Questions for SawStop owners

[Randy Gillard]

I am considering a SawStop Professional 3 HP Cabinet saw. I have a couple of questions for existing owners please.

1. There is only a touch over 10" of table in front of the blade. My old Uni has 12. Does this present any perceivable shortcoming in actual use?

2. Do you have to use their zero clearance inserts, or can you make your own?

Thanks in advance.

[Roger Feeley]

I upgraded from a Powermatic 63 contractor saw to a Sawstop ICS so I can't speak to the 10" issue. It's never bothered me.

Regarding the zero clearance insert. Making your own would be complicated because of the locking mechanism. Buuuut... I have a workaround. I machined a recess about 1/4" deep by about 1 1/4" wide from the front of the throat plate to a couple of inches back of the blade. Then I undercut the recess with an 18 degree dovetail bit. Then I made some wood inserts to go into the recess using the same dovetail bit to machine the sides. I basically have unlimited ZCIs.

[Randy Gillard]

I have a workaround. I machined a recess about 1/4" deep by about 1 1/4" wide from the front of the throat plate to a couple of inches back of the blade. Then I undercut the recess with an 18 degree dovetail bit. Then I made some wood inserts to go into the recess using the same dovetail bit to machine the sides. I basically have unlimited ZCIs.

Sounds great. Any pictures?

[Steven Hsieh]

I would just buy theirs and not bother making one.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=30975&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PLA&gclid=CJab4-z1_LICFaV_QgodcWYAlA

[Victor Robinson]

The 10" in front of the blade has never bothered me.

As for your ZCI question, it's somewhat timely as there is a new product that just hit the market. It's a ZCI (with replaceable inserts) made for the Sawstop...seems to be fairly high quality and initial reviews are positive. A little pricey ($90) but worth it in the long run if it's a good product. I just ordered one from Infinity tools so we'll see...I believe it's also available via Amazon for a few dollars more.

As Roger mentioned, you can also make your own.

[glenn bradley]

The insert makes good sense as ZCI's are wear parts. The friction of material passing through the slot widens them over time. If you're after basic safety and not a consistently tight ZCI, I would buy a blank and be happy. If you have other needs out of your ZCI, keeping a fresh surface with a tight fit will be easier (and cheaper in the long run) with a replaceable insert. I would probably do like Roger did and modify the stock unit or, rabbet it to work like the Betterley's (http://www.cabinetmakerfdm.com/5211.html).

[Ron Natalie]

There's a guy selling Zero clearance inserts that are mostly hunks of aluminum with a hardboard insert that is replaceable in a sliding dovetail (they give you two inserts and you can buy more or they include info on how to make them). With the SawStop, you have to canabalize the locking mechanism off a real sawstop (either their ZCI or the regular insert) to make it lock down.

http://www.amazon.com/SawStop-Zero-Clearance-Throat-Anodized-Aluminum/dp/B009566INS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350141272&sr=8-1&keywords=sawstop+zero+clearance+throat+plate

[Roger Feeley]

To be specific, I didn't exactly make my own. I started with a blank insert from SawStop and machined a place for an insert in the insert. It wasn't my idea. A company called Wood Dynamics used to make TS throat plates with wood inserts. It looks like Charles Neil has restarted the company and has a plate for sawstop. $99 sounds like a good deal to me if I hadn't already made my own. The only difference between his and mine is that I started with a SS plate so I have that spiffy lock. Also my wood insert doesn't go all the way to the back of the plate.

https://charlesneilwoodworking.3dcartstores.com/Table-Saw-Accessories_c_10.html

[Roger Feeley]

Here is the inspiration.
https://charlesneilwoodworking.3dcartstores.com/SawStop--Charles-Neil-Signature-Zero-Clearance-Table-Saw-Insert_p_101.html

They are kind of pricey but I would have bought one if I didn't already have my own. Mine is only for the stacked dado head so I don't deal with the riving knife. I've been thinking about a version for the combo blade.

My motivation was born of fear. When you have a stacked dado head and you use one of those dado throat plates, that hole looks like the grand canyon. I feel so much safer with a ZCI with my dado head.

If the picture in the link doesn't make sense, I can try to take some pictures.

[Carl Beckett]

My one emergency room visit was due to a test cut with a dado where the board dipped into the throat plate and kick backed. Temp pins in the thumb but it's still attached.

