If a zero clearance insert is used is a splitter necessary when ripping lumber?
If a zero clearance insert is used is a splitter necessary when ripping lumber?
Last edited by Brian Tymchak; 10-22-2023 at 9:57 AM.
Brian
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher
Most certainly. As Brian points out they are unrelated.
I have been a professional woodworker for nearly 50 years and have never fount the need for a splitter. But I use only carbide blades, and virtually all wood is kiln dried.
"Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."
I too have never had a splitter. There are tasks where a Z.C.I. is a necessity. Don't forget to remove the Z.C.I. before tilting the blade. The same shop-mate that theatricality pronounced the saw broken after trying to tilt the blade with the zero clearance throat plate in later went on to get an injury from not putting it back.
One comment I'd like to make here regarding zero clearance inserts. Avoid plastic ones.
I had purchased on of these and had left it in place while cutting some plastic material (perhaps King Starboard). Unbeknownst to me the plastic swarf had built up at the back of the insert's kerf (under the workpiece), during the single cut, resulting in a huge explosion when the insert flew apart. Hurt the hell out of my thumb, but no blood.
"Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."
I measured the thickness of the insert that came with my machine
I then went to a store that sold laminate flooring and identified a piece of flooring of the same thickness
(measured thickness with digital caliper or you could compare your insert with the flooring in the store)
I purchased a scarp piece of flooring and used it to make a zero clearance insert
Mine are homemade from plywood, Corian and Swanstone. Thats a good reminder about cutting plastic and the dangers the swarth can cause. A good word too: Swarth
Best Regards, Maurice
"Swarth" is a fine word, though I believe that the word you were looking for in this instance is "swarf."
-- Jim
Use the right tool for the job.
Thanks for the correction!
Best Regards, Maurice