Zero Clearance insert

[Pvt_Ryan]

Was thinking of making a zci for the tablesaw as per http://woodgears.ca/delta_saw/insert.html and http://www.curbly.com/chrisjob/posts/59 ... saw-insert but in both cases and everycase I have seen so far the blade guards are missing as is the kerf blade (that bit at the back that prevents kickback). Is it really a good/safe trade off?

I'm not generally a safety nut but power tools with blades make be nervous (I've grown rather attached to my fingers etc and I think I might just miss them if they were to become detached.)

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Ryan

 

[mailee]

When I make a ZCI plate I initially cut the slot with the table saw blade and then slot the rest with a jigsaw to allow the riving knife to fit through. The crown guard can then be fitted back on.

 

[RogerP]

I make up the blank plate, cut a slot for the riving knife, fit plate and then raise running saw blade through it then refit guard.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I make up the blank plate, cut a slot for the riving knife, fit plate and then raise running saw blade through it then refit guard.

Yes, me too.

Make the blank, cut half-way through, then fit the plate and raise the saw. As long as there is already a slot for the riving knife (as your kerf-blade is more commonly known!). Remember that the zero-clearance bit is relevant only at the point at which the cutting is actually taking place and you can raise the blade and keep the ZC characteristics, but as soon as you lower the blade you lose ZC at the front (although you keep it at the sides).

Using a TS without the RK is a very bad idea.

S

 

[stev]

I made mine as demonstrated by Steve Maskrey in BW magazine whereby after cutting the insert plate to size with a template trim cutter on the router with the original insert plate as a template he set the rip fence to the edge of the aperture and with the original insert plate in place ripped a slot into the back portion of the zci.

A small piece of wood is then glued into the back edge of this slot so that the zci stays rigid. This then allows space for the riving knife.

The zci is then fitted with crown guard removed and the running blade can be raised through it. The crown guard is then refitted.

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

Thanks for the replies, good to know I can keep the riving knife (see I used the correct term )

 

[woodstainwilly]

I would never again run my table saw without a riving knife.
Before I got a router table I used to cut grooves with the saw
removing the guard and riving knife.I was always careful to
keep fingers clear, using push sticks etc but on this one occasion
the work was starting to wander so I reached over to the out-feed
side of the blade to steady it. I got a kickback at that moment and
now I am minus two finger ends.
Stupid I know but with the best will in the world we can all get a
bit careless.
Willy.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Willy
That's a prime example of why guards and RKs are not optional. It's not what happens when everything is going smoothly that matters, it's what happens when things go wrong.

I'm coming to the end of editing some new DVDs on the tablesaw. It's a bit late now, but I rather wish I sought out some TS victims and persuaded them to tell their stories on film. I'm sure it's a much more effective nudge than me just standing spouting at the camera.

I've never cut myself witha TS, but I have had a kickback, when the saw was new and I was green. It was entirely my own fault and entirely preventable. I still have the scar 20 years later.

Thanks for being brave enough to share your experience, it's not easy to own up to doing something like that.
S