Best Insert for Powermatic 66?

[Steve H Graham]

The MDF insert I made for my Powermatic 66 has given up the ghost. What's the best zero-clearance insert out there for cheap?

I was going to make another MDF job, but I would have to go get MDF, and if I'm going to actually have to PAY, I might as well get something good.

[Steve H Graham]

I should add that while the MDF was cheap and easy to work, it did not stay flat or stand up to abuse, so I'm not excited about using it again. I think aluminum would be ideal, but I ain't springing for aluminum sheet.

[Rick Lizek]

334924Make this. Instead of the rabbet use a 45 degree bevel.

[John K Jordan]

I don't know what "cheap" means, but I got some of these for my PM66 and I like them:

http://www.amazon.com/Leecraft-PM-1-Clearance-Insert-Powermatic/dp/B0000223VA

[Steve H Graham]

Maybe that's the best answer (Leecraft). I am thinking it would be nice to make something from aluminum with a piece in the middle I could replace, but it would be kind of a project.

[John Blazy]

you guys so over-engineer everything. don't need to buy an insert online - it just proves your inability to improvise. Just get mdf or 1/2" melamine and put four screws into the bottom and adjust the screws until the throat plate is flush. So easy to make a few of them then raise the blade to cut through. The 1/2" screws allow micro adjustment to flush them with the table. I made one fifteen years ago, and am still using it. made minor adjustments after a few years. The one I made for my dado insert is still good too - its the screws that adjust for flush when the plate warps. Real easy.


sorry if I offended anyone - its easy to overlook the obvious. Just take your existing throat plate, and flush trim a new plate in 1/2" from it as the template. run screws into the bottom where the flats contact. then adjust the screws to flush.

334943

[glenn bradley]

I use 1/2" BB ply and make them by the half dozen or so. The setup for one takes no longer than the setup for more.

[Steve H Graham]

you guys so over-engineer everything. don't need to buy an insert online - it just proves your inability to improvise.

That would be more interesting if it didn't reveal that you didn't read the thread.



sorry if I offended anyone

Same here.

[mark kosse]

you guys so over-engineer everything. don't need to buy an insert online - it just proves your inability to improvise. Just get mdf or 1/2" melamine and put four screws into the bottom and adjust the screws until the throat plate is flush.


sorry if I offended anyone -

its not that easy. To add screws on a 66 you have to rout a lip on a 1/2" blank, and yes you are offensive.


steve,

I understand not wanting to buy a whole sheet of anything to make a few inserts. I use Baltic birch and I don't care for the way sawdust erodes it away. I don't own one but I'd go with a melamine insert to stop that. There is a guy on eBay who sells machined aluminum inserts for uni's fairly reasonably. I've often thought of emailing him to see if he'd do 66 inserts. After my stock of bb inserts wear away I'll be looking for something new.

[Sean Troy]

I don't know what "cheap" means, but I got some of these for my PM66 and I like them:

http://www.amazon.com/Leecraft-PM-1-Clearance-Insert-Powermatic/dp/B0000223VA

I have some of those for different blades and used them for years. Still look like new.

[Steve H Graham]

I understand not wanting to buy a whole sheet of anything to make a few inserts. I use Baltic birch and I don't care for the way sawdust erodes it away. I don't own one but I'd go with a melamine insert to stop that. There is a guy on eBay who sells machined aluminum inserts for uni's fairly reasonably. I've often thought of emailing him to see if he'd do 66 inserts. After my stock of bb inserts wear away I'll be looking for something new.

I looked into the aluminum issue today. I think it's a neat idea. The original aluminum insert on my saw has been used like crazy, and it's still in great shape (too bad it's not zero clearance). You can find 3/8" plate in 4" width on Ebay in drops small enough to make inserts without spending your life savings. I just don't want to fool with it right now.

I have machine tools, so it's not an intimidating job, but I think anyone who has a table saw and a router table could make an aluminum insert. Working 3/8" plate is not bad.

I am thinking I will eventually fix myself up with something that has a center strip I can replace, as an earlier poster suggested.

That being said I look forward to the phenolic insert I ordered, just to get it over with.

[Bruce Page]

I have posted pictures and drawings for my over engineered :rolleyes::) RT Unisaw aluminum throat plate with slip in replaceable wooden inserts. I have been using it for 15 years and have never needed another. If you have the machine tools and wherewithal to make one, I say just do it.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Orange BORG sells 2 X 4 pieces of 1/2" MDF. Even cheaper is damaged full sheet from same source, Corian is another option.

[Dick Brown]

Made some from Corian scrap and love them. Works easy, last a long time. Also made some from old Formica over plywood countertop and they have held up well. Had to thin it down to 1/2 inch thick but not a big deal.

[roger wiegand]

Mine look just like Glenn's. I made a dozen of them in about an hour from leftover scrap a few years ago and still have 1-2 left. Plenty of scrap around to make more if/when the time comes. One with an insert would have to be pretty convenient to swap inserts on to make it easier to use.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

A slightly cheaper option is available from Lee Valley.


I don't know what "cheap" means, but I got some of these for my PM66 and I like them:

http://www.amazon.com/Leecraft-PM-1-Clearance-Insert-Powermatic/dp/B0000223VA

[Mike Goetzke]

you guys so over-engineer everything. don't need to buy an insert online - it just proves your inability to improvise. Just get mdf or 1/2" melamine and put four screws into the bottom and adjust the screws until the throat plate is flush. So easy to make a few of them then raise the blade to cut through. The 1/2" screws allow micro adjustment to flush them with the table. I made one fifteen years ago, and am still using it. made minor adjustments after a few years. The one I made for my dado insert is still good too - its the screws that adjust for flush when the plate warps. Real easy.


sorry if I offended anyone - its easy to overlook the obvious. Just take your existing throat plate, and flush trim a new plate in 1/2" from it as the template. run screws into the bottom where the flats contact. then adjust the screws to flush.

