Saw blade off-center on new Sawstop table saw

Bming1

New User
Brandon
I got a sweet deal on a SawStop Contractor saw with table extension off eBay a couple of weeks ago. Picked it up from the previous owner, who hadn’t even completed assembling it (his wife surprised him with a SS cabinet saw), and finally completed assembly today. While going over everything, I discovered that the blade isn’t centered in the zero clearance insert. The blade rubs against the side, and the teeth actually touch the end of the insert. Having never owned a brand new saw, I don’t know if this is normal, or if I need to make an adjustment before operating the saw. I haven’t been able to find any info in the manual or online. The blade is the one that came with the saw. Is this okay? If not, any tips or advice on what to do? Thanks in advance!
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Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Umm clearly NOT ok to operate that way - at least that's my initial reaction.

The old Delta inserts are metal, but I can't tell what material this is made of (guessing it's not metal). I'm not exactly sure of the cause or the cure, but it seems like an alignment issue. I would not use it that way without direct confirmation from SS (or retailer) on how that is 'supposed to' line up.
 

pop-pop

Man with many vises
Corporate Member
I got a sweet deal on a SawStop Contractor saw with table extension off eBay a couple of weeks ago. Picked it up from the previous owner, who hadn’t even completed assembling it (his wife surprised him with a SS cabinet saw), and finally completed assembly today. While going over everything, I discovered that the blade isn’t centered in the zero clearance insert. …

Loosen the table bolts slightly and move the table a tad. Later you will need to do an alignment check but that will get you going.
 

Fred J

Fred
User
I won’t disagree with the advice already given but don’t hesitate to reach out to SS customer service. They are great with making sure you’re satisfied with your your saw.
 

Bming1

New User
Brandon
Thanks for the input, everyone! I’m going to try the suggestions here and see if I can sort this out.
 

Echd

C
User
Not to discount a potential alignment problem, but the zero clearance inserts are made so that the saw blade cuts the hole itself as you raise the blade. When I first assembled my PCS I did not have the ZCI perfectly locked down, and it jumped up a bit when I went to cut it. I stopped the cut, investigated, then put it back on and cut it cleanly. I wonder if he boogered it up similarly to how I almost did.

Does the riving knife line up fine in the pre-existing hole? If so, I would go ahead amd try cutting out the insert. I would want my zero clearance insert to actually be zero clearance and if there were a problem I'm sure sawstop will make it right, but if the cut is off center you're not going to be able to fill it back in. So long as the riving knife doesnt get stuck because of something weird I'd go ahead and cut it out and try and use it.

Honestly, unless the blade is incredibly loose or something is seriously wrong with the arbor, I dont see how it could have been cut off center if that was the blade used to cut it... since it cuts it's own clearance. Any chance the previous owner swapped his used insert for your shiny new one at some point? It just seems to me that even if alignment were messed up somehow, you would never notice at this phase unless you somehow changed the alignment between cutting the insert and now.
 

Berta

Berta
Corporate Member
Before moving the saw table, check alignment with the regular table inserts and the fence, if THAT is correct, Don’t Move The Table. The zero clearance inserts is not metal on a sawstop. Just lower the blade, fasten the insert down, I just use my fence, carefully. Turn on the saw and raise the blade. It’s fine.
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
I often take the easy way but I would just lower the blade below the throat plate and then let the blade cut it's way through the throat plate. The stock one is not meant to be zero clearance anyway. They sell those and they have no slot. But the riving knife could prevent this. You might have to remove it, raise the blade through the throat plate, then remove the plate and expand the slot for the riving knife.

My opinion is the SS throat plates are not so great and pretty darn expensive. So I bought a Colliflower throat plate for my PCS. It costs about $100 - so it is more expensive than a SS - but it is made of aluminum with little wooden inserts you can buy pretty cheaply or make your self. So it is a one time purchase. It lacks the nice lock down of the SS but stays in place fine if you adjust the positioning screws it has. The Colliflower will work for dado blades too.
 

Berta

Berta
Corporate Member
I often take the easy way but I would just lower the blade below the throat plate and then let the blade cut it's way through the throat plate. The stock one is not meant to be zero clearance anyway. They sell those and they have no slot. But the riving knife could prevent this. You might have to remove it, raise the blade through the throat plate, then remove the plate and expand the slot for the riving knife.

My opinion is the SS throat plates are not so great and pretty darn expensive. So I bought a Colliflower throat plate for my PCS. It costs about $100 - so it is more expensive than a SS - but it is made of aluminum with little wooden inserts you can buy pretty cheaply or make your self. So it is a one time purchase. It lacks the nice lock down of the SS but stays in place fine if you adjust the positioning screws it has. The Colliflower will work for dado blades too.
Aluminum, is not going to work on a SawStop.
 

Warped Woodwerks

.
Senior User
I have had 2 SS cabinet saws, both PCS, and both needed their table top aligned.... right from the factory.
I have ZERO experience with the other SS saws, but it appears you might need a table top alignment or what FredP said.. you have a thin kerf blade in a full kerf slot.

Get a dial indicator, feeler gauge, and then slap the dial on your miter gauge, then run it down the track and see how badly that indicator moves.

Hopefully, it is just a thin kerf blade in a full kerf slot.
 

Tarhead

Mark
Corporate Member
Before moving the saw table, check alignment with the regular table inserts and the fence, if THAT is correct, Don’t Move The Table. The zero clearance inserts is not metal on a sawstop. Just lower the blade, fasten the insert down, I just use my fence, carefully. Turn on the saw and raise the blade. It’s fine.
But take off the riving knife before do this! It will bend into the blade and kapow!
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
SawStop throat plates are phenolic. No issue with cutting them with a sawblade. The Colliflower throat plate is mostly aluminum but the opening is way too big to contact the blade. That opening is covered by little replaceable MDF inserts.
 

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