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overlay table for my saw


laust18

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Well I made one for my 1 Craftsman,But it would not fit on my 2nd,table slightly bigger.not all overlays will be the same,they will almost always be custom made for each table.Even though the brand my be the same they may be some little difference in size,at least thats what I have found out. :)

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Scrappile has the right idea, but here are details about how to do it, if you need them.

 

I use a piece of Baltic Birch, but any flat thin board will do. It can be larger than your saw table, for added work area. Without a blade in your saw, place this board on your saw table and mark the approximate blade hole position on the wood. Also reach up from the bottom and trace the edge of your saw table onto the bottom of this piece of wood. It doesn't have to be accurate or complete, just some guides for the next steps. Remove the wood and drill a small hole at the location of your mark, large enough for the blade to pass through. Then turn the board over and place several strips of double sided tape inside the table edge marks that you made.

 

Now put a blade in the bottom clamp of your scroll saw. Remove the protective covering on the tape, and without letting the remaining sticky side of the tape from touch your saw table, place the wood over your saw table and thread the blade up through the hole and into the upper blade clamp. Since this is difficult and requires 3 or more hands you can place some spacers under the board to hold it off of the saw table while you do this. Once the blade is in both clamps and tensioned, you can remove the spacers and stick the board down to your saw table with the double sided tape.

 

Enjoy your new zero clearance scroll saw table. When the hole finally wears out and gets too large for your taste, just make another zero clearance table, or remove this one and drill another small hole a couple of inches left or right from the first hole, then replace the board on your saw table using new double sided tape to attach it.

 

Charley

Edited by CharleyL
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When I did mine, I took the EX table off and laid it on the piece of masonite.  Use the appropriate size center punch to mark the center of the table top holes.  Drilled and counter sank the holes in the masonite, drilled a little for the blades and put it back together.  Took about 20 minutes. 

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I've heard about an overlay table for my saw, can anyone tell or show what this is and how to make one, my table insert has to big of a gap and small intricate pieces have nowhere to sit and end up breaking.

I'm glad you posted this  question .I completely forgot about zero clearance for the scroll saw.It saves the day cutting intricate pieces in projects.I need a refresher course in scrolling i can see.Forgeting to much from not doing enought to stay on top of things.Thanks for the post!!!!

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Using playing cards or other thin material held in place over the blade hole for zero clearance has never worked very well for me. I keep catching the work or clamp on the edges of it. That's why I make one to cover the entire table, so there is a completely smooth table surface. 

 

Charley

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My new EX-21 has holes drilled around the blade entry hole that are for dust collection.  They work OK for that purpose, but I find that small cut-outs fall into them and some get caught, which can hang up your cutting.  The concept may be good, but I don't really like the execution on the EX.  It's my only complaint with the saw.

 

I'm considering a table overlay.  I won't use things like playing cards because like was already mentioned, it just provides an edge for the wood to catch as it's being cut.  Whatever I use, it needs to be as thin as possible and also provide a smooth, waxable and durable surface.  I'm thinking a piece of Formica would be ideal for me.

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Good point Charley.  I doubt I would enlarge my table surface, but others might have different ideas.  Do you do anything to the BB plywood to smooth up the surface and how does it wear?  I like a pretty slick table and if I were to use BB ply, I would likely apply a finish and then paste wax.  Or one could glue the Formica to the BB ply to get the best of both worlds. 

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I just put Johnsons Wax on my thin BB table whenever it doesn't seem smooth enough. It doesn't have any finish, but it probably wouldn't hurt to put finish on yours if you want to, but the top finish should be a coat of wax. If you go with laminate on plywood, laminate both sides of the plywood. Laminate will shrink over time, and plywood swells slightly, even 3/4 thick plywood. This will pull the edges up and make a potato chip out of it if you don't do both sides. Laminating both sides is what they do to keep router tables flat.

 

I just make my tables good enough to last a year or two, then replace them when the hole gets too large, or I might make a second hole and move the table over a few inches to use the new hole. I think it mostly depends on whether or not I have a scrap of BB plywood the right size. I don't put much effort, time, or money into them, because when the hole gets too large it's time for a new one, no matter how much you have invested in it.

 

Charley

Edited by CharleyL
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