Thread: Zero Clearance Insert

Yes would like to see pictures of the underside Spartan.

Thanks

tap tap... tappity tap

Hey Spartan...


WAKE UP BOYOH!!


some of the underside would be appreciated thank you

FWIW came across this idea in a mag or somesuch...

If your insert is cast with ribs, just tape over the top side well, invert and fill to the rib height with polyester casting resin. Let set, drill out fixing screw holes if nec., fix and bring your blade up to cut through the resin with near zero clearance.

Here you go....

A couple of photos of the underside.

Made three in about 20 minutes.

The top one is before the cable clips are added and is a 16mm dado insert. The other is a 1/4" dado insert and the last one is a standard 3mm kerf blade insert.

I've used 12mm 6G screws to help level the inserts. The insert is made of 12mm ply.

One point to note is that the nails on the cable clips are about 13mm long so I quickly ground them down with the angle grinder.

I used a router with a flush trim bit and the original insert as a template....

The blue marker is a record of what blade/setup the insert is for. I plan to make one for each blade I have and the dado setups.

Cheers....

Spartan

do you reccon you can set your camera to record the correct date?
or at least the current year


saw 2005 and thought this was an old old post

critics everywhere....new batteries in the camera....

Jumping in with both feet
I read somewhere that the easiest way to make a zero clearance insert is to lower the blade, screw in the uncut insert, turn the saw on, then slowly raise the blade.

Sounds a bit scary to me because I'm not up on the subject.
Any comments please

Originally Posted by K_S

Jumping in with both feet
I read somewhere that the easiest way to make a zero clearance insert is to lower the blade, screw in the uncut insert, turn the saw on, then slowly raise the blade.

Sounds a bit scary to me because I'm not up on the subject.
Any comments please

Not scary at all, in fact it's a piece of cake if you follow my method. See post 4


Peter.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

Not scary at all, in fact it's a piece of cake if you follow my method. See post 4


Peter.

Hi Peter, with your blade holder for undoing the arbor nut, can you also use that same jig to tighten the nut on the blade?

Originally Posted by K_S

Jumping in with both feet
I read somewhere that the easiest way to make a zero clearance insert is to lower the blade, screw in the uncut insert, turn the saw on, then slowly raise the blade.

Sounds a bit scary to me because I'm not up on the subject.
Any comments please

That's how I did mine using 6mm thick Al plate.

Originally Posted by martrix

Hi Peter, with your blade holder for undoing the arbor nut, can you also use that same jig to tighten the nut on the blade?

Yes, but you have to hold it down fairly hard as it is designed to clamp down for undoing the nut.


Peter.

No worries. I have taken to putting a clamp on the blade to tighten the nut.

Your jig has given me an idea. Basically the same as yours but clamps the blade body at the front and back (like a G-clamp would) and uses the table as a stop. You could probably retro fits bolts to yours to achieve the same thing.

Plausible?

Now just confirming I know very little on this subject
How dangerous/successful would a couple of layers of masking tape each side of the blade be as a type of zero clearance arrangement???

I have made several zero clearance inserts. They are used for thin ripping. Mine are made from hardwood, fitted to the table and raising the saw blade to cut the groove. The top of the insert is then sanded off flush with the table top. I don't worry about tightening the saw blade nut with a spanner, finger tight is good enough. After all it is a self tightening left hand thread
Jim