NEW Design Zero Clearance insert for table saw

Watch why you never want to use the Zero Clearance insert anymore!
I made an improved version of the Zero Clearance insert. I call it the HOW version. HOW from Hooked on Wood.
It has the following benefits over the original Zero clearance insert.
- It is a Zero clearance insert
- It improves dust collections a lot
- It cleans up you cabinet saw
In this video I show you these benefits.
It is worth the efforts to make one of your own.

[@leehaelters6182]

Hooked, after viewing only 30% of this video, I have determined that I must subscribe to your channel. I have 40 years in the craft and trade, and I appreciate what I can see is your craftsmanship and engineering talent. Keep that innovation coming, fellow, and thanks for sharing!

[@mylesdarwin3000]

Instablaster

[@MrPatdeeee]

Absolutely Brilliant! I can't wait until I do this to my table saw! I am surprised that table saw makers have not thought of this before. Makes perfect sense.

[@cwadub]

Fantastic idea, well thought out and most importantly it works! Air flow and zero clearance 👌

[@RPMlegacy513]

This is a GREAT video, love your scientific measuring approach, very well done, and I love you channel!

[@roycarrillo9473]

I just leaned how to correct the lack of flow in my dust collection, Thank you

[@muchgratitude]

Great ideal brother. I am glad you bring new idea to old way of doing thing. There are so many videos out there that are doing the same old thing. Keep them ideas coming.

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Bryan, The overhead dust collection is the Harvey S-12 or Axminster Trade S-12. I made a video about it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3mmYaCiaJ2cjbM It was my first video, so not as smooth as I make them now. But if you interested you can see a lot about this unit. Including test against a standard blade guard. Best regards, Dennis

[@michaeltrull2381]

Very nice Dennis! Thank you for an insightful and thoughtful video showing how a zero clearance insert can be improved.

[@HookedonWood]

Thanks Michael, Appreciate it!

[@jamesbjerkholt6804]

Great video, great scientific method, and great craftsmanship! A true “why didn’t anyone think of this before?” innovation! Keep up the good wotk - thank you for sharing

[@sueb4154]

Hi Dennis, I recently became a subsciber, after watching the "China Tool" episodes. I must say, I REALLY love the intro on that series, and was anticipating hearing it on this video as well. But no matter, what is most important, is the questions that you answer, that many of us have, and the solutions you invent, to overcome the shortcomings of the original designs. I love your attention to detail. It is a pleasure to learn about the importance and possibility of being able to create such precise projects. You are one of few great creators of our time, in my book! Now I'm off to view your dust collection/extraction video. Thank you so much and say hi to your son for me ... he's a gem

[@ljashansen]

Wonderful idea. This should change design of all zero clearance inserts. I hope you get the credit for this upgrade in design.

[@HookedonWood]

Thanks for your comment Larry! It would be nice!

[@stepansavelyonok5532]

Great idea - I wanted to say. But it is much more than just an idea. It is full research on topic with aesthetically beautiful performance. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@runemrick]

This is really thoughtful. Thanks.

[@donwires5793]

Jeez Louise! I've been scouring youtube for help with my sawdust pile that remains in my table saw. You have solved the problem! I'll take all the dust that remained before and glue it into a dunce cap for me to wear.

[@truthserum5202]

Well done Mr How

[@pmdinaz]

Nicely done!!!

[@yzmoto80]

6:50...Look at all the saw dust you are missing, how can you work in that dusty shop !? LOL !!! Great idea and great job... it must be a pleasure to use that beautiful table saw and not have to clean the whole shop afterwards !! Two thumbs up !!

[@lgzz4885]

Good video! Smart thinking indeed, there needs to be adequate airflow in order for the dust extractor to do its job. Your the first guy I’ve watched, that was thinking about that aspect. Subbing up brah 👍🏽

[@HookedonWood]

Thanks for your comment. Appreciate it.

