I'm a fairly new beginner at woodworking and managed to make (route) my first zero clearance throat insert for a job site 8 1/4 table saw. Since the original insert I used for a template used a small compression type spring clip, I'm looking for the attached clip to use at the front end of the blade. I chiseled out for two small metal studs at the end that rotates "up". The 1/2" thick red oak blank I used came out very nice and fits great but I may be a little paranoid. Any suggestions would be appreciated. note: if the attachment is not appropriate sorry.
Metal spring clip to hold a throat insert in place for table saw
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As long as your insert sits evenly in the throat (doesn't wobble, and doesn't project-esp. the front lip- above the table surface, I wouldn't worry about not having the front clip. Remember that whatever piece you're cutting will be (or should), be on the table/insert surface by the time it meets the blade, so it's holding down the insert. Depending on the design of your table, I think of a few alternatives to the front clip. If there is a threaded hole in the front ledge supporting the insert, drill a corresponding hole in your insert and screw down with a countersunk screw. If your table is steel or iron, you could glue a small magnet to the bottom of your insert; if aluminum, glue a magnet to the table, and fasten a strip of steel to the bottom of your insert. If all else fails, you could jam some slips of cardboard in gaps between the insert and table, to provide a friction fit (not too elegant, but should work!) Good luck.
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A back retainer is important, but a front clip is not. You need the back (rear of blade) of the insert held in place to prevent the blade teeth from catching and lifting the insert. The blade teeth are going down into the blade insert at the front, so if they catch there, it will only hold the insert in tighter. For my Delta Unisaw, my DIY zero clearance inserts and standard Delta inserts all have a small roll pin inserted in a small hole or bump on the back edge of the insert to keep them in place. When installed, this pin or bump fits into a wide notch in the bottom back edge of the table saw insert opening. In 65 years of using table saws, I have owned several saws including some that have had as many as 4 screws to hold the inserts in, and I have modified them so they only had a single pin in the back end of them to hold them in place. I have never needed a better hold down for a table saw insert than a single pin or set screw or bump like this to keep the table saw insert in place, and never had an insert come out of my saws when they were running.
Charley
Charley
Thanks for your response.
A previous table saw I had needed a way to hold down my homemade wood insert...and I just recessed 2 rare earth magnets flush into the wood. Worked like a charm
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