# Tablesaw zero clearance inserts for free!



## Old_Chipper (Mar 30, 2009)

With the price of everything going up, I look for ways to save a buck whenever I can. We all know how nice zero clearance inserts are in our table saws. Delta’s MSRP for their Model 36-862 insert is $84.99, but you can find them for $30-$40. In either case that’s a lot. I use to make them from plywood but they didn’t last long. I made a few from aluminum, but not everyone has a machine shop and the price of aluminum is going up all the time, plus metal will rattle in cheaper saws. 

I now have as many as I need, for nothing, or $.60 if you don’t have any setscrews around. Only takes about 30-40 minutes to make one. 
Most cabinet shops have large amounts of sink cutouts. Corian, is the kind to ask for. There are other solid surface materials, such as Capresa, but I personally don’t know how well they will machine. Most shops will give you as much as you can haul for nothing. I did find a couple shops that wanted a couple dollars each for them, which is still a good deal; but if you look, you can get them for free, especially if you explain to them that they are for shop use, and not for resale.
The images below show how I do it: 
1.	Typical cutout, they come in all colors, shapes and sizes. They are about ½ inch thick.
2.	Use 2-sided tape to hold the cutout in place on the old insert. Remember to remove any screws, etc. that could interfere with the guide bearing.
3.	Cut to size, using your pattern bit. DC helps, as the chips are light and stick to everything.
4.	Drill setscrew holes and finger hole. I use ¼-28 setscrews, because I have a bunch of them, just about any size between 10-32 and ¼ -28 will work. 
5.	Tap the setscrew holes and soften all edges. I use a 1/8-inch round over bit.
6.	If your saw blade will not lower enough for the insert to fit; tape it to your old one, turn on saw and slowly raise the blade, just enough to break the surface.
Separate the inserts, and clean them, I use acetone to remove any residue left by the 2-sided tape. Polish with 1000 grit as much as you feel you need to. 
7.	One in my Delta. 

Notes: None of my saws are the same. One is longer and my Craftsman uses a thinner insert, so I have to either plane down the Corian or just cut a rabbet along each side. 
I’m told any of the solid surface counter top material will work; but I haven’t used any thing but Corian, so be safe, always check whatever you are going to use; can it be machined.


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Harry, what a great idea/tip.

Thanks for the post! :thank_you2:


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Harry

Very nice show and tell , well done 

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Old_Chipper said:


> With the price of everything going up, I look for ways to save a buck whenever I can. We all know how nice zero clearance inserts are in our table saws. Delta’s MSRP for their Model 36-862 insert is $84.99, but you can find them for $30-$40. In either case that’s a lot. I use to make them from plywood but they didn’t last long. I made a few from aluminum, but not everyone has a machine shop and the price of aluminum is going up all the time, plus metal will rattle in cheaper saws.
> 
> I now have as many as I need, for nothing, or $.60 if you don’t have any setscrews around. Only takes about 30-40 minutes to make one.
> Most cabinet shops have large amounts of sink cutouts. Corian, is the kind to ask for. There are other solid surface materials, such as Capresa, but I personally don’t know how well they will machine. Most shops will give you as much as you can haul for nothing. I did find a couple shops that wanted a couple dollars each for them, which is still a good deal; but if you look, you can get them for free, especially if you explain to them that they are for shop use, and not for resale.
> ...


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

*How thin can ya go?*

Hi Harry - Great idea. Been making mine out of plastic cutting boards. About 6 bucks ea but I could get two, for my old saw. This saw only has a 1/16" ledge around it. Plastic doesn't get it here, I don't think. I like the idea of corian if there is any strength left to it at that thickness.
Managed to get a Zero insert farm engineered together but for the dado cutter and molding head been trying to figure out how to do 16 gauge steel without any sheet metal tools. :sad:
Upside is that the blade throat is rectangular, not oval.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi John

I do the same and have the same error as you do ,I also use the UHMW stock that is very tough stuff..

What Is UHMW?
(Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene)

Characteristics:

* The highest abrasion resistance
* Outstanding impact strength even at low temperatures
* Excellent sliding material due to low coefficient of friction
* Self-lubricating

UHMW Plastic Sheets and Strips

========


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## Old_Chipper (Mar 30, 2009)

thanks John,
Now that's a strange one, never saw one like it before. Strange pattern, looks like flooring. What brand is it? 
John, I think alumimun would work for you. It would be strong enough(?)maybe and you could work it with hand tools. Really all you would need is a good Hacksaw, couple of good files. The straight cuts you could do with the tablesaw on metal that thin. You would need a carbide blade at least a 100 tooth. If you were to use a course blade the teeth would grab it, with nasty results. I would sandwich it between some 1/2" plywood, that would be the safe way. You sure it's 1/16 that's only .062 ? I believe I would reinforce the un-supported edge with 1/4 aluminum angle, you could pop rivet it together. Any way you could modify the table to take a thicker insert. Wish you were nearby, bet I could come up with something better.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

