Board Buddies Good? or Not Worth the $?

[Joe Mioux]

I am seeking opinions on Board Buddies and would like some feed back on them.

Thanks Joe

[Brad Olson]

I personally have not used Board buddies, but consider the Grip tite magnetic featherboard. I have used these a lot and I like them a lot. They put pressure both sideways and downward and can be put about anywhere on your cast iron top. They also have a new accessory where you can add a roller like Board Buddies. This coupled with a MJ splitter and you would be set for TS safety (beyond a guard)

The reason I mention this is that the biggest complaing about BB's is that they interfere with the cut and where your push stick goes on narrower rips (they interfere with rips up to 6-8" IIRC). Obviously both will interfere with any narrow rips

http://www.grip-tite.com/2000web.JPG (http://www.griptite.com)

www.grip-tite.com

for more info.

[Richard Wolf]

Joe, I have the Board Buddies on my router table and love them. They work very well by holding the work down and into the fence. I think they are an excellent investment in both saftey and quality of work.

Richard

[Brian Riley]

I can't say anything in regards to the Board Buddies but I do use the Grip Tites along with the Gripper push blocks. Using this combination I feel much safer in regards to kickbacks (or lack thereof).

Brian

[Bruce Page]

I have a set of Board Buddies collecting dust. I found that they will lift the Biesemeyer fence off the table if you apply anything more than minimal pressure on the board. They might work great on router tables or a different type of TS fence.

[Jim Becker]

I have a product similiar to board buddies, but rarely use them. In fact about the only time I do is when I'm ripping large pieces of sheet goods...something that will be less of a table saw chore now that I have an 8' rail for the Festool ATF55. I will say that the wheels do work as advertised and I'll keep them around for times when I'm cutting thin sheet stock on the table saw when there is more than enough room to use them safely. (These things are NOT what you want for narrow stock as they get in the way of push blocks)

I also have the magnetic feather boards like Brad shows and they get more use all the time now.

[Don Henthorn Smithville, TX]

I like the hold downs sold by Woodworker's Supply better than the Board Buddies because you don't need the track and they are much easier to shift from tool to tool. I have ripped 1/4" pieces using then.

[Mark Singer]

I think they are great! I use one only for most operation set forward of the blade and the second I add for dado and rabett cuts. This adds great safety and really works well. If the front of the board is held down it can't kick back

[craig carlson]

Hi, I haven't had my "Buds" off the saw in over 10 years.
Craig

[Bill Arnold]

Joe,

I asked the same question on another forum several months ago and got similar responses to those posted here. It seems to be a love-hate relationship -- those who have learned to use them really like them and others don't care for them. I decided on the Grip-Tites (GT2000 Pro package), although they cost a lot more. I set up a saddle fence for my tablesaw to hold the steel plate and can use them individually on my bandsaw.

Regards,

[Mark Singer]

It becomes a natural part of the saw set-up. I have a track on top of the fence and you can adjust them laerally as well as forward and backward. The side of the wheel is angled, so it can apply pressure , both down and toward the fence. Since the wheels only turn one way....it will hold the piece even while the blade is cutting it....you can remove the push stick and walk around the saw if you need to. For dados it applies a nice even downward pressure, so the bottom of the dado is even without high and low spots. There was a link on this before a whils back....Check these pictures...

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=5456&page=2&pp=15&highlight=board+buddies