith's files to do cleanup.
-P.
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