I have a blank, unused “zero clearance” throat plate ... if I’m cutting at 45 degrees, should I have a plate? If so, how do I make that happen?
I have a blank, unused “zero clearance” throat plate ... if I’m cutting at 45 degrees, should I have a plate? If so, how do I make that happen?
Yes, you should (at least, I appreciate a zero or close tolerance breaking surface when cutting angles). The technique is no different than for a 90 dg. plate - firmly support your uncut plate from above by clamping asacrificial board (2 X 4s work well) across the table with the blade completely withdrawn, a crank the blade up through plate and support with the saw runnng. On most saws it's a two step process because a full size blade doesn't withdraw deeply enough to seat an uncut plate. So you do it first with a smaller blade, and then finish with a full size blade.
Matt,
Yes, IMO you should always have a throat plate and have a zero-clearance one when possible. As I recall, I could tilt my arbor to 45 using the wide insert that shipped with the saw. Be careful not to tilt the blade in a too-narrow slot because you may warp it without realizing it until its too late. Theoretically you should be able to tilt a 1/8" thick blade through a 3/8" slot in a 1/4" thick throat plate. Since it's 45 deg just add the thickness of the blade to the thickness of the throat plate to get the minimum width of the slot. Of course the slot would not be centered right to left.. Depending on the set of the teeth you might be able to raise the blade up through the plate to cut the slot. You could at least be able to mark the position that way and then cut the slot with a router, etc.
Doug
Last edited by Doug Hepler; 04-14-2018 at 6:51 PM.
Thanks! Didn’t know it was the same process...
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute