Laurie Brown
04-08-2009, 7:24 PM
Delta Hybrid table saw from Creeker Jeffrey Schronce + Freud SD208 dado set from Creeker Charlie Schultz + 1/2" white corian from Creeker Kal Robinson = my first project of spring 2009!
http://www.aerth.org/Downloads/dadoinsert.jpg
This was my first time working with corian, my first time making an insert for a saw, and my first time using dado blades, so a day of firsts! By the time I was done cutting, drilling, and trimming, the entire shop was covered in fine white shavings and it looked literally like it had snowed in there! Took some time with the shopvac to clean them up. ;)
Corian seems pretty easy to machine with regular woodworking tools. I used a jigsaw, flush trim router bit, and the dado blades on it. It did have a slight weird smell at times, kind of like melting or burning plastic, although there was no evidence the corian melted or burned at any time. When raising the dado blades up through the insert the first time, the corian on top kind of bowed and stretched up in an arc over the blades before finally popping loose. That was interesting. I held the insert down on the right with my fence and on the left with a caul of scrap oak and a couple of clamps.
Overall I'm really happy with how the insert came out. I made shims from paper to raise the insert up flush with the saw table. I want to make a zero-clearance insert for my regular blade next, but I have found a slight problem that maybe some of you out there with hybrid saws can help with. When I put my regular 10" saw blade in the saw (a Woodworker II in my case) and lower the blade all the way, the blade is below the level of the tabletop but not below the bottom of a solid insert. This means when I put the blank into the insert hole, the blade isn't low enough for it to sit flush so I can clamp it down and raise the blade through it. Anybody else have this issue?
http://www.aerth.org/Downloads/dadoinsert.jpg
This was my first time working with corian, my first time making an insert for a saw, and my first time using dado blades, so a day of firsts! By the time I was done cutting, drilling, and trimming, the entire shop was covered in fine white shavings and it looked literally like it had snowed in there! Took some time with the shopvac to clean them up. ;)
Corian seems pretty easy to machine with regular woodworking tools. I used a jigsaw, flush trim router bit, and the dado blades on it. It did have a slight weird smell at times, kind of like melting or burning plastic, although there was no evidence the corian melted or burned at any time. When raising the dado blades up through the insert the first time, the corian on top kind of bowed and stretched up in an arc over the blades before finally popping loose. That was interesting. I held the insert down on the right with my fence and on the left with a caul of scrap oak and a couple of clamps.
Overall I'm really happy with how the insert came out. I made shims from paper to raise the insert up flush with the saw table. I want to make a zero-clearance insert for my regular blade next, but I have found a slight problem that maybe some of you out there with hybrid saws can help with. When I put my regular 10" saw blade in the saw (a Woodworker II in my case) and lower the blade all the way, the blade is below the level of the tabletop but not below the bottom of a solid insert. This means when I put the blank into the insert hole, the blade isn't low enough for it to sit flush so I can clamp it down and raise the blade through it. Anybody else have this issue?