Jet table saw questions

Ken Schweim

Member
Messages
38
Location
Madison Lake, Mn
Not sure if I ended up in the correct category or not. I have a JET JWTS-10JF table saw. The saw has some things that could be better. The dust collector underneath is a disaster. It is a "chamber" that kinda funnels towards a 4" opening in the center of the bottom. The problem is that the dust stays put right where it lands and no funneling takes place because the drop angle is too shallow. The bigger problem is the table insert. Because the slot on the table insert is so large, pieces of wood drop down into the chamber and clog up whatever sawdust might have made it to the 4" opening. I can live with the poor dust collector thing but the large table insert could actually challenge living with anything. The slot is so large that anything under ½" can/may fall through the slot, or may wedge against the blade, or may try to fall thru and exit the saw area at an accelerated rate....it is absolutely SCARY to operate! So I'm in the search for a new table insert. I have found a few zero tolerance table inserts and I have questions. Why aren't all saw inserts zero tolerance...for normal cuts anyway? Why are all the replacement inserts, whatever the size, made of something other than metal? I have seen phenolic laminate, plastic, and wood. How well do they hold up? Does anybody know of a METAL replace table insert for a JET JWTS-10JF table saw? Finally, one last question....what is the size of a "normal" slot opening (width) on a table saw insert when used for normal cutting?
 
Ken, the slot is large to accomodate the fact that the table saw blade when tilted will need more space width wise to tilt and not interfere with the blade.

people make ZCI's out of many materials and i aint see a metal one yet no need really and they would probably have to be machined to be able to make sure it aint going to contact with the blade. Add to that the issue that should something go wrong and the blade get bent a bit and make contact with metal you will have a bigger problem on your hands.

I have done some searching for you because there is tons of info on this site on the topic. Its been one of those things i am keen on and thought a thread with many of the links to lots of material on the subject would help.

Take a look here

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13300&highlight=zero+clearance+insert

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13637&highlight=zero+clearance+insert

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2319&highlight=zero+clearance+insert

http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14267&highlight=zero+clearance+insert

Lots of good info above. Just remember to consider a blade splitter there are many ways to achieve this but its an important safety device.

You will see people use all sorts of material.

One guy that i would ask for specific info is Glenn Bradley. I think he has made a set for each setting on his dado stack and for angle cuts as well.

The aim of the ZCI is to support the wood for chip out and it of course prevents it from falling down to the bottom.

Is your dust collection port hooked up or are you refering to the dust not flowing down in a use situation with no dc hook up?

Once you get the hang of it you will have ZCIs for all sorts of settings. When you cut a blank dont just cut one make quiet a few that way you can easily make the one you want for a specific task at the right time.

As for blade splitters take a look here i use these so do many others, some use a thin piece of wood others have a metal one or a riving knife

http://www.microjig.com/products/mj-splitter-steel-pro/

As normal if you dont feel comfortable check back first and dont do it. :)
 
Excellent!

Rob - I don't know if there is anymore info possible other than what you have provided! I was hoping that there would be an insert at least smaller than the one I have that would still allow tilting the blade. I'm also happy to hear that inserts do not have to be metal. I guess the ideal situation would be a zero clearance for normal cutting and then use the one I have for blade tilts.
As for the dust collector problem, I have not been using anything connected to the 4" opening. I was hoping to just set an ice cream pail under the opening and collect what I could but very little drops down into the opening. I'm thinking maybe this winter I can take a look at remodeling the dust collector underneath and have someone bend/weld a bottom with a sharper angle to encourage the sawdust to drop down out of the collector. Of course the real solution is to hook up a dust collector or at least a shop vacuum.
Thanks again for all the excellent info....exactly what I needed.
 
Ken,
I made my own ZCI out of 1/2" plywood. I used the blade to make the cut out for the blade. After fitting the insert to fit the opening I clamped the inset down to it opening and with the saw running raised the blade I then lowered the blade tilted it to 45 degrees and again raised the blade. As for dust collection I have the two bag DC from harbor freight hooked up to the funnel on the bottom and have used some additional 1/4 plywood to seal off the back. It works a lot better then nothing but still not perfect.
 
To have any kind of decent DC you have to have a dust collector and have it connected to the port on the saw. Gravity will not help much with DC. Get a cheap DC from Harbor Freight and you should see a huge difference.
 
I guess the ideal situation would be a zero clearance for normal cutting and then use the one I have for blade tilts.

This is pretty much what I do for the bulk of my cutting. I have ZCI's for 90* and usually just use the factory insert for various angle cuts. I have made 45* inserts for that specific angle but, found I rarely used it. Thjis will depend on what you use your tilted blade for; small cutoffs should be controlled and that is why I made the 45* specific insert for a certain project. The bulk of my 45* cuts do not involve cutoffs that are small enough to fall into the throat so I just use the factory insert.

When I do make inserts I make a bunch. The setup is what takes time, not the making of the ZCI's so make 6 or so. They are a wear part; abrasion from the material being cut will slowly widen the slot until it is not so 'zero' anymore. I set the used ones aside for a time when I am doing something with epoxy (more on this later) and install a new one without hesitation.

As to the epoxy; when I am using epoxy for something I will take my old inserts, apply a piece of packing tape to the top covering the slot, flip them over and pour excess epoxy into the slot near the front area. when the epoxy cures I can re-cut the slot and have a nice new ZCI to continue to use. My saw worked well with 1/2" BB ply which I end up with scraps of from drawer boxes.

45-under.jpgZCI-2009-001.jpgZCI-gap-002.jpgzci-w-mj.jpg

Depending on your saws format you may need a method to hold the rear area down. I know people who skip this feature but, they have obviously never had an insert launch at them :D. On one of my previous saws I was able to just leave a little "beaver-tail" and shape it to fit under the rear lip. On another saw I drilled a hole lengthwise in the rear of the insert and installed a roll pin or a stub of cut-off 16d nail.

ZCI-2009-003.jpg

For your DC issue, I too am not quite clear. If the spoil won't get sucked out of the saw body, a sharper angle will just force spoil into a hose that already can't deal with it. My guess is that there is no DC and this is just a gravity feed, yes? If that is so, just leave it. Once enough dust accumulates, it will cascade down via gravity like an avalanche; build up, drop down, build up, drop down.

P.s. Doh! I just realized you already said it was a gravity feed :rolleyes:
 
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We had a spammer that posted on this thread, which popped it back to the new post search, good info though Glenn. :thumb:

Actual photo of the spammer:

SF25295.jpg
 
Glenn,
You do realize that the message you responded to (and this whole thread) is over four years old?

Bwaa-Haa-Haaa! That's what I get for only looking at the dates on the last few posts before diving in :rolleyes:.

Glenn,
Glad you don't look at dates too often... I've got a similar problem with my little Delta contractor table saw... need to make a ZCI for it... I do have a DC connected to a cone at the bottom to suck out a percentage of the dust when it drops into the bottom.
 
I have made and used ZCI's over the years-----all the advice that follows your thread is solid. I have found however, that a ZCI greatly hampers dust collection. For most ripping I use the insert which comes with the saw-----cutting certain materials needs a ZCI for all the stated reasons. Also one of the most important safety devices----as has been mentioned is the splitter. Only for a few instances do I ever operate my saw without the simple but important device.
 
Marv makes a good point. I use a tip I saw somewhere; widen the slot at the rear of the ZCI. Not intuitive but, it did improve my DC while using the ZCI.

ZCI gap 002.jpg
 
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