That is a great way to get rhe material, thanks.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Old_Chipper said:


> With the price of everything going up, I look for ways to save a buck whenever I can. We all know how nice zero clearance inserts are in our table saws. Delta’s MSRP for their Model 36-862 insert is $84.99, but you can find them for $30-$40. In either case that’s a lot. I use to make them from plywood but they didn’t last long. I made a few from aluminum, but not everyone has a machine shop and the price of aluminum is going up all the time, plus metal will rattle in cheaper saws.
> 
> I now have as many as I need, for nothing, or $.60 if you don’t have any setscrews around. Only takes about 30-40 minutes to make one.
> Most cabinet shops have large amounts of sink cutouts. Corian, is the kind to ask for. There are other solid surface materials, such as Capresa, but I personally don’t know how well they will machine. Most shops will give you as much as you can haul for nothing. I did find a couple shops that wanted a couple dollars each for them, which is still a good deal; but if you look, you can get them for free, especially if you explain to them that they are for shop use, and not for resale.
> ...


This is a great idea, Harry. I've been considering making so for my new TS but was hoping for something heavier than wood. 

Next I need to study the existing throat plate to see if there's a good way to retain use of my new Uni's riving knife while operating zero clearange. It will require a blind slit in the plate behind the blade so must be cut in advance. Hmm.. Maybe that 1/8" router bit I've got on order from Ptree, in my RT will do it. Hmmm...


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Old_Chipper said:


> thanks John,
> Now that's a strange one, never saw one like it before. Strange pattern, looks like flooring. What brand is it?
> John, I think alumimun would work for you. It would be strong enough(?)maybe and you could work it with hand tools. Really all you would need is a good Hacksaw, couple of good files. The straight cuts you could do with the tablesaw on metal that thin. You would need a carbide blade at least a 100 tooth. If you were to use a course blade the teeth would grab it, with nasty results. I would sandwich it between some 1/2" plywood, that would be the safe way. You sure it's 1/16 that's only .062 ? I believe I would reinforce the un-supported edge with 1/4 aluminum angle, you could pop rivet it together. Any way you could modify the table to take a thicker insert. Wish you were nearby, bet I could come up with something better.


Hi Harry, that's the Ryobi BTS21. The pattern you see is on the mitre table. Being pretty well stuck with contractor saws because of space constraints so I got this one to alleviate my biggest safety issue with contractor saws, namely lack of work area on my side of the blade. Most of them anything more than 7" or so and you have a balancing act on your hands for crosscuts. The mitre table eliminates that, I can get a good 14 or 15" supported out there. But it also comes with it's own set of problems. No mitre slots at all. I didn't expect one on the left, but it doesn't have one on the right either. Put a very nice Incra V120 out of a job, at least for now. The long mitre fence is nice, although I have already lopped off one of the plastic endpieces.. :wacko: hehehehe,, guess Ryobi was expecting that. 
Anyway, table insert is 1/16th, I put the calipers to it. I cabbaged the zero insert by marrying a piece of 20 gauge aluminum angle iron with a hunk of 3/8 polyethelene cutting board. Works OK but doesn't look good. Will likely do it over sometime. It is nice in that the riving knife comes over the back of the machine so no issues with that and the Zero Insert. 
With the dado blade I doubt there will be much of an insert at all. I don't think I will be able to get any more than a 3/4" dado stacked because the spindle is so short, also not much space in there anyway. I haven't really put the dado blade on there to see where I am yet but I did load the molding head once. It's the front and back of the molding head that needs the support, especially the front. I tried it with a makeshift insert and one of those big honkin cutters yanked the stock right into the throat. :fie:I suspected it was gonna do that so I was prepared for it. 
I bought a metal cutting blade for a 7-1/4" saw, 5/8 arbor. I think I'll screw the 16 gauge steel to a piece of 3/4 ply, set the blade just higher than 1/16 and run the assembly face down on the table saw to at least get length and width. I can make the cut out with a jigsaw and die grinder. Seems like the safest way. 
Oh well, first pic is the mitre table, second with version 1.0 of the table insert. Last is the open throat. 
Thanks guys....


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## Old_Chipper (Mar 30, 2009)

thanks for posting more pictures. I can see it has some nice features. Is the Orange insert, the factory one? Looks like it wasn't designed to use a dado set. Had a little Wards TS 50 years ago that was like that. Be careful if you try cutting the sheet metal, You can risk cutting alumimun, but steel is a lot more dangerous.


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## Wild Horse (Sep 9, 2009)

Nice post Harry. I've been using meganite, which is basically corian, for many things in the shop like zc plates. I have the scraps and sink cutouts from some of the kitchens I remodeled. I've used 1/4" phenolic too, which does a nice job and isn't too pricey. If I remember correctly, I got two zc plates out of a $13 piece of phenolic.

Actually, the meganite makes some fine sacr. blocks too...I've epoxied up some, and they've been in use for quite a while.


