Will Board Buddies mount on a Ridgid TS3650 Table saw fence?

[Greg L. Brown]

I have a question about Board Buddies mounting. I have a Ridgid 10" contractor's table saw (TS3650). It has a decent aluminum fence that came with it, with "T-tracks" already milled in the fence. On the top of the fence, it has two "T-tracks." I measured the tracks and they are 5/16" wide x 7/16" wide (5/16" at the skinner part and 7/16" at the thickest part-- if that makes any sense at all).

Here are the board buddies I was thinking about getting: http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?offerings_id=11262

Will these mount directly to my Ridgid TS3650 fence? Or is there some kind of special mounting mechanism I need? Looking at previous posts, it looked like Peachtree Woodworking sells Board Buddies "mounting blocks": http://www.ptreeusa.com/tablesaw_list.htm (see picture third row down).
Although I don't know if those mounting blocks will fit my 7/16" T-track on my fence.

Attached is a close up picture of the Ridgid TS3650 rip fence. Anyone know if Board Buddies will fit my rip fence?

Thanks,
Greg

[Steve Griffin]

Hi Greg,
I used a slightly earlier model of your table saw with board buddies for years. The T track is perfect for mounting the wheels- If I remember correctly I needed to purchase some nuts and bolts and mounted the board buddies directly using two of the provided holes. I also purchased a socket head screw driver to make repositioning the wheels easy.

I certainly recommend the board buddies--they really do work as advertised to hold the wood down and tighter to the fence.

-Steve

[Ken Massingale]

Greg,
I use the Buddies with the mounting blocks on my 3650, no problem at all.
ken

[Steve Griffin]

Greg,
I don't think you need the mounting blocks or the t-track accessory. Here's a pic of how I did mine with nuts and bolts. It looks like the new ones might even come with the t track bolt.

Also, since I need some T-track for a traditional fence, I couldn't help but notice the board buddies are $15 cheaper at Grizzly.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Board-Buddies-For-Table-Saws-Yellow/G2370

-Steve

[Mike Gager]

do these work better then a traditional featherboard?

[Steve Griffin]

do these work better then a traditional featherboard?


yes and no. For really small pieces or situations where you need a maximum force, a featherboard is probably better. But the buddies are much easier to set up(or remove) and they apply force both down and towards the fence. I especially like them for sheet goods. -Steve

[Rod Sheridan]

I'll provide a contrary opinion about the board buddies.

I purchased a set of the yellow wheeled ones with two mounting tracks for my tablesaw.

The saw has a Biesemeyer fence, so you can't obtain much vertical force with the buddies.

I eventually gave up on them and use a feeder for those situations where the Board Buddies would have seemed ideal.

Regards, Rod.

[Steve Griffin]

I'll provide a contrary opinion about the board buddies.

I purchased a set of the yellow wheeled ones with two mounting tracks for my tablesaw.

The saw has a Biesemeyer fence, so you can't obtain much vertical force with the buddies.

I eventually gave up on them and use a feeder for those situations where the Board Buddies would have seemed ideal.

Regards, Rod.

Ah, thanks for your post Rod. While they worked wonderfully on the Rigid fence, which locks in the front and rear, I can see how weak they would be on a Biesemeyer style fence. I think I'll skip my plans to mount them on my other other saw.

-Steve

[Greg L. Brown]

Thanks for the helpful posts; I think I'll get a pair of Board Buddies (and it sounds like I don't even need the mounting blocks).

-Greg