Magswitch featherboard - safety questions

[scott vroom]

I'm new to woodworking and this the first featherboard I have used. I was surprised at how easy it was to pull the board backwards with the Magswitch featherboards pressing down (very tightly) on side and top of the board. I can't imagine this product preventing a kickback. Am I misunderstanding the purpose of the featherboard? Is it's main function to hold stock firmly to the table and fence for accuragte cuts? Is it supposed to prevent kickbacks? I could use some good advice, maybe even a short tutorial on table saw safety and the latest hot products to prevent injury and kickback. I'm open to any and all opinions/recommendations.

Thanks-

[Jeff Sudmeier]

In my opinion featherboards prevent kickbacks, but not by stopping them.

What I mean is that they keep the board pressed against the fence and the table and not binding against the blade so the board doesn't "want" to kick back.

Once a board wants to kickback I haven't used a feather board that will stop the board once it has started to kickback...

Make sense?

[John Coloccia]

I'm new to woodworking and this the first featherboard I have used. I was surprised at how easy it was to pull the board backwards with the Magswitch featherboards pressing down (very tightly) on side and top of the board. I can't imagine this product preventing a kickback. Am I misunderstanding the purpose of the featherboard? Is it's main function to hold stock firmly to the table and fence for accuragte cuts? Is it supposed to prevent kickbacks? I could use some good advice, maybe even a short tutorial on table saw safety and the latest hot products to prevent injury and kickback. I'm open to any and all opinions/recommendations.

Thanks-

I think you're thinking of material rejection, when the material comes straight back out of the saw (as opposed to kickback where it's pinched at the fence and launched....hopefully over your left shoulder). The feathers won't really prevent that. The reason it's feathered is so it can maintain pressure and still allow it to move forward freely.

I don't think there's anything you could possibly attach to any part of your saw that could actually stop a kickback. I did a rough calculation for another thread, and the energy that goes into the board, in a tiny fraction of a second, is gargantuan. I believe it would tear apart whatever device you had attached to whatever part of the saw.

It does help PREVENT kickback, however, in the sense that if the stock stays tight against your fence and table, the kickback simply can not occur. For a true kickback to occur, the wood has to get caught up in the back of the blade...that's the only way to pinch the wood between the blade and the fence, launching it backwards at high speeds. Sometimes an ornery piece of wood will bend away from the fence after a cut due to internal stress, and you may have to depend on the riving knife/splitter to do it's job. Often the kerf will start to close up and my first indication is hearing the blade cutting differently. I usually just shut down the saw at that point, being careful not to get directly behind the blade (i.e. in the line of fire). Some people muscle it through.

Along with this, the featherboard allows you to use a push stick or shoe more safely. It can be difficult to keep the stock tight against the fence and table with a push device alone. The featherboards don't take the place of good technique, but they certainly do help, especially on thin, long stock.

I'm guessing different people are going to have different opinions on this...LOL :)

[Frederick Rowe]

You are correct in that the feather board's purpose is to exert moderate steady pressure against the piece of wood as it is moved along the fence. On a table saw, this pressure against the fence reduces the likelihood of the wood being cut moving away fence. When the wood being cut moves away from the fence, it is essentially pivoting on the saw blade which results in one side of the kerf (the space left from a saw cut) engaging the rising teeth of the saw blade. If a tooth catches the wood here, it launches the piece of wood at about 220 mph in the direction of the saw operator; i.e. kickback.

The most important rule of feather board use is to never set up a feather board anywhere behind the leading edge of the blade. If you do, you can/will cause the kerf to close, which can lead to (best case) binding on the blade resulting in a rough cut or burn marks, or (worst case) the teeth catching the wood resulting in kick back. The only place the teeth should engage the wood is at the leading edge where there is no kerf. This is also why you should never reverse feed a partially cut piece of wood while the blade is still spinning.

You should never cut wood on a table saw without a fence or crosscutting fixture such as a miter gauge or sled. Unless the wood can pass the blade without disturbing the kerf's position to the blade, it is not safe to cut on a table saw. This does not apply to a band saw, since the blade passes down through the wood on a vertical plane - where as on a table saw the blade actually passes through the wood twice. For all but the first few inches of the cut; the teeth rise upward through the kerf then down through the uncut wood. For this reason, a band saw can be used safely without a fence since if the trailing edge of the blade makes contact with the inside of the kerf, it can only result in some burning or some light marks - there are no teeth on the trailing edge of the blade and any force imparted to the wood being cut is down. Additionally, the band saw blade is very narrow compared to the exposed portion of a 10" table saw blade.

Google "kickback" and you should find some videos/photos illustrating the principles I've described. The table saw is in many ways the most dangerous power tool in the shop. Yet, it is usually the first purchased and used with the least amount of experience. If you don't feel entirely comfortable with a cut. Stop. Step back and think about what you are about to do. Use push sticks when possible.

[Walt Caza]

Hi Scott,
As you have been told, featherboards can assist keeping stock along the fence,
but would offer no help once a kickback has started.

Since you asked about other devices, here is a link to an old Creek thread
by Roy Wall with further pics from Mark Singer.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=48448
Always good to know your options.

Either of a pair of widely recommended tablesaw books would serve you well.
The Tablesaw book by Kelly Mehler
http://www.amazon.com/Table-Saw-Book-Completely-Revised/dp/1561584266/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256049693&sr=1-3

And a fresher offering from the illustrious Taunton is a jam-packed gem.
http://www.amazon.com/Tauntons-Complete-Illustrated-Tablesaws-Taunton/dp/1600850111/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256049693&sr=1-1

Compared to the cost of the saw, and the cost of flesh lost, these books
are a bargain.

In my shop, rule number one is
bleeding sucks

play safe,
Walt

[scott vroom]

Thanks to all for your comments....very educational. I've learned some important things about TS ssfety, which is AWAYS a good thing.

[Jerome Hanby]

I noticed the same thing. I wasn't so much worried about kickback as I was about using them with the router table and having them slide. I was playing with the Ridgid model at the Borgso I'm assuming that it's the same "problem" that you were seeing with the magswitch.