Customer Reviews and Photos for:
Phenolic Table Saw Insert Kit
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Average Rating:
3.8
(30 customer reviews)
$31.99
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1) Submitted by
Blake Dozier, from Whitakers, NC
on 8/14/2012
Customer Rating: 
Great product! My first plate took some experimenting but is a pleasure to use. I made the second plate yesterday and solved the blade clearance problem. I simply routed a 3/16" slot on the underside of the plate deep enough to provide clearance for the blade and then raised the blade to cut the regular slot. I did use a tap and die for the leveling screws. No problem.
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2) Submitted by
Steve Goodman, from Post Falls, ID
on 9/11/2012
Customer Rating: 
Material is excellent. Just make sure you messure your length. My instert is 14.5" and the material is only 14" I'll find a use for it, but not as a ZCI....Did use the screws though.
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3) Submitted by
Matthew Longtin, from South Saint Paul, MN
on 5/20/2011
Customer Rating:
Followed the instructions, now I have two perfect inserts. The drill bit worked well, given the hardness of the material, I used the slowest speed on my drill press and cleaned out the bit two to three times for each hole. Overall, excellent product.
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4) Submitted by
Byron Bingham, from Honeyville, UT
on 4/11/2009
Customer Rating:
I followed the instructions and the insert fits perfectly.
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5) Submitted by
David Elkow, from Lexington, KY
on 11/15/2008
Customer Rating:
I often wondered why a phenolic insert has not been available for the Bosch 4000 Table Saw, from anywhere. When I spotted this kit in the Rockler catalog, I said "Great, now I can make one!" Well, now I know why they have not been available. It took quite a bit of machine work to the underside of the insert to make a fit to the Bosch table (see photo). But, alas, I got-r-done and have a nice zero clearance insert. Thanks Rockler !
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6) Submitted by
Dave Freiberg, from Rocklin, CA
on 9/21/2008
I purchased the new Jet Proshop Hybrid. The insert is 15". Therefore this product does not work on this saw. I have to a friend who is using it on his Dewalt.
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7) Submitted by
Tom Kendall, from Green Bay, WI
on 10/11/2010
Customer Rating:
Apparently a good insert. But read the dimensions under 'More Info' carefully, and check it against your table saw! These are too small to fit a Powermatic 2000, so if that is your saw, don't buy it!
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8) Submitted by
rawdawgs, from Orlando, FL
on 5/20/2008
Customer Rating:
Excellent product. Phenolic is super hard. Forget trying to use regular drill bits. They makes a mess of this stuff. I broke down and bought the special bits from Rockler. Works much better.
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9) Submitted by
Chris Cloutier, from Bridgton, ME
on 2/26/2008
Customer Rating:
Worked great.
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10) Submitted by
Greg, from Clinton, MA
on 2/18/2008
Customer Rating:
I bought this kit and had problems at first with the Countersink drill bit breaking after doing only one hole. Rockler was great at replacing these and after some experimenting with the drill bit speed, I can recommend using a speed of 250 RPM. If you use higher speeds, the bit may break.
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11) Submitted by
Rob, from Morganton, GA
on 2/2/2008
Customer Rating:
A little work, but great results, no tear out & smooth work.
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12) Submitted by
Art, from Avondale, AZ
on 12/15/2007
Customer Rating:
Solid Material. Had no problem fitting to my saw insert. Would recommend.
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13) Submitted by
Kerby Barnes, from Billings, MT
on 9/24/2007
Customer Rating:
I am very pleased with the phenolic inserts. They are rock solid,flat and true. It's a good value. If I need more I will definitely buy these again.
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14) Submitted by
Neville Webster, from Chattanooga, TN
on 11/26/2007
Customer Rating:
The phenolic material is excellent. The end result is also excellent. However, if you have a Delta saw table be prepared for extra work. When the saw blade is lowered as far as it can go the material is too thick to fit above the blade. You have to cut off 1/4 inch from the back of the phenolic block to allow that space needed. Then you can route the block to shape and route a 1/4 inch wide lip around the perimiter to allow the insert to fit into the 1/8 inch "shelf" in the table opening.
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15) Submitted by
John Gray, from Effingham, IL
on 2/26/2008
Customer Rating:
FYI - These are nice but will NOT work on a RIDGID TS3650.
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16) Submitted by
Bob, from Medford, MA
on 3/29/2010
Customer Rating: 
I'd suggest you buy UHMW plastic instead. Making a ZCI from this stuff was a nightmare. Cutting it to fit was fine. Drilling and screwing the leveling screws was another story. The screws provided were not strong enough... three of them broke, the heads snapped off. Bought bigger screws. Redrilled. One driver broke trying to force the screw into the (perfectly sized) pilot hole. Screws stripped and had to be removed with vise grips. Screws stripped the threads made in the Phenolic stuff. Absolutely terrible stuff to screw into. Ended up thowing them out. Made ZCI's out of UHMW plastic instead. A breeze.
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17) Submitted by
David Handler, from Tillamook, OR
on 2/21/2008
Customer Rating:
The phenolic material is wonderful for this purpose and the drill bits, after taking the advise from Greg in Clinton, MA, worked fantastic. Saved me a bundle and I can make inserts for all my blades at much less cost. Highly recommended.
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18) Submitted by
Jim Atkinson, from Beverly Hills, FL
on 6/6/2008
Customer Rating:
Level adjusting screws included were not of superior quality as evidenced by one of the heads of the screws breaking off during initial insertion of the screw in the phenolic. After making my own adjusters, the insert was placed in the table top and is currently in use...Very nice.
