feather boards

[Tim Wagner]

Hello all,
Was wondering what the preferances were for feather boards. Do y'all make them or buy the magnetic ones? I figured if I get the magnetic ones then they could be placed any where on the table, opposed to having to make several diferant ones for various distances from the miterslot to the fence. If I do make them I would need to know what size T bolts and know the best kind of wood to make them out of. The other thing is how many do y'all generaly use at one time? I was thinking anywhere from 2-4 boards would be used at one time. After my little accident a couple weeks ago I don't whant to have to use my hands to hold the wood tight to the fence and down flat on the table. As far as premade ones are there any ones that are better than others I.E do some have stronger magnets than others?
These will be used on my PM2K

[glenn bradley]

I use them on the TS, RT and the BS so I have a variety. Home Depot sells the Ridgid (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100618240)badged Magswitch Universal (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18925&filter=featherboard) which I find very useful. I have one of each and the only diff is the color and the price.

I have two for the RT fence (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10645&filter=featherboard), and a couple sets of the stacked ones (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17197&filter=featherboard). Boy, the prices on these have sure gone up. Maybe making them isn't such a bad idea. I made my own stacking ones before the ones shown became available. It seems Wood magazine had an article on making them recently IIRC.

[Jason Hallowell]

I've always just used shop made ones, but just recieved a couple of the ridgid mag-switch ones for my birthday yesterday, and I'm excited to try them out. I have a feeling that the ease of use of the magnetic ones will lead to me using them more often on the tablesaw and bandsaw. I often skip using featherboards if I'm only making a few cuts. I'm afraid they won't be of much use on my router table though.

My shop made ones are a variety of styles and sizes, made from plywood, hardwoods, softwoods, and even a few of UHMW plastic. Several of them have long mounting slots cut in them, allowing for a wide range of positions and material sizes. For many applications I just clamp a scrap of tapered UHMW to the fence to provide the downward pressure.

For most applications I use two featherboards on the TS, one for horizontal pressure just before the material hits the blade, and one vertical one towards the rear of the blade. I use vertical ones on either side of the blade when ripping thinner stock. I most often use 3 on the router table, horizontal pressure on each side of the bit, and a vertical one just in front of being centered over the bit.

[Jason White]

Home Depot now sells the "Magswitch" ones for $40 (they're branded as RIDGID). I have a couple and use them on my tablesaw. They work great! Also, they're about $10 cheaper than the same ones you get at Woodcraft et al.

Jason


Hello all,
Was wondering what the preferances were for feather boards. Do y'all make them or buy the magnetic ones? I figured if I get the magnetic ones then they could be placed any where on the table, opposed to having to make several diferant ones for various distances from the miterslot to the fence. If I do make them I would need to know what size T bolts and know the best kind of wood to make them out of. The other thing is how many do y'all generaly use at one time? I was thinking anywhere from 2-4 boards would be used at one time. After my little accident a couple weeks ago I don't whant to have to use my hands to hold the wood tight to the fence and down flat on the table. As far as premade ones are there any ones that are better than others I.E do some have stronger magnets than others?
These will be used on my PM2K

[Peter Quinn]

I use shop made boards, on the TS I use those little rosseau nuts that allow them to tighten to the miter slot. They cost on average $48.88 LESS than the magnetic ones, the width of the feathers can be customized quickly for the work at hand, and when they wear out, they make nice kindling. I'd like to get a set of the magnetic ones for the convenience but I'd probably continue to use and make my own for many set ups.

[Lee Schierer]

For years I would occassionally use my shop made feather boards, but clamping them took time and never quite did the job as easily as I would have liked. I saw a demo at a wood show of the Grip Tite magnetic feather boards and was impressed (Mineare the original wood ones). I bought a pair along with the steel fence cover they sell. Now I use them every time I rip. I've also used them on the jointer and bandsaw. I keep them handy stuck to the legs of my TS where I can reach them easily. They go on in seconds and come off just as fast and do a great job every time.

Be sure to get the option side roller kit for ripping. The roller will automatically pull the ripped piece to the fence.http://www.grip-tite.com/2000web.JPG

[Kyle Iwamoto]

+1 on the Griptites. I like them. I also seen tham at a W/C show. I'll need to check out the BORG Rigid ones too. How do they get that to stick to the granite Saw?

Magnetic ones are nice, since you can stick them just about anywhere when not in use. As mentioned before....

[Stephen Edwards]

I like the single and double stack from Rockler. They're very sturdy and practical. I also bought some extra feather board hardware from Rockler. I modified one of those (cut off part of it) so that I can use the double stack on the BS. I had to cut it off so that it wouldn't hit the fence guide rails. Works perfectly for resawing.

I've yet to make a shop built one.

My first one was a cheap one bought from the auction site. I keep it hanging around to remind me not to buy anymore of those!

[Bill Huber]

I have a mag one I use on the table saw and band saw but I still use my Bench Dogs a lot. I have for Bench Dogs and will stack them on the router table at time, they can be used on the table and the fence.

I can use them on the router table, the sander and even now and then on the drill press with clamps.


http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=19507&filter=bench%20dog

[Cody Colston]

I use shop made feather boards on the RT and TS...rarely on the band saw.

Isn't this thread the cue for Nikki to post pics of his shop-made feather boards/rollers? They are a bit unusual.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I have two pairs of Bench Dog feather boards. Two are set up for fence work, and two are set up for miter track work. I use them mostly on the router table, but also on the table saw from time to time.

Doc

[Nissim Avrahami]

Ok Cody...I'm in... :)

For the long big boards, I use this one...the rollers are tilted forward so during the travel of the board, it is also pushed down to the table...

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Short%20fence%20rip/0002.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Short%20fence%20rip/0004.jpg

For smaller boards, I use the "Hand held feather roller"...

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/Picture%20frame%20WIP/06.jpg

niki