Tablesaw insert recutting

[Brian Knop]

I have a Phenolic tablesaw insert that I would like to fill in the saw slot and then recut. Anyone know what to use for this?

[Carroll Courtney]

I had made myself few, to get double duty from them I just turn them around. For me that put the kerf about 1" away from the edge. But I have an older PM 66 so it may be different from yours. But to answer your question instead of me drifting off, HD and Lowes both sell JB weld. HF sells different brand but its still a 2 part epoxy which will work.

[Brian Tymchak]

Never done that but I'd use epoxy. Tape the top side making sure of a good seal around the edges of the cut. Flip on a hard surface and fill from the bottom. Let cure a couple days. Use a block plane or a sander to clean any seepage on the top side.

[Lee Schierer]

You could fill the cut with PC-7. Let it set up for at least 24 hours and then recut the slot with your table saw.

[Rob Luter]

I just make new ones from Oak. I traced my stock insert on some scrap that had been planed to the right thickness and cut the replacement to shape. I added a thumb hole and a small pin or a brass screw to one end to adjust fit. It takes all of 20 minutes start to finish. Quick and cheap.

Here are a couple zero clearance inserts I made that are dedicated to Dado widths.

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[Doug Garson]

Not sure what glues will stick to phenolic but for my engineered hardwood inserts and my crosscut sleds I just glue in a scrap of whatever wood I find in my scrap bin and then recut. If epoxy sticks to phenolic rather than fill the whole gap with epoxy, just glue in a piece of scrap wood using the epoxy.

[Andy D Jones]

FWW had a nice article on making zero clearance table saw inserts. The author used the threaded holes that contain the leveling screws in the original insert, to fasten it to a piece of 1/2" plywood, etc., then uses a flush trimming bit to route the exact outside shape.

Had other tricks for starting the throat cut, by using a dado outer blade, since it can be lowered completely beneath the 1/2" blank, then raised up while running to start the cut (not cutting through) to clear a fully retracted 10" blade to finish the cut. This avoids having to lower the uncut insert onto a spinning blade to start the zero clearance cut.

He also clamped a block on the rip fence to hold the insert down while raising the running blade into it, taking care to ensure the rip fence itself was clear of the path of the rising blade.

-- Andy - Arlington TX

[Richard Coers]

Whatever you try, make sure it can handle the heat of rubbing the sides of the blade. Fill it with some kind of resin and the blade could weld itself to the insert. I would do an oversize wood inlay in it. Cut the groove with a dovetail bit, and the inlay could be slid in and make several of them once you get the set up made. The inlay would only have to be 1/8 to 1/4" thick.

[lowell holmes]

I like Rob Luter made mine out of oak wood about 15 years ago. It does what it was designed to do. IIRC, I did plane it to thickness on my planer. I put a splitter on mine.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Can you take existing insert, reverse it and cut a second slot in it? Personally, I use 1/2" MDF. HD sells it in 2' X 4' pieces, which will make a lifetime supply

[Andrew Pitonyak]

He also clamped a block on the rip fence to hold the insert down while raising the running blade into it, taking care to ensure the rip fence itself was clear of the path of the rising blade.

I clamped a long narrow-ish piece of ply-wood to the saw top to hold it down while I raised the blade. Worked like a charm.

[Brian Knop]

Well maybe I'll gorilla glue in a piece of wood to plug the slot and then use it for my 45 degree insert that way it will cut a slot in a different location in the insert. I'll just make a new one for the straight cut. Thanks
PS Hope anyone is doing well through this virus mess and I do mean MESS.