Question about power feeders

[Rick Reinsma]

Hi Everyone greetings from Brooklin Ontario, I am thinking of getting a power feeder and was curious what you would recommend and why. Basically looking at Delta or General Int. How do these feeders track?... Thanks Rick

[Ian Barley]

Hi Rick - Welcome to the Creek. Hope you stick around and join the community.

There are lots of variables which affect the usefulness of a power feeder for a specific task. As a general rule of thumb bigger is better than smaller but the truth is that so much of the function of a feeder depends on the quality of the mounting etc.

Can you tell us a bit more about where you plan on using the power feeder (which machine(s)) and what sort of work you are thinking of doing with it? I suspect that with a bit more background the folks here will be able to give you some great advice.

[Rick Reinsma]

HI Ian, Probably will use it on my router table for cutting raised panels,stiles and rails. I don't want something too big but also was wondering if I could move it from the router table set up( which I plan on putting on my General 350 Table saw table so I can take advantage of the Fence and existing table) to my DJ-20 jointer? If I get one might as well use it as much as I can....Thanks Rick

[John Weber]

Rick,

For that you can get away with a 1/4 hp unit, I would stay away from the baby 1/8 & 1/6 hp feeders. I like Steff/Maggi, and Comatic makes most of the other feeders for Delta, etc... Here is my 1/2hp Steff:

http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picsw04/powerfeedernew2.jpg

I tried a 1/4 hp feeder on my shaper, but needed more reach and a bigger motor was only a bit more.

John

[Ian Barley]

I agree with John. The unit he shows is about the size where the power feeder gets useful. I know some folks have success with the smaller "versafeed" type units but I just could not get mine to work. Everytime I used it the adjustment points gave out under pressure and it was more trouble than it was worth. Now sitting in the bottom of the "seemed like a good idea" cupboard gathering dust.

Rigidity in the fixing and the column adjustments is very important. That is why bigger is better. To translate rotation into forward motion of stock you have to get a fair pressure acting between the rollers and the stock. I think that this might be a problem if you are thinking of using a router table mounted as an extension wing to the table saw, unless you get a very sold connection between them any deflection of the table under the pressure from the rollers is gonna cause problems.

I use a powerfeeder on my spindle moulder (shaper?) where it pays great dividends not only because it is less work but because the uniform feed speed pushes up quality and the fact that my hands are nowhere near the cutter makes me much more comfortable. I have never used it with the router but an sure that there are others here who can speak to that use.

As far as moving it, these are heavy, cumbersome items and I definitely would not want to dismount mine between operations. The time taken to remove and reattach would be a real trial and the readjustment to each machine would make it very time consuming.

[Michael Perata]

Rick

I have the Delta 36-850 1/4 HP unit and bought this unit only because I had no 220v for the unit.

It is small at 74# (small?) and does do the job but if I had it to do over I would definitely look at the Delta 1+ HP or Steff units.

[Rob Russell]

FYI, if you are interested in the Maggi-Steff units, look at the Felder feeders. They are nothing more than rebadged Maggi-Steffs, but they are frequently available for less than the original M-S brand.

Be careful, though - I went that route and ended up buying some Felder machinery to mount the feeder on. Whatever $ I saved by buying the Felder feeder over the M-S was definitely lost.

[Paul Di Biasio]

I bought my powerfeeder from Felder but it came as a Steff (old green).

I use it on the jointer, shaper, table saw and router. To pull it off and not break my back, I had a custom made steel cart with 1/4 steel plate welded to the top. Now I can position it anywhere in my shop. I can't say enough about the increased safety when using a powerfeeder. Its a breeze when you are doing a lot of ripping or shaping.

I made a horizontal router table, with dust collection, that attaches to the cart. This way I can take advantage of cheaper router bits when possible. The quality of the result is very good.

Below is also my raised panel hood that I made (I think it was from Lonnie Birds book). The design for the front hold down was from my old high school industrial arts book. I like the design because the cutter is never exposed during operation. When I only have a few panels to raise, it does a great job without the feeder.

[Michael Perata]

Paul

Even with the great picture of your feeder, I still can not figure how you are keeping it from rising up with stock. Are you clamping the unit to the side of your MM Combo (I have a CU300)?

[Paul Di Biasio]

Michael

Here are some pictures of the feeder cart attached to my MM combo in the 3 positions I use. Also, I use the cart for storing the mortising table.

The cart design and invoice are in the photo section of MMUG.

[Michael Perata]

Paul

Thanks for the pictures. Now all we need to do is figure out a way to store the mortising attachment without a heavy lift. :o

[lou sansone]

Rick,

For that you can get away with a 1/4 hp unit, I would stay away from the baby 1/8 & 1/6 hp feeders. I like Steff/Maggi, and Comatic makes most of the other feeders for Delta, etc... Here is my 1/2hp Steff:

http://www.weberwoodworking.com/picsw04/powerfeedernew2.jpg

I tried a 1/4 hp feeder on my shaper, but needed more reach and a bigger motor was only a bit more.

John
I agree with john .... I have the maggi 1 hp unit and it is a tank... they are expensive, but I think very well made. BTW it is not only the feeder that should be well constructed, but the ajustment arm as well.. the maggi units are very well machined