11 Oct 2013 - Giving the Jet a new Insert
It must be exactly even with the top of the saw table. If it doesn’t fit you can use some tape as a spacer to lift the MDF or if it too thick trim off the bottom where it rest on the saw to lower it a bit. I again used the original throat plate and traced the finger access hole on the new insert and took it to the drill press.
Finally, I cut the slot by very slowly raising a spinning blade up through the insert. Because the teeth of a full-sized blade come up too high to set the insert flush, I used an 8” blade from my dado set to get the slot started. With the 8” blade lowered, I set the insert in place and moved my rip fence over the insert to hold the piece in place. I placed a piece of tape on the table indicating the location of the blade so I wouldn’t set the rip fence over the blade. I fired up the saw and slowly raised the blade. After the initial slot was cut, I put the full-sized blade back in and raised it to finish the slot. I finished by cutting a slot for the riving knife using the band saw. For safety, be sure to unplug the saw while changing the blade each time. I’ve already seen a significant difference in my cuts.
