throat plate inserts

[mark downing]

It's likely this subject has come up before, apologies.
For my Unisaw, I recently used the last of my Wood Dynamics throat plate inserts. This company appears to be long gone. Can anyone suggest a similar product or know of insert availability elsewhere?

[Jim Becker]

It would be helpful if you describe the product you want to replace with some clarity and detail. There are a variety of throat plate options out there. If you can show a photo of inserts, someone might also be able to suggest how to make your own replacement inserts.

[Bruce Darrow]

Mark, I have one of these and have successfully made my own inserts.......possibly why the company is "long gone". I made a bunch quite some time ago, so details on just how I accomplished this are fuzzy in my mind, but I seem to remember cutting the side bevels on the table saw, roughing out the curved ends, then using the throat plate itself as a template to rout to exact curvature. I also seem to remember having to hand plane to final thickness and width. My current batch are cherry, but I've also used MDF. Great product - don't give up on it!

[Rich Engelhardt]

Just search around for how to make your own.
It's super simple - as long as you have one to use as a pattern.

While you're at it, you might as well make a dozen - or two.

I used 1/2" MDF and made a whole pile of them.

[Gary Thinglum]

Last weekend I made several throat plates for my Unisaw.
For lack of any scrap hardwood, I used pine.
I routed a 1/4 x 1/4” x 1" groove in the bottom front and epoxied a ¼” x 1 3/8” metal dowel into the slot so it sticks out about 3/8 to ½” beyond theplate to lock it under the bed of the table saw.
I made them about 9/16” thick. Once I fitted them in the sawthen marked the edge for thickness and sanded them on the belt sander so they don't catch when sawing.
They work great and much cheaper than you can buy. You don’t feel if you ruin one of these.
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[Andrew Seemann]

For the effort of making the insert, you might as well just make the whole throat plate out of baltic birch. I made several that I use for dado blades. I still tend to use the standard insert for my saw for non dado operations. I stopped using zero clearance ones because I always forgot to take it out when I did bevel cuts.

[Bruce Page]

I made one for my Unisaw based on one that was sold several years ago. Made out of ½” aluminum plate it could just as well be made from a hardwood like maple or oak using conventional ww tools. The replaceable inserts are easy to make in batches. I’ve lost track of how many I’ve made.

[Curt Harms]

Yup, make 'em out of whatever scrap you have around that's 1/2" thick or however thick the original insert is. One mod I made to mine was to add set screws to adjust the height. The factory insert for my saw - G1023 has set screws over the cast tabs that the insert sits on. The set screws are used to adjust the height of the insert so work passes over them without catching. I read about using metal taps to thread wood and what do you know, it worked. I wouldn't trust wood threads too far but for this purpose, very little load on them, it worked well.

[mark downing]

Thanks guys, I'm on it. Just got lazy and with a bench full of projects it seemed easier to buy a dozen if available.
Bruce, you're right. These are (were) great products.