Grand canyon is a good analogy. I should have been using a ZCI. (had started out dadoing the wide part of the board and had switched over to grooving an edge). Just didn't notice that the board was narrower than the throat, and it bit me.

[Jerry Cappeller]

I've had the ICS since it first came out. Did the upgrade to the current ZCI and dust collection about a year ago. Love the saw...bit of overkill for my small garage workshop but it was the only model available at the time. I got the aluminum ZCI from Infinity Tools two weeks ago and have only used it three times. I ordered three additional packs of center inserts with the ZCI...sure beats the $39 per ZCI for the SawStop brand. So far I really like the Infinity design; it's one beefy piece of aluminum. The only thing that's a pain is having to manually cut a slot for the riving knife if you want to use it with the Infinity ZCI.

[Peter Aeschliman]

As for the 10" in front of the blade- it did bother me a bit, but I don't think going from 12" to 10" would be a noticeable decrease. The problem is really rooted in the fact that you're probably trying to cross-cut a wide board with a miter gauge. That's really not a strength of american style cabinet saws.

I bought an excalibur sliding table attachment on craigslist. That was a huge improvement, and now I couldn't care less about the table space before the blade.

I really wonder though if/when Sawstop is actually going to produce a true sliding table saw. I bet that thing will sell like hot cakes, but I also bet it will have an enormous price tag.

But bottom line, 10" vs 12" shouldn't require a massive adjustment for you.

[Roger Feeley]

There's a guy selling Zero clearance inserts that are mostly hunks of aluminum with a hardboard insert that is replaceable in a sliding dovetail (they give you two inserts and you can buy more or they include info on how to make them). With the SawStop, you have to canabalize the locking mechanism off a real sawstop (either their ZCI or the regular insert) to make it lock down.

http://www.amazon.com/SawStop-Zero-Clearance-Throat-Anodized-Aluminum/dp/B009566INS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350141272&sr=8-1&keywords=sawstop+zero+clearance+throat+plate

That's pretty neat! My question would be what they do about the riving knife/guard. I thought about doing this but I don't want to give up the safety devices. I wonder why the ZCI must run the full depth to the blade. Don't you just need it up to the the center point, or even just where the teeth go down into plate? I've been thinking of making a zci that starts at the front and only goes halfway back. The trick is to get the wood to want to splay out towards the sides. My idea is to do an initial slit in the wood and then build a jig for the final cut where I force the two halves together, putting just a bit of outward spring in the wood. That would serve two purposes: the two sides of the insert would never bend inwards and the spring would hold the insert in place.

It looks to me like this guy is starting with a SS standard plate and machining his own dovetailed recess which is exactly what I did. In my case, I started with a blank plate and use it only for dados so I don't deal with the riving knife issue.

[J.R. Rutter]

I have been using the Colli-Beck insert for a couple of weeks. I spoke with him about the riving knife issue, and it sounds like they will be doing something to make it easier to use. I've also made a stack of hardwood inserts over the years that I've had the saw. It is pretty easy to just cut dados across the front and back to clear the hold-down button screws in the back (and allow you to spin the insert 180 degress for a fresh slot). The dovetailed inserts will be even easier. For now, I'm just going to cut the riving knife slot the way I do with solid plates: install upside-down, raise blade, flip over and raise the blade again. Worth $100 for me over the long haul.

[Ron Natalie]

They give you two inserts with the kit. One is uncut, and the other has a kerf coming from the back to accomodate the riving knife. Your blade had better be wider than the knife anyhow, so the extra kerf on the outfeed really isn't an issue.

[J.R. Rutter]

They give you two inserts with the kit. One is uncut, and the other has a kerf coming from the back to accomodate the riving knife. Your blade had better be wider than the knife anyhow, so the extra kerf on the outfeed really isn't an issue.

The inserts that I got with mine all had cutouts in the back end for the blade guard. I have an overarm guard, so when I cut out for the riving knife, it left the insert with a sloppy fit because it was essentially a very long "U" shape with the back end open. A blank insert with closed back end would be perfect.

[Ron Natalie]

I think you have one of the earlier ones. Looking at some pictures, it looks like there were some that have a much wider slot for the riving knife (and it even routed out more of the melamine that the thing is faced with). The one I got recently just looks like a simple thin cut from the back side.

While I haven't tried to make one yet, the procedure for cutting your own seems pretty straight forward. Once you thickness whatever you're using to 1/4", you just cut three sides to he 11 degree or whatever it is angle and then round off the last one to match the edge of the insert.