Zero Clearance Insert (ZCI)

#1

Used the plug-in to go to my SO and create this zci for my shopsmith 520. If the drawing was right then the part will be right, now was my drawing correct???

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This insert has the cut out for the upper guard which is what I’m hoping will fit as I didn’t have an insert to measure so I ask for help and got answers over at the shopsmith forums. The real shopsmith part has pretty square edges in the insert but the best I could do is make a pass with an 1/8" bit which I hope will be good enough. If not then a little hand filing will fix that.

Ed

#2

I MIGHT have that same insert on my Shopsmith… Post up your file and I can check it against mine if you want…

#3

Had the hole on the square end in the wrong location, file is updated and the hole is drilled. The other thing I needed to do was to get the insert to be the right thickness, good old undersized plywood. I had some shelf liner of the correct thickness so I taped it down and used the engraving bit to cut it out.

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Still have to test it be things are looking better all the time.

Ed

#4

yeah, plywood thickness is never fun. You could always use thicker than needed plywood and do a rabbet around the edge. That way you’d have finite control over the thickness of that rabbet…

#5

Good to hear you are also a Shopsmith owner and user. I have known Ed for a while from the Shopsmith forum but haven’t seen any posts for you over there.

#6

Yes I’ve been doing the rabbet by way of my overhead router and a dish bit but I like to try different things and ways and this was one of them. I really like to use UHMW but that stuff is expensive. Perhaps now that I have a proven design I might give that a go. Minor change to the drawing to get the design ready for cutting I would think.

Ed

#7

My Shopsmith was my first real woodworking tool, and even though I have more tools in the shop now, I still use it for secondary setups!