Thread: Jet JWTS-10 blade problem

I'm guessing, but the blade is below the table top & you just can't get the new insert to seat properly.

If so, this is normal, you haven't done anything wrong. A lot of commercial inserts come with a relief cut on the bottom for just this reason, the saw blade will not retract far enough into the body of the saw so a solid insert will sit flush.

All you have to do is mark out where the slot is on the old insert, then use the marks to rout a 1/4" wide groove on the underside of the insert just deep enough for it to sit flush with the table top over the saw blade. Then proceed to clamp the insert down & raise the running saw blade thru' the insert as you were going to do anyway.

Just wondering ... if this the first time you have made a zero clearance insert for this saw?
Yes, many table saw blades do not drop well below the zero clearance insert level. Using a router is one way of clearing out some space but if it were me, I would just install a smaller blade like a 7 1/4 circ saw blade and crank it up into the insert. I may not be exactly the same width but it will at least mark where the blade will go ... you can then enlarge that marker hole with a router, or even just file it out a tiny bit until it fits the larger blade.

That's normal for this saw - the blade doesn't fully retract.

I make my zero clearance inserts out of ply, using the original metal one as a template. If you attach the ply to the original metal insert with some double-sided tape or foam tape, you can then use a trimming bit with bearing in your router table to run around and trim the ply insert to exact size - just be careful around the part where the splitter goes, which has to be rounded off by hand.

Then, leaving your new insert still attached to the top of the original with the double-sided tape, simply reinstall the original metal insert in the saw. You can then wind the blade up through both inserts and cut the slot in the ply one. Depending on the strength of your double-sided tape, you may want to clamp everything down before raising the blade. I use double-sided carpet tape, which sticks like the proverbial.....