General Table Saw Questions for Newbie

[Jasun Brown]

Hello all, great forum here!! I have several questions regarding proper use of my new Table Saw. I am really getting into woodworking, so, the forums help would be greatly appreciated.

Question 1: I just recently purchased a Shop Fox 1677. It was a floor model and did not come with a standard throat plate/table insert. I purchased a zero clearance insert in its place and ordered the OEM part. I like using the zero clearance insert in its place, so the question is..
Can I use the zero clearance insert instead of the OEM throat plate? What is the downside if any?

Question 2: I have several projects in which I am making 2 rips on 1 piece of lumber. I am not able to use the same measurement as the width varies, so I am resetting the fence for each rip. This involves shutting down the saw after every rip.
Is it hard on my saw to start stop, start stop say 100 times in a 1-2 hours shop time?

Question 3: What is run out and why do I need to know what it is?

I think that's it for now. Thanks again in advance for the answers to my questions.

[Eric Haycraft]

Can I use the zero clearance insert instead of the OEM throat plate? What is the downside if any?

In general, a ZCI is used mainly for 90 degree cuts (no tilt on the blade). Tilting the blade to any angle would require a new ZCI, so that is much of the reason that people use the OEM plate for non 90 degree cuts.


Question 3: What is run out and why do I need to know what it is?

Sometimes ignorance is bliss, and runout may be one of those situations. Runout is found in both blades and the arbor. If there is runout, the blade will act like it is warped and wobble a bit when it spins around. This wobble is generally not much but can cause scoring or jaggedness on the cut edge. It can also cause excess tearout on the top and bottom of the cut. A lot of runout causes the width of the cut to differ from the kerf of the blade, so creating exact dados or even getting the fence extremely accurate can be difficult. That being said, it is typically very small and usually any impact caused is under 1/32 of an inch. Long story short, runout can be lived with, but high precision in measuring and quality of cut can suffer.

[Jasun Brown]

Thanks for the response. So then when cutting at 90 degrees there is no difference in a ZCI or OEM throat plate.

[Eric Haycraft]

Thanks for the response. So then when cutting at 90 degrees there is no difference in a ZCI or OEM throat plate.

There is a big difference. With a ZCI, there is no clearance between the teeth of the blade and the insert. When a blade is cutting the wood, it is pushing the wood down. Because of this, the wood can splinter where it is being cut. With a ZCI, the wood is fully supported all the way up to the teeth so it reduces or eliminates that splintering on the lower edge of the cut. A ZCI also allows you to cut thinner strips. Cutting a 1/4 inch width strip without a ZCI can cause the cut piece to fall down into the gap between the teeth and the plate of a OEM plate and can cause big problems.

[David DeCristoforo]

"With a ZCI, the wood is fully supported all the way up to the teeth so it reduces or eliminates that splintering..."

With one "caveat", that being if you have excessive "runout" (either the blade or the arbor), the kerf in the ZCI will be wider than the blade. Also, if you overheat the blade or "jam" it so that it is pushed or warped out of true, the ZCI will get "hogged out". This can defeat the purpose of the ZCI by allowing the above mentioned splintering to occur albeit (maybe) not as much as with a "standard" insert.

YM

[Jasun Brown]

Eric do you have any thoughts on my second question?

[Troy Donson]

Jasun, a switch is just a mechanical part (unless your saw uses a type of switch I have not seen on power tools - such as infra red or some type of "soft" switch) and as a mechanical part, it WILL, sooner or later, wear out.

As for turning it on and off "100 times an hour" you are ALOT faster than I am!!! :D

If your switch wears out "in a reasonable amount of time" I am sure Shop Fox will step up and replace it. Most of the better saws will definately put up with what you are doing without a problem - that is, unless this is an "every day all day" type of thing... In that case you may want to buy a backup, just in case!

Hope this helps...

Troy

[Ben Cadotte]

I use a zero clearance throat plate 99% of the time. Matter of fact I just found my factory throat plate while cleaning out the small garage. For my dado's I use a zero clearance for it as well. I make my own probably a dozen or so at a time. When I run out I make another batch.

The Jet should be a "quality" machine so the frequent stops and starts should not harm anything at all.

Run out can be measured by putting a dial indicator on the arbor. And turn the arbor a revolution. And noting the difference. Unless you are doing very high precesion work, any small runout will be unnoticed in your cuts. If and or when you start getting vibrations or kerfs wider than they should be. Thats when its time to check the arbor.

[Scott Haddix]

I would recommend using a ZCI even on angled cuts. I make a ZCI for each angled cut I'm going to do and label it so I can use it again for that same angle. As noted by Ben, you can make your own in batch in short order out of plywood even, and have the blanks available for when you need a new ZCI setup.

I cannot remember the last time I used my stock insert for anything more than a template.

[Jasun Brown]

Thanks for the answers folks. After finishing up the yard work today, I will be back at it;).
Thanks again.

[Danny Thompson]

Re: your second question . . .

Off-and-on is annoying and will wear out the part, eventually. On the other hand, I can't find a reliable supplier for OEM fingers.

That said, I don't ALWAYS shut off between fence adjustments. If I can move the fence without getting it or my fingers anywhere near the spinning blade, I'll leave the saw running. For example, if:

1) the fence is very far from the blade (e.g., moving from 36" to 24")
or
2) the fence is closer and the adjustments are small, thereby allowing me to unlock, bump the fence near the handle/T-bar into position, and relock.

Otherwise, I shut off before moving the fence.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Jason,
It might behoove you to checkout/purchase a copy of Kelly Mehler's "The Table Saw Book". It's a wealth of information, and even seasoned wooodworkers benefit from it as well.

[Jasun Brown]

Danny the OEM fingers comment is my main consern. I am ripping a buch of Ash shorts, that are narrow (most are 4" or less). I purchased a unit of the shorts for $1.50 bf and am ripping the edges so I can glue them up too make shelves.
I will also have a look at the book. Thanks for the info.

[Peter Quadarella]

On question 2 - I wouldn't worry much about turning the saw on and off a lot. Think of a much cheaper circular saw, which is turned off and on for every cut (when you pull the trigger).

However, if you are ripping a bunch of wood to 2 different sizes, you could do it a bit different. First rip all your wood with one fence setting. Then move the fence adn do the second rip with all your wood. This will make all your cuts exactly the same - whenever you reset the fence there is a possibility you are minutely off the last time you set that width.

[Larry Browning]

I also consider myself a relative newbie. As to question #2: One of the hardest lessons to learn is how to sequence your operations when milling several copies of the same piece. Rather than making one rip, adjusting the fence and making the next rip to finish each piece, then repeating the process. Maybe you should rip all of your boards at one width and then adjusting your fence to the 2nd width and ripping the boards again. That way you only have to change your fence once and you are assured that the width is the same for all pieces. You will never get the fence set in EXACTLY the same place twice no matter what kind of micro adjustment system you might have. Also you will find that the process is much faster. You would be amazed at how much cumulative time that constant fence adjustment will take. You really need to think about your operation sequence so as to minimize setup times. This is something I am not very good at and really need to work on as I develop as a woodworker.

Of course I could have misunderstood the question, making this post moot.