Zero Clearance Insert for Craftsman

[rick7938]

I have a little old Craftsman table saw that has a blade insert made of 1/10" steel with a blade slot of about 5/8". It allows narrow stock to become lodged between or fall between the blade and the insert.

Does anyone have an idea of what I could use to construct a zero clearance insert for this little saw. I have thought about using some of the thin plexiglas, but I think that I would have to sand down some 1/8" plexiglass to 1/10", but was wondering if someone may have a better idea.

Thanks for any input.

 

[4yanks]

1/10" is too thin for any flexible material to do you much good or to be safe. I would recommend finding something you like that is thicker (3/8" - 1/2") like a plastic type cutting board, plywood or MDF. Cut the piece to fit in your opening. Then route a recess around the edges that support to match the supports for the old insert. I did something similar with my old Craftsman using plywood and it worked fine.

 

[michaelgarner]

4yanks is right on the money,,,just copy the dimesioins,,and route out the bottom,,it will take some time,,but you will get it.

 

[rick7938]

I think that I have found a solution to my need for a ZCI for my little Craftsman. My neighbor has a junker saw exactly like mine except it is an aluminum table. The blade insert if exactly like mine, so I conned him out of the insert. Now I can make a ZCI for one insert and leave the other open to get rid of all of the sawdust when I rip thick stock.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[thrytis]

It sounds similar to my Delta TS220. Routing it out freehand was kind of a pain switching back and forth to test the fit, so recently when i had to make a new one i made a set of templates. I should be able to make additional ones fairly easily now.

 

[D L Ames]

Eric, welcome to NCWW. That is a great looking set of templates you made for producing ZC inserts for your TS. How long did it take you to figure each of those templates out? The end results looks great.

D L

 

[Canuck]

Welcome Eric,

A great idea in your very first post!!!!! :eusa_clap I am sure that you are bound to get a lot of enjoyment reading and responding to posts from the many talented folks here at NCWW!

Enjoy and thanks for that great option for cutting ZCI's.

Have fun,

Wayne

 

[rick7938]

Great ideas, Eric. Many thanks.

 

[Wilmingtonian]

Wow, awesome job on the insert! Welcome, and hope to see more work.

 

[thrytis]

I'm not sure how long it took me to figure out the templates, but it was more tedious than complicated. I spent a while carefully measuring out the opening profile. From there it was just a matter of splitting up the areas based on depth and adding the template offsets to each part.

Thanks for the welcome. I already do enjoy reading the posts here... i've been lurking for quite a while.

 

[sapwood]

Nice thrytis, very creative. :icon_thum

It's ok to keep lurking, but increase the post count a bit :mrgreen:

Clearly you have skills to share!

Sapwood