[@rushbseiso5332]

You are brilliant

[@albatros1752]

Great idea !!!

[@heffatheanimal2200]

Fantastic ideas!

[@HookedonWood]

thanks!

[@mattdewey8046]

Great video Dennis. The logic, design and execution are all top notch. Its just a shame for me that the Valcromat / Forescolor is difficult / expensive to get in Aus, looks awesome in black. Well done to Max btw

[@yossiyaari3760]

Brilliant!

[@trboogie2012]

Hi Dennis, great video and thanks for sharing. In the video you didn't tell H.O.W to make the insert. Taking detail plans of H.O.W to and selling them would be great. I have watched a few of your videos and you have a lot of new Innovated ideas that is perfect for details plans to sell. like workbench, miter saw insert, zero clarence insert etc.. and thank for Introducing me to Chinese made tools drillpro.

[@montygamble2843]

Dennis Great video. Gets everyone thinking. Love the insert but really like the hood. Can you tell me anything about it. Thanks again. Monty

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Monty, Here is a link to my first video. I want to make a remake off it in the future, because I do not like it from a video and editing point of view. But it was my first video, so forgive me it is a bit raw. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3mmYaCiaJ2cjbM best regards, Dennis

[@104Tomcat]

This IS a GREAT idea! I found the video today and started working on a SKETCHUP file today. Two quick questions, how deep did you make the "slots" & what time of wood did you make it from?

[@HookedonWood]

I believe this was 3 mm. then round off the edges with some sandpaper. I used mdf for this experiment. but I will now make 1 of that full colored mdf which you see more in my work shop. this is slightly more stable. you have to bear in mind that the bridge between saw blade and extraction holes is not too thin, otherwise it will flake. keep an eye on that. greetings Dennis

[@danieldurkton2942]

Hi Dennis, Great video very well-made. Great idea definitely would like one in my shop. Did you buy an insert and modify it? Or did you just make one to fit your saw? Do you sell plans of the insert that you made? Thanks Daniel

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Daniel, I made one to fit my saw. This isn't really that hard to do. Perhaps I will made a remake of this video including making off in the future. Because every table saw is different plans are not that helpful. You should copy the original insert. Best regards, Dennis

[@danhelfgott5225]

Danke, Dennis, this is a great video. Innovative design for the insert plate. A question: how is the performance if you are making through cuts on larger pieces, rather than just cutting on the edge?

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Dan, I made this cut on the edge because it normally gives the most mess in your workshop. When you make a "normal" cut, the effect is minimal because it covers the holes. But this saw cut also gives relatively little dust. When you have almost completely sawn through the wood, you always get a dust cloud blown towards you. This is slightly less because I made a hole at the beginning of the zero insert. Good question. Thank you for your comment.

[@darkosimic86]

Hi Dennis! I noticed you had Dewalt DW745 table saw before you got Harvey one. I have Dewalt and I am very happy with it (except that is crazy loud). Do you think this insert you made would work with Dewalt too? Dewalt has very small space on the left side of the blade and underneath insert on that side of the blade is lifting mechanism for the blade and there is not much air going through there. Would really like to hear what you think of that.

[@ThisTall]

I would love if you did a video on improving dust collection on a Dewalt job site table saw. The blade housing on my saw has so many holes, the dust collector can’t create enough draw to keep my blade from throwing the dust back up through my throat plate.

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Kermit, my former table saw was with a Dewalt saw. I know what you are talking about. I think your solution is to try to fill as many holes you can. Make a Zero clearance insert like I did, and at last make or buy a overhead blade guard dust extraction. Without overhead dust extraction, I do not think it is possible to work dust free.

[@bradouellette6558]

Great idea , did you block the other holes in the saw cabinet , like around the blade elevation crank handle or leave them open

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Brad, No I will leave the holes open with a cabinet saw. These holes in the insert certainly helps to improve extraction, but it is still very minimum compare to the potential of my dust extraction system. So those extra holes are only beneficial. I want to make a future video about this HOW plate in combination with building them. And than I will ran some test with these holes blocked and not. I think I can measure the airflow. So then we know for sure and how big the impact is. Thanks for your comment. Good question.

