Jon Parker's Blog at LumberJocks.com

"New" Table Saw #4: Zero Clearance Insert

Jon Parker — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:50:18 GMT

Kind of slow going here as I design the Table Saw cabinet just the way I want it.

I’ve been trying to find a zero clearance insert for the table saw, but have been unsuccessful since it’s so old and Craftsman has since changed their inserts. I finally found one online, but it was $20 + shipping and handling.

I remember seeing an episode of New Yankee Workshop (one of my favorites) that showed making a zero clearance insert from wood and a flush router bit. So instead I dropped by Lowes and bought a flush router bit for $15 and a piece of 1/4” oak for $3.50 … but now I have a flush router bit – it’s always a good day when you can justify a new tool.

I had to slowly sand it down since the actual width is about 1/32” less than the stock.

This is what I ended up with:

"New" Table Saw #3: Top Ready

Jon Parker — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 21:25:22 GMT

Thanks for the information from all! I went and got some Naval Jelly from Lowes (you should have seen the look on the Customer Service lady’s face when I asked for that!) I did three different applications of Naval Jelly, making sure to rinse throughly after each one. Once that was done, I took a fine steel wool and a little bit of oil to the top making sure to work it in small circles to get into the little groves. When I felt good about it, I wiped the whole thing down with some isopropyl alcohol and let dry. I then applied some SC Johnson Paste Wax leaving a thin coat for about 10 minutes. Then I buffed it off by hand and applied another coat. I left this one on for about 30 minutes and then buffed it off by hand. I then wiped on a thin coat of protective oil. So far i’m happy with how it’s going.

Before:

After:

"New" Table Saw #2: Begin Rust Removal

Jon Parker — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:43:53 GMT

Well, I spent last evening trying to remove the rust from my table saw. It’s much harder than I expected. I tried WD-40, BD Wells Rust Remover, Engine Gunk Remover, and some all-natural super-cleaner my wife had. The thing that worked best was some very fine metal sandpaper. I was careful not to sand too much and ruin the top of the table. I’m still prob. only 1/2 way there, but I’m making progress.

Before:

Before – Closer:

After:

"New" Table Saw #1: Getting Started

Jon Parker — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:49:25 GMT

Earlier this summer, I acquired an old 10” Craftsman table saw at a garage sell for $35.00! I already have a newer Craftsman 10” table saw. I got the old one with the intent to fix it up and build an all-in-one table saw, router table, sanding table, and storage center. I am finally getting started tonight by breaking it all down and starting to remove some rust. Whoever owned this thing previously sure didn’t take very good care of it. I’ll continue to post and get some pictures of the saw along the way.