versafeeder woes

[Terry Therneau]

I picked up a used versa-feeder from a shop that was closing, supposedly very little use and it looks it. I set it up and tried it today on my Delta HD shaper, with no success at all. The wheels slip very easily: I can hold a board back easily by hand. On further look the wheels are very soft, not much harder than a wax crayon, yellow, about 7/16 thick material on a 2" hub. I can push a phillips screwdriver all the in without much effort or bury a fingernail. The walnut scrap that slipped has 3 nice "crayon marks" on it. Has this just been sitting on a shelf too long?
The feeder and manual are nearly a dead ringer for the Grizzly baby feeder. I paid about half which seemed fair at the time. A new set of wheels is $48 on Amazon.

Terry T.

[Lee Schierer]

If the tires are natural rubber, they can develop a varnish like glaze when exposed to light for a period of time. Try scuffing the surface with sand paper to see if you can get more traction.

[Martin Wasner]

How much pressure are you putting on the piece? I usually figure about a ¼" of squish.

Wheels are cheap and they're likely the culprit. Chances are they're shot. It doesn't take much use, or time just sitting for them to go down in performance.

[Terry Therneau]

I have one of the wheels off. Holding it in my hand and with firm pressure, it slides right across a board (or a formica counter) leaving what looks like a crayon streak behind. It cleans the wheel off real nice but does not seem to accomplish anything else. Heavy pressure leaves a thicker streak and a flat on the wheel. This thing is closer in hardness to a wax toilet ring than it is to a skate wheel. My fingernail doesn't dent, it slices.

Question 2: should I just order replacements from Amazon or Grizzly, or step up to western roller?

Terry T

[Patrick Walsh]

My power feeder has the original wheels on it. They are a pita!

When i have trouble i run the machine while holding a rag full of laquer thinner to them. I the. Scuff them like 120 gritt sand paper. I then clean again with laquer thinner. If that does not do it i wax my tables or the equivalent, i use a Felder product and it normaly suffices for a time.

Like you i should just purchase new wheels. With Western Roller not answering the phone i just threw in the towel.

[Larry Edgerton]

The wheels leave a mark when they slide. The wheels should not slide. Could be that the wheels need replacement, or it could be that the small feeder arm on you feeder will not supply enough pressure. Even with my big ones occasionally I get some slippage and stop and spray the table with Top-Cote. Make sure your table and fence are slippery. Then run some stock and put some additional pressure on the feeder with your hand pushing down on the feeder and see if that changes things. That will answer that question. They may have soft wheels on hat feeder to make up for the smallish arm if it is the feeder that I am thinking of.

[Mike Heidrick]

I personally think baby versa feeders are a scam at router table users. The mount has flex and pressure was always an issue even with new wheels. Get a 1hp feeder and you know what a feeder is supposed to be.