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## RealCom (Jun 18, 2009)

Harry,

Thanks for the strp-by-step. I have wanted one for my saw, but didn't want to spend the money. This will make it happen.


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## sweaty (Jan 25, 2009)

I just used some left over floor boards to make the zero inserts. I did laminate flooring last year and found out that the floor boards are extremely strong and they also got two sides that are very smooth and scratch resistant. So I just used some of those to make the zero inserts. Same method as noted here and they worked very well so far on my table saw.


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## awoodnut (May 2, 2009)

*solution to Ryobi*

Hello jschaben

I have a makita which has a similar problem with very thin insert. Never thought of using the plastic so I went out tonight and made one. See the attached pics.

checked it all for thickness and such and figured it would work with a 1/4"+ cutting board I had. Took blade out as insert wouldn't go in hole with it in.

Started by cutting size of opening at widest points. used a 1/4" straight bit to relieve the edge on 3 sides where it needs to be about 3/32" thick, in about 1/8". I did a cut off piece first to make shure I had the depth ok.

I didn't get crazy with trying to figure the depths and such I just measured and set a little shy then adjusted the bit up to get the edge thin enogh. For the screw holes I just stuck them thru the holes in the drill index to get the right size.

Rounded off the corners a little to fit on the sander. Set in the hole to see where it actually hit the support points and needed to be thinned down. 

Cutt out for an inset on the blade side. Relieved for the thicker parts at the mounting/support points and relived for where the mechanisam to angle the blade came up at the back of the hole.

Drilled for size of screw shank and counter sunk to get head down flush. This was my one bo-bo, the counter sink bit caught and went all the way thru, need to take the drill really slow. I Drilled the counter sink out bigger and put in a plastic bushing I had to hold screw.

Put in a smaller 7 1/4" blade and installed insert. Ran blade up to full height to cut hole. This blade was a little thicker then the thin kerf I use so gave a little clearance for the regular blade. Installed the full size blade and ran up to finish cutting hole. Done.

If I was doing it agean I would go ahead and make a couple. The blade cut dosn't leave much meat at the front of the insert and it will probably break there over time. Live and learn.

Hope this works for you. If you have any questions just send me an email.

Mike


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Hi Mike R. 
Thanks for the input.. 
That's essentially the same process I used on my last saw, also a Ryobi. The difference that concerned me from my last saw is the supports and retaining screws were pretty well centered, left to right, as are the ones on your saw. On this one, the insert retaining screws and support bosses are on the extreme left edge of the insert. The relief on the BTS20, this one is the BTS21, wasn't much thicker under the retaining screws but also had a rabbet that went nearly all the way around the throat opening. 
Maybe I am a bit anal about it but I just wasn't comfortable with 1/16" of plastic holding the thing in there. That and there would even be a lot less after trying to countersink the retainers. Ryobi didn't even drill the countersinks on the steel plate. They stamped them in and put rubber grommets in oversized holes below the plate.
I really haven't done much with it the last couple of weeks, life keeps setting priorities for me:'(. 
Oh well, thanks again for the input.


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## awoodnut (May 2, 2009)

John could you drill and countersink a hole on the blade side and secure a support tab on either end of the blade?

Sorry the other idea didn't help

Mike


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## procrastinator1 (Jan 28, 2010)

Thank you Harry.
Your post was very well thought and easy to read and more importantly to follow. I have been to some sites where people have great ideas, but are unable to clearly communicate their idea as well as you did. 

-Ruben


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## RLFX (Nov 20, 2009)

Hay John I have the same saw, have you had a dado blade in it yet , I think I will have to take the Vac port off ..


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

RLFX said:


> Hay John I have the same saw, have you had a dado blade in it yet , I think I will have to take the Vac port off ..


Hi Randy
Yeah, I ran the dado blade in it a couple of weeks ago--- didn't use an insert as I hadn't gotten one made yet. :bad: I was just hogging out the ends of some 2x4's for half lap joints on a workbench I was making so I stayed a foot or so away from the blade. I don't understand a conflict with the vac port though 

It will take the dado but 3/4" is the max the arbor will take. Couldn't add the 1/16" chipper or any of the shims. I was going out to the 3-1/2" for the half-lap. The dado blade I have is a Harbor Freight and I got it used, doesn't leave a very smooth bottom. I ended up just getting close and finishing up on the router table. I think I am going to hold off on a dado insert until or if I get a better dado blade. I didn't think of it at the time... Duuuh.... probably could have done those half-laps faster, easier and with less mess on the bandsaw..... :sad:


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## RLFX (Nov 20, 2009)

Thanx John , you know when you try to put the blade down in you see the black plastic houseing for the vac that's what I was refuring to, it just seems there is'nt enough room
to slide a dado blade in there, nice to here you have done it I will try today,I have the one you just turn it and it gets bigger !!

Thanx again John !!

Randy


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## Old_Chipper (Mar 30, 2009)

Thanks Ruben,
20 years in the classrooms, gotta be good for something! I have a few other tricks I need to share. Just have to find the time to do them.


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