# Zero clearance insert for table saw



## Keith C (Jan 23, 2012)

What wood do you guys use to make a zero clearance insert? I'm guessing the harder the wood the longer it will last? I have some red oak that is sitting around, but is pine good enough?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

baltic birch...


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

As Stick said Baltic Birch is very good as it is more stable. Also if you got oak on hand use it. I would stay away from pine.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Scraps of ordinary Birch plywood. I just replace it when it gets beat up a bit.
Make a bunch at the same time...just don't cut the blade slot until you actually need it.
If you were a a bit obsessive you could shellac the top face. Frankly I couldn't be bothered.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I use any 1/4",or 1/2" plywood that I have laying around. Even have used tempered masonite, it works too.

Herb


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## BrianS (Nov 7, 2004)

I've used cheap, construction grade 1/2" plywood, as well as 1/2" mdf. The Baltic birch plywood is probably the best material, but if you don't have it, the other works just fine. I also found that putting a coating of paste wax on the insert helped the wood move across it.

When I made mine, the insert was a bit sloppy fitting. I wrapped tape around the outside of the template, until it fit tighter.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I bought a large plastic cutting board about 3/8ths thick for my inserts. Get three per sheet. Hold up nicely, wood slides on it without friction, and it is easy to install set screws to level the plate. Stick suggested that material. Otherwise, I'd use cutoffs of half inch Baltic Birch. You can order a 20x30 piece at Amazon, enough to make a nice batch. The most important thing is that the material is FLAT, so check with a straightedge. Forget using pine.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I just used mdf. It will also drill and tap for leveling screws. From the replies it's obvious that it isn't that important so use whatever you have handy.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

DesertRatTom said:


> I bought a large plastic cutting board about 3/8ths thick for my inserts. Get three per sheet. Hold up nicely, wood slides on it without friction, and it is easy to install set screws to level the plate. Stick suggested that material. Otherwise, I'd use cutoffs of half inch Baltic Birch. You can order a 20x30 piece at Amazon, enough to make a nice batch. The most important thing is that the material is FLAT, so check with a straightedge. Forget using pine.


good source for those cutting boards is the Dollar Store (or similar)...
cheap...


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> good source for those cutting boards is the Dollar Store (or similar)...
> cheap...


 @Stick486 I tried there, but my Laguna has a LONG insert and they didn't have stock big enough, so I bought a really large one at Target, from which I got three. One other thing, I have a number of blades so I have labeled the blades that work with a particular insert. I have come to appreciate the virtues of a full kerf blade, and I got one of those double blades with the offset teeth that can cut 1/4 and 3/8ths, which needs two inserts. For a dado stack, I have been using Baltic Birch inserts, since I had several I made at once. 

And yes, it is a good idea to make a bunch of them at the same time. Someone suggested using the original insert as a pattern, but the Laguna insert is split at the back and not suitable for use as a pattern. Somewhere I saw a video where the guy simply cut a strip to the width of the slot, marked a centerline, then used a compas set for half thw width of the piece, drew a half circle on each end to match the exact length. Cut it out with a band saw and used it as a template to make usable inserts. One precision task makes production much easier after that.

My TS blade rests just about 3/16ths below the top, so I have to rout out a slot for the blade to fit in before I raise it through.


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## Shop guy (Nov 22, 2012)

I use whatever I have that is handy. Like Tom I have to route the bottom of mine to clear the blade. And like Brian I wax mine.


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## IRestore (Mar 28, 2015)

1/2" Baltic Birch. There was a good read from Woodsmith on how to make them. It suggests making several blanks so you could have them for the most common dado sizes but didn't go on to say what those were. I made several blanks but haven't cut them yet as I don't know what "the most common dado sizes are yet".


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

*Why Shops Get Filled*



IRestore said:


> 1/2" Baltic Birch. There was a good read from Woodsmith on how to make them. It suggests making several blanks so you could have them for the most common dado sizes but didn't go on to say what those were. I made several blanks but haven't cut them yet as I don't know what "the most common dado sizes are yet".


Good plan, Jim. Cut the slots as you need them. Then save 'em. 
The thing about dado slots is the range of slot widths you (might) end up with...assuming zero clearance is the goal.


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## hagerboy (Apr 30, 2010)

I had some 1/2" Corian and that worked very well


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## Garyk (Dec 29, 2011)

+1 on the cutting boards. If you have a Tanger mall near they usually have a store that sells kitchen items pretty cheap. The surface on the cutting board is slick so you don't need to wax or finish it. HDPE works well too.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Another way to cut the slot is to use a smaller diam blade and raise it so the teeth barely show through. Then take it out and put your larger blade on the saw and run it all the way down and then raise it to cut the slot in the ZC insert.
Herb


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

I use whatever 1/2" hard scrap that I have a significant supply of. I have made them from from Baltic Birch, Corian, HDPE, Lexan (not a prefered choice), etc. and I always try to make 4-10 at a time so that I always have a replacement when one wears out or I buy a new blade. I then store them until needed. I like the ones made from HDPE and Corian the best, so I try to use these with my better blades and use the BB inserts for dado blade inserts and special use (one time) inserts. My Freud SBOX8 box joint blade set has two inserts, one for 1/4" and one for 3/8" box joint cutting.

When I make inserts I trace the outer edge of the original OEM metal blade insert onto the stock and then rough cut them out using the table saw and band saw. Using double sided tape I then stick the original insert onto each blank and use a flush cut bit with a bearing in my router table to trim the edges of the blank to exact size of the original metal insert. Then I mark, drill, thread, and install the leveling set screws and a roll pin in the back end to keep them from lifting when in use, but I don't cut the blade slot until I'm going to use them. I have a different insert for each blade that I have and I write on the bottom of it which blade the insert is for, but I have several inserts of varying common widths for my dado blade. 

When I'm about to use a new insert, I install a 7 1/2" blade in my 10" Unisaw and pre-cut the slot like Herb does, then replace the small blade with the 10" blade that I will be using with this new insert, and complete the cut. I then mark and cut the clearance slot for my pop-up splitter on my band saw and label the back of this new insert for the blade that will be used with it.

Charley


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## IRestore (Mar 28, 2015)

Ok, I'll cut them as I need them then. Thank you.


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