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19) Submitted by
AF, from Chesterfield, VA
on 6/22/2008
Customer Rating: 
I had no problem drilling and threading my leveling holes. Routing using my existing insert as a pattern wasn't a problem either ... though what a mess.
Not sure what advantages phenolic has over plywood or hardwood ... time will tell. I have one more blank to cut.
Bottom line ... same $$$ and stick with wood.
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20) Submitted by
Tom Wnorowski, from Millville, NJ
on 6/23/2009
Customer Rating:
While the product has the potential to do what is expected, it does not fit Jet hybrid saws--too short.
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21) Submitted by
Les Newcomer, from Farmington, MI
on 9/13/2009
Has anybody thought what this 'so-hard it makes drill bits faint' material is doing to their saw blade? With a zero clearance, I would think the saw teeth bashing into this stuff would tend to wear the blade a lot more than if it had clearance.
While not this product specifically, I 'reamed' out the slot on my phenolic inserts and it cut down on my sharpening routine quite a bit. I opened the slot about 1/32 on each side of the blade.
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22) Submitted by
Chris Kittila, from Milton, GA
on 1/8/2010
Customer Rating:
This material is very hard and smooth making it an excellent substrate for a table saw throat plate. I used this to build an insert for a Ridgid table saw. I bought this kit because the dimensions were nearly perfect for my saw and I needed a dado insert. These blocks are not 1/2 inch thick; they were 11/16 inch thick. (This makes a big difference when your plate needs to be 1/2 inch thick. Given the amount of machining that was required to reduce the thickness, I would not do this again for this particular saw. The project turned out fine on the top side (just don't peek at the bottom of the plate...pretty ugly due to the extensive routing marks).
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23) Submitted by
Dana
on 3/16/2010
Customer Rating:
I rated this product "very good", rather than "excellent", only because it is 3/4" too short to fully fit into my Ridgid R4511. The thickness is perfect with no shims. The material is very strong and rigid, with a nice smooth surface.
For those with my model saw, be advised that a standard 10" blade does not lower enough to clear the bottom surface of the blank insert plate. So this requires some careful setup to safely make the initial cut. In my case I secured the front of the trimmed blank with a screw and shimmed the outfeed end 1/2 to 3/4", clamped in-place before slowly raising the blade. There is probably a better way to do this (perhaps shim entire insert). After getting the intial cut to just clear the upper surface, I shut down, lowered the blade, removed the shim, and secured the insert flush with the table top, held down by the rip fence. The remainder of the process was simply turning back on the saw and raising the blade to the desired height. Raise slowly! And be prepared for a slight odor from the phenolic material as it is cut. A little further engineering will be required to tightly secure the rear (outfeed end) of the insert.
This seems to be excellent material for this purpose. I simply wish at had been a little longer to fit my particular model of saw.
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24) Submitted by
Ray Lavender, from Acton, ONTARIO
on 5/7/2010
Customer Rating:
I was very interested in trying these inserts but they are too short to fit the Steel City Granite saws. It would be nice if they could includes a list of saws that it will (and won't ) work on.
Editors's Note: Click on the "More Info" tab in this offer for sizing details.
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25) Submitted by
Jon Rockwell, from Newton, NH
on 2/16/2011
Customer Rating:
Not worth the effort or cost, in my opinion, at least for a JET Supersaw. Requires too much routing of the backside to provide relief for the leveling tabs and saw blade prior to cutting the slot. Also, purchasing special drill and router bits which decreases the effective savings. I recommend buying a pre-made insert specifically for your saw or making one out of plywood or hardwood. Material is so hard that you must be VERY careful drilling with conventional bits and driving the screws to avoid chipping out the material and shearing the screws.
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26) Submitted by
Steven Leonti, from Killingworth, CT
on 5/4/2011
Customer Rating:
Check the dimensions carefully prior to ordering. The insert was not even close to fitting my Porter Cable table saw. Also, the depth of your saw's insert must match perfectly with the depth of the Phenolic unit or you will have a hard time trying to get it to fit. Otherwise, it does appear to be a nice insert.
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27) Submitted by
Dan, from Solon, IA
on 11/14/2011
Customer Rating:
Of the two blanks I recieved only one was usable, the other was bowed so bad the middle stuck up above the table by a good 3/16" when the front and back were level with the top. The other one made a good dado insert. I will stick with UHMW.
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28) Submitted by
Paul Reinhardt, from League City, TX
on 2/1/2012
Customer Rating:
The phenolic itself is a fine material for the insert and the shape machined easily. The weakness of this kit is in the leveling screws. First of all, they are not self tapping and secondly, they are very low quality. You will probably break a few. I will use another method for leveling.
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29) Submitted by
Joseph Pleskac, from Centuria, WI
on 3/23/2012
Customer Rating:
I bought these inserts on a whim while at my local Rockler store. When I got them home I found that they were too short for my table saw. I own a Steel City 10 inch granite top saw with a riving knife. So, I was not able to use them. I wish that I could have, I priced out zero clearance inserts for my particular saw and they were $41.00 apiece. Maybe make these inserts about 3/4" longer? Otherwise they would have worked great.
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30) Submitted by
Tony Underkoffler, from Missoula, MT
on 4/8/2008
Customer Rating:
Product worked great on my Ridgid table saw after talking to your technical dept. they we're very helpful in getting it to fit Thanks a bunch.
P.S. to guy with the Ridgid table just take your router with a straight bit and take a 1/16 off the bottom.
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