Newbie Tip - cutting very small pieces accurately and safely

[jim_mex]

Hi folks - this is probably old hat to experienced scrollers but it didn't occur to me until this weekend.

Sometimes when i need to cut really small pieces or modify a cut piece I find that the standard blade clearance disc of my saw has too big a clearance gap ( about 3/8" wide) cut in it to allow me to support a very small piece without it disappearing through the gap down into the sawdust catcher.

When i first noticed this I made a plastic no clearance plate with a small hole in the centre to get a round this problem but to use this i need to unclamp the blade and thread it through the hole which means a bit of extra work. Also over time I find the hole is increasing in size due the blade wearing or cutting on the plastic due to me occasionally exerting excess pressure when feeding and very often this also creates a rough edge which snags the piece during feeding.

This weekend, whilst thinking of an alternative to this it dawned on me that there's a much easier solution which is quicker and safer, as follows:

Take a piece of thin MDF (1/8 - 1/4" thick) Stick a small piece of doublesided sticky tape to this and place the piece to be cut on the tape. Now with light finger pressure on both sides of the piece to be cut you can feed it and the MDF into the blade accurately together with no risk of the piece jumping and disappearing down the clearance gap, catching your finger on the blade in the process.

This sacrificial MDF idea is so simple and effective i could kick myself for not thinking of it before, but then that's how things usually go with me - LOL!

[Mick Walker]

Jim, my Delta saw came with a zero clearance insert that I use when cutting tiny pieces. I have a magnet attached to the side of the table with a hat pin stuck to it. I use the pin to search for the hole in the insert when I move the wood to the next hole. I am a top feeder. We all have little tricks that we don't even think about to make the job easier.

[jim_mex]

Hi Mick - I think Delta got stingy with the budget saws. My 40-570 model only came with the type of insert shown in your photo - or maybe you guys north of the border get preferential treatment

Luckily because I don't do fret or portrait work at the moment I don't need to do a lot of top feeding but I'll bear in mind that pin trick for the future. That's neat!

Cheers!

[wood-n-things]

Jim,
Nice tip. Thanks for thinking out loud.