Recycling Zero-Clearance Inserts

[George Summers]

Something hit me this morning that most of you probably already do. I needed to cut some dadoes for a size I had no ZCI for so I opened the drawer where I keep my blanks (made ahead of time) and staring me in the face was an insert for a standard blade that had wobbled out a little and I threw in the drawer instead of throwing it away. Stuck it in the saw and ran the dado up through it. Really neat that I didn't have to use a new blank and now I'll save all my old standard inserts to recycle them for dadoes.

George

[Chris Padilla]

George,

Honestly, I think my problem is that I don't throw away enough stuff! :D However, every time I find a use for something I don't toss, I feel I am all the wiser and my ego grows just a tad! :)

Thanks for sharing...now where to store those plywood scraps???

[John Miliunas]

Also, for you folks making your own ZC from scratch, I found that you can use the same one for two different dado sizes. You can't use the splitter anyway, so that's not an issue. Some guys use a small brad for the little nub on the back of the insert, making that difficult. So, instead, use a small screw. Saves material AND time in making up additional inserts. :cool:

[David Klug]

What is a ZCI?

[Rick Haigh]

What is a ZCI?

David,
A ZCI is a zero clearance insert. Used to hug the blade and prevent tearout as well as small material from falling between the blade and the insert.

Rick

[Jim Becker]

Also, for you folks making your own ZC from scratch, I found that you can use the same one for two different dado sizes.

A most excellent tip, John! 'Never though of it before...

Perhaps you should enter it as a tip a the magazine sites. You could win tools like Laskey! :D