[@thegreenman4898]

a brush skirt on the left edge of your overhead dust sheild would allow even more dust to be collected, my cnc router has a dust boot with a brush skirt and its a fantastic improvement, cheers

[@HookedonWood]

Hi, that is a great idea. I try to find something in the past but did not know where to look. So I try to google on Brush skirt. Thanks Green Man! :-)

[@thegreenman4898]

@@HookedonWood i made my own dust boot from perspex and this, allows a lot of wiggle room, and the aliminium strip can be bent to fit the curve. www.amazon.co.uk/447234-Aluminium-Draught-Excluder-Bristles/dp/B016IXK42Q/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=garage+door+brush+draught+excluder&qid=1578515022&s=diy&sr=1-3

[@googlesbitch]

@@HookedonWood use door sweeps (brush type) they are commonly sold in hardware stores.

[@seajan808]

how do you keep and maintain your table saw surface ?? products or system you have ? thank you

[@danieldurkton2942]

Thanks Dennis for the quick response. One more quick question did you make yours out of wood or a plastic? That would be great if you could just do like a little how to video on it also when you get a chance have a great Holiday Season. Cheers

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Daniel, I made this one with MDF that I painted. But I will make one from Black MDF in the future. So I think when I do that, I will make a video about it. Great Idea!

[@cliveclapham6451]

HOW nice job brilliant, you know how you put a radius on your insert you would get a big increase in airflow inside the saw if you made a radius plate or stubstack worth around 5% increase. Might even make a great video👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@HookedonWood]

I am making a new video on this moment about this Zero clearance insert and want to integrate your idea, but this is not possible because of the saw blade and arm that are underneath it. How big should a radius be. Thanks for your comment.

[@cliveclapham6451]

@@HookedonWood 1/2 to 3/4" you could just make a wooden ring out of say 19mm MDF the inside diameter to match the I'd of the hose connected to the extraction flange sort of like half a donut.......

[@cristiansilvestri2280]

You just got an other sub...I only sub the guys I think are best! Keep make video in english please...Well done!!

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Christian, thanks for your comments! I really appreciate it . I will upload my video's always in English and Dutch. Best regards, Dennis

[@foxglovemead]

Very nice, Dennis. Do you have a drawing to post of your final design? How thick did you make the extra cuts? PS I subscribed to your Channel.

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Simon, I have no drawings, but everything depends on your table saw. I use a 18mm thick mdf. I sand a little bit of and then it is perfect. But perhaps on other table saws this is to thick or you need some screws to lift it a bit. I think 18mm is thick enough. Keep in mind the following things. You can't make the inlets too big. But you need to be care that the wood between inlets and gab from the saw blade is not too thin. Otherwise this will chatter and you lose the benefits of a zero clearance insert. Make the inlet in front as big as you can, but it needs to be in front of the point when you put the saw blade in the highest position. Otherwise again, you lose the benefit of the zero clearance insert. Good Luck!

[@rwind656]

When cutting thin strips, do they fall through your additional holes in the insert plate? Sorry if that's a novice question. ( New to table saw operation.)

[@HookedonWood]

Hi, No they will not fall through. I am almost ready with a new video I will upload soon. Here you will see that I make thin strips of 2.2 mm. That goes very well. After you cut them they will fall on their side and stick to the holes but I do not consider it as a problem. Anyway look at my next video and you can judge for your self. Thanks for your comment.

[@reddog907]

Adding a bristle like skirt around the bottom edge of the plexiglass saw blade cover would solve the problem of the wood dust being kicked out the side onto the table.

[@dugefresh7063]

What material di you use to make The HOW Zero Clearance Table Saw Insert? Is it wood that has been painted/stained?

