Zero Clearance Insert for PK200 Table Saw?

[LancsRick]

I'm not sure how to go about this one...

I've got a PK200 table saw, which is a lovely little thing but does suffer from a bit of breakout since there is no ZCI. The challenge I've got is the way it's built (link below from ollypj review site)...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/504 ... efd6_z.jpg

As you can see, there's a fixed plate to the right of the blade with a curve cut out, and then the removable left plate which has a curve cut out too. I have no idea how to create a ZCI for this. The only concept I can dream up is replacing the entire left plate with one that is a closer fit and has a "loop" that goes over the blade to fill in the right hand gap - I'd be worried about the strength of the thin loop though.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[MusicMan]

The left hand side is the important one if you are holding the work to be trimmed on the left hand side of the blade. I think I would try to do as you suggest, but not worry unduly if the thin bit on the right breaks off.

If you make it out of ply, you get the close fit by clamping it down to the table with the blade retracted, and saw through the insert by raising the blade. But you do first have to make a slot for the riving knife (where a close fit does not matter.

Keith

 

[transatlantic]

Probably won't work, but have you tried covering the hole with a bit of tape from front to back of table?

 

[LancsRick]

You've just given me an idea......

A flat piece of ply, with a ZCI slot as per the blade-raising method. On the right hand side, this would have a false-fence, which "hooks" over the real fence. I'd therefore avoid having to modify the saw, but gain a ZCI at the loss of 6mm of blade cut (and therefore a slightly reducing blade angle to the top of the piece, I'll have to see if that degrades the top surface cut at all...)

Thanks guys, you've got the grey matter working again.

 

[MusicMan]

wouldn't it have to go under the real fence in order for the fence to work?

 

[Jacob]

Don't think it'd make much difference. No clearance fence is usually for stopping thin offcuts dropping down the slot.
I'd look at sharpening or replacing blade with good quality TCT

 

[LancsRick]

For cross cutting ply it should make a difference. It's a nearly new Freud on there

 

[marcros]

have you seen this thread? dressing-up-my-ts-200-zero-clearance-insert-t58023.html

 

[custard]

Don't think it'd make much difference. No clearance fence is usually for stopping thin offcuts dropping down the slot.
I'd look at sharpening or replacing blade with good quality TCT

+1

Don't expect too much from a ZCI. I doubt the blade on that saw will run totally true, so the clearance will still be a fraction more than the kerf on the majority of the teeth, enough to allow some whiskery spelching at any rate. The biggest gain will come from a good quality, freshly sharpened blade.

In top workshops, building extremely expensive furniture with difficult timbers or saw cut veneers, it's fairly common practise to not even use the scoring blade on their panel saws (which struggle to accept ZCI's anyhow), but instead to replace the blade with a fine cutting, ATB ground blade that's just been sharpened, and use that set up for the really critical cuts.