# Jigs and Such



## Moellering (Feb 24, 2011)

*PCB220TS Zero Clearance Insert*

I picked up my first-ever table saw about three months ago, a Porter-Cable 220 Job site saw. (review)

I have been quite happy with it, but it does have a few drawbacks. Probably the biggest, and most often-noted is the funky metal insert next to the blade.


















This design does not allow for standard zero-clearance inserts to be used, and no one makes one for this saw.

Having got some cash from Santa, I have my eye on a dado blade set, but only if I can make an insert to work well with it….an afternoon off from work, the rest of the family parked in front of the TV…to the man cave!

Found a scrap of 3/4" plywood that was close to the right size, so I started trimming it down.










This is what the underside ended up like. The one extra half circle can be attributed to this coming off the scrap pile. ;-)










Because the blade does not lower very far below the surface, I couldn't to a typical solid insert and then slowly raise a running blade into it. (At least not until I get something different than a 10" blade.)










I rummaged around and found a couple of screws the same size as the leveling set screws for the original insert and used them to hold the new insert in place.










Overall, I'm happy with it as a proof-of-concept. It is much less "flexy" than than the factory insert.

Now to order that dado stack and then work on a true ZCI version or two.


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## NormG (Mar 5, 2010)

Moellering said:


> *PCB220TS Zero Clearance Insert*
> 
> I picked up my first-ever table saw about three months ago, a Porter-Cable 220 Job site saw. (review)
> 
> ...


Great idea for the plate update


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## dustyal (Nov 19, 2008)

Moellering said:


> *PCB220TS Zero Clearance Insert*
> 
> I picked up my first-ever table saw about three months ago, a Porter-Cable 220 Job site saw. (review)
> 
> ...


Thanks… I need to make something similar for my bench top Rigid.


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## Moellering (Feb 24, 2011)

*Router Insert Modifications*

I have realized that my router insert I made for my table saw could benefit from having a miter slot closer to it, so I decided just to route one into it.










It seemed logical to reinforce the area underneath the slot, since I was taking away half of the 3/4" of plywood and creating a fault line in a piece that supports a motor spinning carbide bits and thousands of rpms seemed less than optimal.



















The only drawback is that I don't have T-slot doing it this way. I don't see that being a huge drawback at this stage in the game.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

Moellering said:


> *Router Insert Modifications*
> 
> I have realized that my router insert I made for my table saw could benefit from having a miter slot closer to it, so I decided just to route one into it.
> 
> ...


An interesting modification. Does it work well?


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## Moellering (Feb 24, 2011)

Moellering said:


> *Router Insert Modifications*
> 
> I have realized that my router insert I made for my table saw could benefit from having a miter slot closer to it, so I decided just to route one into it.
> 
> ...


So far it has worked fine. I haven't used it too much, but the couple cuts I've done have been good.


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## Moellering (Feb 24, 2011)

*Getting the Lumber Home*

We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.

However, I lost my way to haul stuff home from Lowe's.

So, I got to thinking and looking. I just can't justify a truck…

So I decided to see what I could do with my roof rack on my Kia Rio. I have a rack that I use for my kayaks, so it was just a matter of ripping a 2×6 I had laying around in half, drilling a few holes and and using some of the rack hardware. I added some small pieces on the end to be an extra tough agains the plywood sliding.










Worked great on it's maden voyage.










3 sheets 3/4" plywood and 4 2×4's safely home. I even got a complement from someone in the parking lot on my ingenuity. Load was very solid.

However, I do only live about a mile from my nearest Lowe's, so my top speed loaded was only about 40. But I think it would perform at highway speeds, as long as the sheet good were thick enough to not "flap" in the wind.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

Moellering said:


> *Getting the Lumber Home*
> 
> We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.
> 
> ...


All you need is a rocker up thar…. Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. It works.


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

Moellering said:


> *Getting the Lumber Home*
> 
> We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.
> 
> ...


I used to use a Subaru sedan (back in the early eighties) to haul 16' 1×12 whitewood 40 miles on Interstate 95.The most we ever hauled was twelve of them strapped to the top of the car. It could get a bit scary at moments. I had a few times I thought we were going airborn…

Be Careful!

