Project Information
I finally upgraded my saw to a Unisaw! It was long overdue and man-o-man is this thing a beast. I found it on CL about 15 miles from my house. It has very few hours on it, came will all the manuals, a mobile base, extension tables, and the Delta Tenoning jig. For $900 delivered! It's a 3hp 220 1ph Left Tilt with a Unifence.
Anyway, what it did NOT come with was any safety equipment or extra throat plates. A blade guard/splitter is on my short list along with a dust collection port. After looking at the price of throat plates though, I decided to make my own. I happened to have some bamboo flooring cutoffs I picked out of a construction dumpster that were perfect after cutting the tongue off one side. The thickness was perfect, and my cutoffs were almost exactly the right length. Rather than set up the router with the pattern cutting bit, I traced the shape and made a rough cut on the band saw, finishing the job with my oscillating belt sander.
The factory plate is exactly 1/2" thick and uses leveling screws to bring it up flush, so I copied that design by drilling a through hole for a set of four stainless machine screws, then enlarging the top and bottom of the holes to recess the screw head and to receive a stainless nut which I simply pounded into place.
The back of the plate is held in with a 3/4" shelf pin that I tapped into a hole drilled in the end of the plate. The finger hole to remove was simply a 3/4" forstner bit. The tough finish on the flooring pieces is a very slick satin finish and should stay looking nice for a long time.
Before installing it, I had to clamp it down and hog out a starter groove in the back side because the Unisaw blade won't retract low enough to set the plate and bring the blade up through the surface. My cordless circular saw made short work of it and I was off to the races with a fancy bamboo throat plate.
Anyway, what it did NOT come with was any safety equipment or extra throat plates. A blade guard/splitter is on my short list along with a dust collection port. After looking at the price of throat plates though, I decided to make my own. I happened to have some bamboo flooring cutoffs I picked out of a construction dumpster that were perfect after cutting the tongue off one side. The thickness was perfect, and my cutoffs were almost exactly the right length. Rather than set up the router with the pattern cutting bit, I traced the shape and made a rough cut on the band saw, finishing the job with my oscillating belt sander.
The factory plate is exactly 1/2" thick and uses leveling screws to bring it up flush, so I copied that design by drilling a through hole for a set of four stainless machine screws, then enlarging the top and bottom of the holes to recess the screw head and to receive a stainless nut which I simply pounded into place.
The back of the plate is held in with a 3/4" shelf pin that I tapped into a hole drilled in the end of the plate. The finger hole to remove was simply a 3/4" forstner bit. The tough finish on the flooring pieces is a very slick satin finish and should stay looking nice for a long time.
Before installing it, I had to clamp it down and hog out a starter groove in the back side because the Unisaw blade won't retract low enough to set the plate and bring the blade up through the surface. My cordless circular saw made short work of it and I was off to the races with a fancy bamboo throat plate.
Continue with Google