[@PieterSchreurs]

i know he sometimes Uses black mdf, which is collored mdf afailable in Europe

[@HookedonWood]

In this case I use MDF and painted it. But that was just for experiment because I made a 10 different designs then. But like Compieter told I use a lot of Black MDF, what we call Full Colored MDF. In the USA this is not or hard to get (What I hear from viewers) It looks like Valchromat. Valchromat however, is more expansive and even denser. So a little bit better then what I use. But that Black MDF is much harder than normal MDF. It is more HDF and for that very good to use. So I am going to make them from Black MDF in a future video and then I will show how I make them and a bit more about dust extraction.

[@terrmaso]

So my question is how did you create the insert? It looks to be plastic or a similar material. Will you be making more? If so I would really like one. 👍

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Terry, It is made from black full colored MDF that looks a bit like Valchromat. I think one of my next project video's will be the making of these inserts. I hope you can make one of your self with this instruction. You have to make them probably yourself.

[@terrmaso]

@@HookedonWood Sounds good! I look forward to the tutorial.

[@pauldent3059]

Have you tried attaching baffling on the plate to try and create a vortex effect

[@HookedonWood]

Yes, I did. Lots of work for some benefits. Room under plate is not big to create nice air flow

[@MrPatdeeee]

"Hooked on Wood", where did you get that awesome overhead guard? Or did you build it yourself? If so, I would love to see a video just on this guard and dust collector overhead. I am sure others would enjoy it also. Thank you kind Sir. (Note: you may already have done this, but I am a brand new "subscriber".) "Hooked on Wood", waar heb je die geweldige overhead guard vandaan? Of heb je het zelf gebouwd? Als dat zo is, zou ik graag een video zien alleen op deze bewaker en stofafscheider boven je hoofd. Ik weet zeker dat anderen er ook van zouden genieten. Dank u wel, mijnheer. (Opmerking: je hebt dit misschien al gedaan, maar ik ben een gloednieuwe "abonnee".)

[@timthomas9105]

I would too. I think that putting a skirt around it. Instead of raising the hood the skirt raised on top of the wood, the sawdust can't get out.

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Pat, I do not know if I already answered your question. But no, I did not made it myself. But my first video was about this overhead guard. You can find it here kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3mmYaCiaJ2cjbM&feature=emb_logo Dennis

[@rmyukon]

Do you think the TiN coating on your Harvey Table Saw is worth the extra money? I can't decide if I want to spend the extra $350-$400 to get it.

[@HookedonWood]

Difficult question. It looks stunning! My tint coating is not that thick, so it is damaging already. I am not a Heavy user, so considering the costs, they did not a proper job. But a friend of my also have this table saw and if I look at his coating, it looks much better. So, perhaps they change it meanwhile. But it looks good, it protects against rost. I did not find to slide better or something.

[@rmyukon]

@@HookedonWood Thank you so much for taking time to respond. That means a lot to me. I was also wondering about the thickness of the TiN coating and was worried about the durability over years of use. Love your videos! Keep up the good work.

[@hanslogren8175]

Hi Dennis I’m in the market for a Harvey Alpha table saw. Where did you buy yours? A reseller here in Europe? I have the option to buy one directly from Harvey, but that means I have to overlook the shipping from China myself and I want to avoid that.

[@HookedonWood]

I bought my at Tendotools in Belgium. But also Peulen in The Netherlands sell them. peulen.nl/nieuwe-machines/zagen/item/535-harvey-hw110-alpha.html

[@hanslogren8175]

@@HookedonWood Thanks Dennis! 👊🏼

[@knhcarpentryhomeimprovemen8946]

What brand is your over arm guard/collector

[@HookedonWood]

Hi, The overhead blade Guard is from Axminster Trade. www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-trade-shark-s-12-overhead-blade-guard-104504 I believe they ship worldwide and have worldwide dealers!

[@stacystarnes1449]

How is your tin coating holding up?