334943


Depends on the saw - I recently restored a new to me 1950 Uni. Like couple other TS's I've had in the past I cut a few ZCTP's out of BB. On this Uni I found out there is extensive carving to do on the underside (similar to what you have shown). This takes quite a bit of time especially if you have a few to do.

I recently was fortunate to have found a Betterley Tru Cut Insert for sale in the classifieds. This thing is a beauty! Don't know if there is one available for your saw or not but worth checking out.


Mike

[Rick Lizek]

http://woodcentral.com/articles/shop/articles_893.shtml
This aluminum zci with replaceable inserts can be made with basic woodworking tools. This is truly the best zci you can get. It used to be made by Wood Dynamics and sold for around $120 twelve years ago. They stopped making it.

[Steve Peterson]

I made mine from leftover scraps of laminate flooring. They are around 3/8" thick and much stiffer than Baltic birch or MDF. It has a long lasting finish in the top side.

I cut them on the bandsaw and sanded them for fit. A router template would be even more accurate. I drilled and tapped a few holes for some short hex screws for adjustment. The front edge has a small piece of wood glued on to slide under the front edge. I made around a dozen of them at the same time and still have most of them left.

Steve

[John Blazy]

Ok, Steve, since I want to make friends here more than being a jerk, Ill offer another material idea - from your standpoint of not wanting to purchase whole sheets of anything new, yet want material durable enough.


Have you ever made you own fiber - reinforced composite? Its pretty easy for a small pc like zci. Mix a batch of epoxy, then soak burlap, canvas or a bunch of cotton T-shirts and laminate these together in blank with a few layers of 1/8" re-sawed wood interweaved within, with the top surface layer at least 1/8" thick of your FRP. This will have nearly the same durability as phenolic.


I like Steves idea above of using the super high density flooring - essentially melamine but thinner and denser. I personally would laminate 1/8" aluminum on top of the 3/8" flooring with polyurethane glue (PL Premium). It shouldn't warp. Or laminate aluminum on plywood.


Bottom line, is you want really durable plates, and FRP's are the way to go. You can make your own, if you have the glue and are creative.

[lowell holmes]

I make my inserts with red oak or quarter sawn white oak. It's easy to put a splitter tab in behind the blade slot. You glue it in and it is there to stay.
Mine has been on my saw for 15 years and is still going strong.

[Wayne Jolly]

ZCIs are one thing that just irks the snot outta me to spend $20-$25 for, so I make my own. I make them out of whatever is available that should be stable. If I remember right, the first one I ever made was out of some scrap maple. That didn't work very well. It was flatsawn so changes in humidity wreaked havoc with it, but it taught me how easy they can be to make. The next were from MDF. They were . . . ok . . . but MDF seems to soften over time. It seems like it absorbs water and will swell, but when the humidity lowers and the moisture content lowers too, the MDF doesn't shrink back. They were good for a few months though.

I even made one from some scrap steel I had. I had a piece of 3/32 sheet metal laying around, so I cut it to shape, and welded some angle iron to the bottom to keep it flat. Now I certainly couldn't make a zci because I had no way to cut the slot for the blade, so it had a pretty wide slot, but I was able to keep it narrower than what you would find on a stock insert. It was a pita to make since I don't have much in the way of tools for metal working, but I used it on my old Craftsman table saw for quite a while.

The last ones I made (I now have a PM66) were from a scrapped Corian bathroom counter top that my son threw out. Niiiiice. Easy to machine, stable, durable.

For my next ones I think I will machine some plywood down, laminate both sides with some scrap pieces of laminate I have, and see how those work.

Side note: One of the maple zci's I made was one with replaceable inserts. Other than the obvious extra machining steps, it wasn't all that difficult to do either. If I ever get my hands on a 1/2" thick piece of Aluminum I think I will make another one (or two, or three).


Wayne

[Michael Whitchurch]

you guys so over-engineer everything. don't need to buy an insert online - it just proves your inability to improvise. Just get mdf or 1/2" melamine and put four screws into the bottom and adjust the screws until the throat plate is flush. So easy to make a few of them then raise the blade to cut through. The 1/2" screws allow micro adjustment to flush them with the table. I made one fifteen years ago, and am still using it. made minor adjustments after a few years. The one I made for my dado insert is still good too - its the screws that adjust for flush when the plate warps. Real easy.


sorry if I offended anyone - its easy to overlook the obvious. Just take your existing throat plate, and flush trim a new plate in 1/2" from it as the template. run screws into the bottom where the flats contact. then adjust the screws to flush.

334943

Please kindly save your rude comments for the “Twitter” crowd... thank you very much

[Carroll Courtney]

I didn't go through and read all post, but I made mine out of solid surface material. Drilled small holes and tap where put in jack screws to adjust to level of the top. Then turn on saw and raise blade for that 0 clearance, oh yea don't forget you will need to remove it when tilt blade. Don't ask how I know:(
I also made one for 45's

[Bill Dufour]

How about 3d printing? They do metal now.
Bill D

[Jon Grider]

I make mine from whatever scraps I have. Bandsaw the shapes, sand edges, and plane them down to 1/32 under thickness and apply hot melt glue to the metal lips on the saw. Press the insert down while glue is still hot using a straight edge to level front to back and side to side. Easy, cheap and a good way to use scraps. I cut several at a time.

[Mike O'Keefe]

I bought a Betterly insert years ago for my Unisaw. I don't know if the make one for a Powermatic but I would recommend that. Mike O'Keefe

[David LaRue]

I like Leecraft for my PM66.

[John K Jordan]

I like Leecraft for my PM66.

I use Leecraft too with my 66: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000223VA/