power feeder setup, use on table saw

[abram godshall]

i just bought a 1/4hp power feeder off of craigslist. it was there 2 weeks ago but i missed it. the guy who bought it decided not to use it and again it was sold on craigslist and this time i got it. to make it even stranger, he is a smc contributor so i sort of knew him. small world.

anyway... i want to use it to rip cut materials:
how do i set it up (position) it on my saw?
how do i determine the feed rate?

any pictures of your setup would be appreciated or reference books would also help.

thank you in advance,
abram godshall

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Abram, for mounting locations on a tablesaw, consult the manual for your feeder.

I have an HC 308 3 wheel feeder, and for a tablesaw the recommended mounting location is the right rear of the table.

The feeder is set up so that the saw arbor is between the first wheel and the second, when counted from the operator position.

A slight toe in towards the fence is required.

Feed rates are normally based upon the figures provided by the tooling supplier and typical values per chip can be;

- softwood rip 0.008 to 0.035"

- softwood crosscut 0.004 to 0.008"

- hardwoods 0.002 to 0.006"

- veneered plywood 0.001 to 0.004"

So for example if we want to rip softwood, start at a mid value such as 0.022" per tooth.

For a 24 tooth rip blade at 4,000 rpm feed rate would be

0.022" X 24 X 4,000RPM =2,112 inches per minute or 176 feet per minute.

If your saw can provide enough horsepower, and your feeder is capable of those speeds, and the finish is acceptable, that's how fast your feeder would be set.

Note that my feeder has a maximum speed of 38 feet per minute, so that's what I'd use, if the saw had enough power.

For veneer ply try 0.002" chip, 60 tooth blade, 4,000RPM

0.002" X 60T X 4,000RPM =480 inches per minute or 40 feet per minute.

As you can see, the mid range feed speeds that blades are capable of is far higher than what a person using a saw manually could achieve.

In addition, for optimum finish, feed rates are often reduced, however in general the cutter will last longest at higher feed rates.

Regards, Rod.

[Walter Plummer]

Power feeders are great on the saw. I set the fence to dimension and then clamp a board behind the out feed end of the saw fence to brace it against the feeders push. This may not be an issue if your saw has a back rail for the fence but I like the added support on a Biesmeyer style fence.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Abram, I meant to take some photos of mine to post here, but haven't got it done. Good advice from Rod and Walter though, so I don't know if photos would add anything anyway.

On my combo machine, the feeder dosen't quite make it as far forward as Rod recommends. The first wheel is pretty much at the back of the blade. This works ok, but a couple inches further forward would give complete consistancy for the whole cut, including the first inch.

My feeder mounts on a folding bracket, which is nice because it lets you easily get everything out of the way when you want to run sheet goods, or crosscut something. You may want to consider the removability of your feeder if your saw does more than just rip.