Zero clearance table saw insert
I had put off working on the New Yankee workbench because I didn’t have an insert for my table saw that would work with the dado stack that my wife bought me for Christmas. I saw Steve Ramsey make one for his new table saw so I figured that I would give it a try.
I cut a piece of 1/8″ hardboard down to rough size and used some duct tape and hardboard spacers to stick the new insert to the old one. I then used a cut off bit on my router to shape the new insert. Steve double sided taped his stock insert directly to his new one but I was nervous about accidentally hitting the metal with the router bit.
The insert is only rests on the actual table by a small lip at each end.
Of course, one is thicker than the other.
The hardboard was too thick so I used a 1/2″ straight cutting bit to cut grooves in the ends.
?I cut one end slightly deeper to fit in the thicker lip.
This end has a shallow bevel coming after the insert.
This side fits snug.
Perfect!
This is the end with the shallower cut. I may have made it a little too deep.
Here is the fit on the stock insert on the side with the shallow bevel.
The stock one sits down a little low too.
Unfortunately, I can only fit 1/2″ of my 13/16″ dado stack in the table saw. That is all that the arbor will safely hold.
I don’t have any kinds of clips figured out yet so I held the insert down with the rip fence and a scrap piece of wood so that I could raise the spinning blade into the insert.
I made my first rabbet with my new dado stack!
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