# Saw table inserts (SIP)



## JackL (24 Aug 2007)

:?: Help please.
Does anyone know of a reliable source of scroll saw table inserts? I have a SIP variable speed, but SIP have been anything but helpful and one of their agents has failed to get back to me.
I think that the Perform may fit and Axminster list these in their catalogue but ideally I would prefer to replace the plastic insert with something more substantial.
Any ideas gratefully received before I look at machining my own.


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## Gill (24 Aug 2007)

Hi Jack

Welcome to the forum  . Not owning a SIP saw myself, I can't really offer much advice about those specific table inserts but I'm sure an owner will be along shortly. I'm surprised SIP haven't been more co-operative; they've always seemed pretty amenable when I've spoken to their reps at shows. Mind, I've never tried contacting the company outside a show.

I've made my own zero-clearance inserts for my Hegner simply by copying the outline of the insert supplied by the manufacturer onto a wooden blank, then cutting out the shape. For you, of course, much would depend on how SIP inserts fasten into the table. The Hegners are gripped in place with tiny spring clips that are slightly recessed into the table.

If you just want something to offer a little more support to fine cuts as a temporary measure, you could always use the old trick of offering a business card to the blade, cutting half-way through, then taping it to the table. A more durable solution would be to take a thin sheet of perspex, cut it _slowly_ with a fine blade (to avoid the perspex welding itself up as the cut progresses) in the same way as if you were using a business card. Then fasten the perspex to the table using double-sided tape. I've never used this technique myself but I've heard it works  .

Gill


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## Newbie_Neil (24 Aug 2007)

Hi Jack

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers,
Neil


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## Mike.C (24 Aug 2007)

Hi Jack,

Try these people, they are SIP main agents http://www.westskelstonservices.co.uk/ and should be able to help you.

Despite leaving countless messages I waited weeks on end for a SIP area manager to contact me, and that was after buying one of their biggest table saws. As Gill says they might be all right face to face, but on the other end of a phone their customer services might as well be non existent.

I hope you source you part with no more trouble.

Cheers

Mike


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## Gill (24 Aug 2007)

Thanks for the link, Mike. The plastic insert looks pretty similar to that on my Hegner, except the Hegner insert is made of metal and only has one feed slot. Neither of those distinctions appear to be terribly significant







As I said, I made my own zero clearance inserts although it might be worth purchasing a Hegner plastic blank if you don't want to go to this much trouble. To make mine, I simply took a small block of iroko onto which I'd traced the outline of the metal insert. I can't recall how thick the block of iroko was - about 18mm, I think. Then I cut out the shape of the insert. I managed to get a pretty good fit first time off but it wouldn't have mattered if I hadn't because you don't have to be too precise. So long as the insert isn't too big for the table and the spring clips have something to hold, it'll be fine.

Of course, although the iroko was the right shape, it was far too thick! So I put the manufacturer's metal insert between the fence and the blade on my bandsaw to set the correct thickness, then rolled the iroko blank through it, slicing off insert after insert. I wish I'd been more careful when scrolling the shape because I could have kept the discarded wood as a cradle for the the blank as I fed it through the bandsaw. The home-made inserts still came out successfully, though.

Gill


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## scroller frank (24 Aug 2007)

Evening Jack, welcome  
Gill probably has the answer , ie. draw round the original and cut it from a piece of hard wood or hard plastic /perspex , then sand it to fit ,
I have a friend with a metalwork lathe , he made me a steel one for my Delta 
Gills other solution of a compleat table top from perspex is a good idear also ,------------ but i would cover the cut lines with clear parcel tape or selotape, then use a courser blade , rather than a fine one so as to remove the sawdust quicker then it dosen't melt back together,
-----------------Just my 2 peneth,----------
good luck--------------Frank-----------


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## Brucio (25 Aug 2007)

I've just got a SIP scrollsaw, and the first thing I cut with it was a new insert. It's a circular insert, with four small half-round recesses, and it's held in place by being fairly tight.
Just traced around the SIP insert onto clear perplex, cut it out slowly, then cut a narrow slot to feed the blade in.
Then I made another insert from hardboard, with only a small central hole for the blade. Nothing falls through that!
If the hardboard is a little thick, just sand it down, but it's better to leave it proud of the table, rather than too thin.
If it's too thin, you can snag your wood on the back edge.
Hope this helps.
Bruce


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## JackL (25 Aug 2007)

Many thanks to all who offered advice. I hadn't thought of the perspex route and was looking at a far more complicated stainless steel option - but perspex sounds ideal - particularly as I have a load of the stuff sat in the corner of one of my sheds.


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## scroller frank (25 Aug 2007)

> corner of one of my sheds.


 
That's what i like to hear---multiple sheds------- good on yer. 
you never have enough sheds :lol: :lol: 
--------------Frank--------------


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## DaveL (26 Aug 2007)

scroller frank":boaqosgq said:


> > corner of one of my sheds.
> 
> 
> 
> That's what i like to hear---multiple sheds------- good on yer.


Sounds like a gloat to me. 8)


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## Gill (26 Aug 2007)

His Lordship is removing the wreck of our greenhouse which was destroyed by storms earlier this year. I heard him muttering ominously, "Just because a greenhouse can't be sited here, it doesn't mean a shed for my lathe can't be".

:? 

Gill


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## JackL (26 Aug 2007)

I'm not gloating - honest! I've only got 4 sheds one for my engineering/blacksmith/general tools. One (universally known as "The Hovel" that has my lathe and dust extractor in (it measures a whopping 10 feet x 4 feet and things get very interesting when I'm turning a two feet diameter bowl!!).
Then there's my band saw shed that is just slightly bigger than the bandsaw and I have made it so that the side remove when I need to use the saw.
Finally, my garden shed with mower/hedge cutter. plant pots etc.
I could seriously do with another shed at least 12x8 but there's not enough room in the garden.
Can anyone seriously manage with less than 4 sheds? :roll:


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## keithhickson (29 Aug 2007)

JackL":oyp7tf2n said:


> I'm not gloating - honest! I've only got 4 sheds one for my engineering/blacksmith/general tools. One (universally known as "The Hovel" that has my lathe and dust extractor in (it measures a whopping 10 feet x 4 feet and things get very interesting when I'm turning a two feet diameter bowl!!).
> Then there's my band saw shed that is just slightly bigger than the bandsaw and I have made it so that the side remove when I need to use the saw.
> Finally, my garden shed with mower/hedge cutter. plant pots etc.
> I could seriously do with another shed at least 12x8 but there's not enough room in the garden.
> Can anyone seriously manage with less than 4 sheds? :roll:



I only have one shed, then I'm just starting out ......then again I'm converting the garage so I suppose that's cheating :lol:


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