Herb


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## Bigrock (Apr 16, 2010)

Moellering said:


> *Getting the Lumber Home*
> 
> We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.
> 
> ...


Please watch the load and speed.
I have had to look at too many pictures of accidents where people have been carring stuff on top of cars and vans.


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

Moellering said:


> *Getting the Lumber Home*
> 
> We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.
> 
> ...


I'm impressed. You have tie downs I usually just have the family hold the stuff down with thier arms out the windows. Sometimes they can be such a bunch of whiners…...........................


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## Moellering (Feb 24, 2011)

Moellering said:


> *Getting the Lumber Home*
> 
> We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.
> 
> ...


Thanks all. Yes, I'm careful. 3 sheets of 3/4" is the limit of what I'd put on it. I've been hauling stuff on roof racks since I got my license. I only ever had one mishap, carrying some folding tables once and had to get on the brakes hard for something. of the three tables I had, the one in the middle slid significantly forward. Lesson learned.

If I was going to haul on this setup farther than the mile to Lowe's, I'd probably add a strap from front to back just in case of such contingencies and to minimize any flapping in the wind.


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## rossboyle52 (Dec 31, 2012)

Moellering said:


> *Getting the Lumber Home*
> 
> We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.
> 
> ...


In reference to Roger's post


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## clieb91 (Aug 17, 2007)

Moellering said:


> *Getting the Lumber Home*
> 
> We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.
> 
> ...


Another good solution to a problem encountered by a LumberJock.

CtL


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

Moellering said:


> *Getting the Lumber Home*
> 
> We recently crossed a milestone at our house. We are no long a minivan family after almost 18 years of having one. This makes the wife quite happy and she really likes her new Kia Soul.
> 
> ...


Yeah, any further I would suggest strapping the front of the load to the front bumper, to prevent it from flying up and over. The car that is, it's light!!! Lol. Serious about the strapping!!!

I happen to have access to work trucks: 1/2 Ton PU, a 1-Ton PU and a dualie Dump Truck, along with 16' & 22' trailers. But should I need to, your arrangement would work on my "Cute Ute" Mazda Tribute.


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## Moellering (Feb 24, 2011)

*True ZCI for my Table Saw*

I had previously made a proof-of-concept semi-zero-clearance-insert for my table saw. (Yes, partial-zero-clearance makes about much sense as partial zero-emission which I have seen on several vehicles lately. Seriously? My car is zero-emission most of the time, because it's not running…but I digress.)

The other day I decided to get down to doing a "real one." Same basic method as the previous one. I finally concurred the cut-through by using a smaller blade from my circular saw to pilot it out enough, then change to my 10" blade and complete the cut. A bit tedious, but it worked.

Now the funky metal insert is sitting in a drawer in my toolbox.


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## B0000stwagen (Feb 4, 2012)

Moellering said:


> *True ZCI for my Table Saw*
> 
> I had previously made a proof-of-concept semi-zero-clearance-insert for my table saw. (Yes, partial-zero-clearance makes about much sense as partial zero-emission which I have seen on several vehicles lately. Seriously? My car is zero-emission most of the time, because it's not running…but I digress.)
> 
> ...


Chris, this is great… I will be making one (or some) of these. I didn't think with the odd castings in the table opening that something could be made like this. This should be much more rigid than the standard one when cutting grooves and such in longer stock with a dado set. Thanks for sharing!


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## Bradpaulp (Mar 18, 2014)

Moellering said:


> *True ZCI for my Table Saw*
> 
> I had previously made a proof-of-concept semi-zero-clearance-insert for my table saw. (Yes, partial-zero-clearance makes about much sense as partial zero-emission which I have seen on several vehicles lately. Seriously? My car is zero-emission most of the time, because it's not running…but I digress.)
> 
> ...


I just bought this saw myself. I read your other post on making your first zci for this. Any tips on making your true zci? Heck I might even pay to have you make one and ship it for me !


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