SawStop Zero Clearance Throat Plate

[Michael Burnside]

I finally found some spare time to finish measuring and designing my own SawStop throat plate. I just milled a couple for now with some scraps I had lying around, one out of bird's eye maple and the other black limba. I think they came out pretty nice. They were already milled but were about 0.03" different in thickness. This is exactly why I zero to the machine bed 99% of the time and this was no different. I just setup the toolpaths to be "T-<final_thickness>" Both pieces came out perfectly fitting the arbor, nut, and assembly underneath. Then the 4 grub screws allow me to adjust each flush. Will defiantly be using these for dado stack combinations I use frequently.

I did a little refinement after the first and I think I can bang one of these out in about 20-30 minutes from start to finish. I have some phenolic that I might try next time.

Milling process:



Preparing to cut through and final pics

[Jim Becker]

That turned out well!!! And it's a very useful file, too, as there are always "those times" when a fresh insert is just the ticket for a particular cut and/or material.

I plan on doing this for my SC3C which is a bit more intricate because of the length, "thinness" and a few other reasons.

[Michael Burnside]

Thanks Jim. It really will be nice to mill these up as needed, especially for dado work. It was a fun, rewarding shop project.

[Carl Beckett]

Very nice. I was lamenting yesterday how poor the MiniMax is and how difficult the ZCI is. This inspires me to create a file for it. (which 'may' mean cutting aluminum on the CNC)

[Jim Becker]

Very nice. I was lamenting yesterday how poor the MiniMax is and how difficult the ZCI is. This inspires me to create a file for it. (which 'may' mean cutting aluminum on the CNC)

Aluminum or a composite product that is rigid should be the first choice for our sliders. I did a wood one for the S315WS I used to own and while it worked, wood movement and slight sagging, despite being reinforced, was obvious after a period of time. There are also a critical thickness along the strip that overlaps the cast iron table where the screws go in and the countersink for those screws needs to be at the correct angle...it's pretty "flat". Some reinforcement on the wagon side edge is a good idea. I see this as a two sided job unless the countersinks are done manually. Otherwise, all the cutting is from the bottom of the insert to massage the thickness along the attachment point while preserving thickness along the very long, suspended edge. Sam Blasco used a composite product available from McMaster Carr, but I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it at this point.

[Michael Burnside]

Use solid phenolic. You can order it off eBay for a reasonable price. A lot easier on the machines than Aluminum. Has a feed/speed similar to Bloodwood or Purple Heart.

[Jim Becker]

Use solid phenolic. You can order it off eBay for a reasonable price. A lot easier on the machines than Aluminum. Has a feed/speed similar to Bloodwood or Purple Heart.

Kewel...and that one I made for the old saw actually was made of purpleheart. LOL

[Bob McBreen]

Great job. You should be proud.