[@HookedonWood]

There are places where the coat becomes thinner. A friend of my also has this saw and I believe hos coating is better. So maybe I had bad luck with my table

[@fokkema97]

De transparante stofafzuigkap aan de bovenzijde lijkt me erg gemakkelijk. Is die ook los verkrijgbaar ?

[@HookedonWood]

Hoi, Ja deze is los verkrijgbaar. Ik heb hem gekocht bij Axminster trade in Engeland. (Mss moet je dat nog even dit jaar regelen) Maar daar zijn ze goedkoper dan in NL. Het is de Axminster Trade overhead blade guard. Zelfde als de Harvey.

[@fokkema97]

@@HookedonWood Dank voor de tip ik ga ermee aan de slav

[@Bogie3855]

This is because on tablesaws they are usually extracted thru the cabinet, not the insert.

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Paul, You are right. But I did not fill my holes of the cabinet. (Like a lot of people do) And even then, it is not good enough to clean up my innerside. So this helped me for that. And I think making a hole in your insert is better then making holes in your cabinet. But perhaps most important, it works for me, I get better suction to the inside of the cabinet then when I use a classic Zero clearance. So I think it is worth to try. Thanks for your comment. Dennis

[@Bogie3855]

I sold powertools for Acklands Grainger for 30yrs. There are many ways to dust extract a cabinet. I have an old Delta Unisaw with a big hole in the side where the 3hp motor cuts an arc. If I had a dust extractor I would box around the motor and attach a hose to it. My workshop is outside in the garage so I merely wear a dust mask and shovel out the shop when necessary. All my tools are on mobile bases for that purpose.

[@jean-philippevuillin832]

Hello, what model of your saw

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Jean-Philippe, My Table saw is from Harvey. Model HW110 GL kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWSsfGiIaaqra6c Watch this video for more information Thanks for subscribing! I hope you will enjoy my video's

[@georgeisenbarg8302]

You could have accomplished the same dust extraction by placing a hole in the cabinet opposite your extraction point to let air in. With the hole placed properly you would create air flow accost the pile of saw dust you placed in your cabinet and the dust would have been drawn out much quicker. In your last video you were happy with the hood extraction unit with a normal zero clearance insert. It seemed to get the dust created on the top of the saw. The holes in your HOW zero clearance will only allow a large inflow of air if you are not cutting wood that covers the air inlet holes. Unless you just leave your saw running while not in use I do not see a great benefit to dust extraction unless you are edge cutting all the time.

[@HookedonWood]

Hi George, you are right about the benefits of this insert. However these cuts on the edges are the most dirty one. And i use it regular to clean edges or make them straight. So now you have benefit also from the most dirty cuts without any disadvantages. I rather prefer that then making holes in my table saw.

[@nickreed9916]

Are you Lothar? Are you Lothar? Are you Lothar Matthaus in disguise???

[@HookedonWood]

Maybe the Dutch version, but definitely not the German one:-)

[@timbarry5080]

No way I would want that thing hanging over my table saw. I would rather have a little dust. That's what dust masks are for. But that's just me.

[@HookedonWood]

Hi Tim, I can understand. But I also have to say I do not mind it at all. After 2 weeks you do not want to go back. And wearing a dusk mask only when you make a cut is not enough. You should also leave it on after it because the dust is hanging in your shop. I did not find it comfortable wearing a mask. And another reason is that my shop, clothes etc stays reasonable clean. So my wife is also a bit happy about it :-) But luckily we can also do it without overhead blade guard. Thanks for your comment. Dennis

[@timbarry5080]

@lass-uns-loslegen.de I have no idea what you are talking about. Sorry

[@rwind656]

Tim Barry I was scratching my head, too... Try "measures" instead of measurements... 3 types of measures for safety, in order. Technical (equipment with safety guards?), organizational (policies in place?), and then the person operating equipment? Guessing.

[@timbarry5080]

@lass-uns-loslegen.de so are you saying i prefer the most dangerous method?