Power feeder recommendations

[Andy Giddings]

Mine came with the cord and plug already in place (120VAC). As its a DC motor, the voltage input shouldn't be relevant to the motor's torque. As Joe commented, power seems comparable with a regular AC motor of 1HP, except its lighter and cheaper to run

[J.R. Rutter]

I just went with the 3 ph, since I have an outlet set up that way on the shaper. Kyle also swapped the rubber wheels out for split poly wheels for $60. Shipping was under $40 to WA.

[Martin Wasner]

I just went with the 3 ph, since I have an outlet set up that way on the shaper. Kyle also swapped the rubber wheels out for split poly wheels for $60. Shipping was under $40 to WA.

Let us know how you like it. I may have to pull the trigger on one

[J.R. Rutter]

Let us know how you like it. I may have to pull the trigger on one

So far so good. It does have the typical feeder gear/chain noise, but I only notice it with the shop quiet (which will never happen in real life). I like the wheels. The combination of narrow profile split style and poly makes a conformable, grippy pusher. This should work really well for certain deep profiles that I run where only 1/2 of the wheel on the old feeder rode the stock coming out of the cutter. While I would have been happy with 6-8 speed buttons, I do like the display to get repeatable speeds dialed in. I'm not sure about using the taper fit linkage on the arm as a pivot vs the collar around the motor on a traditional feeder. Maybe with the right lubricant and tightening torque, this will be easier than it is now. I also miss the chip brushes on the Maggi because they kept long parts from tipping off of the shaper top after they passed by the last wheel.

I typically buy 1/4" plywood for flat panel doors and my door cutters have 6mm groove. For some species, like alder and maple, the panels need to get skimmed just on the outer 3/8" with a reverse raise cutter. Because the show face is down, I like to use the absolute minimum pressure to avoid marring the face. This feeder did a better job than the Maggi with yellow poly wheels in terms of minimizing too-deep cuts from warped panels using a height that had maybe 1/32" of suspension travel and a fast 50 FPM speed. Supposedly, you can set a speed that it will default to, then dial it up or down as needed. I will play around with that over the next couple of weeks.

Pics just cause they are fun:

[Andy Giddings]

Thanks for the pics and comments JR. Your feedback about the wheels matches what I've found so far - they grip really well and I'm finding 2-3mm of compression is plenty. I've got used to the pivot although its a bit unnerving when the weight of the feeder causes the taper to drop suddenly :-)

[George Yetka]

Resurrecting an old post here but I too am in the market for a feeder. Plan is to use it for 3 maybe 4 machines. Sawstop 3hp/Router table 3-1/4hp/ Jointer 4hp and maybe 3hp bandsaw. Typically I would just get the biggest but is that a waste? Should I get a medium or light duty unit instead based on the machines?

I figure a mag base for the table saw, Clamp on base for router table, And I will need to attach a pedestal to the jointer.

[Dave Sabo]

Suggest you think about what you REALLY need / want a feeder for.

A feeder that is ideal for running door profiles on a router table ain’t gonna work on a bandsaw for resawing and vice versa.

You’ll need a bit more power for a 4hp jointer with 12+” of cut too. A 1/2”hp feeder or bigger isn’t exactly easy to move around either.

[George Yetka]

Suggest you think about what you REALLY need / want a feeder for.

A feeder that is ideal for running door profiles on a router table ain’t gonna work on a bandsaw for resawing and vice versa.

You’ll need a bit more power for a 4hp jointer with 12+” of cut too. A 1/2”hp feeder or bigger isn’t exactly easy to move around either.

Primarily i want it for jointer, thats the tool that hurts my back the most

[Brian Holcombe]

Between the feeder and the stand, they're often pretty heavy, so probably best to commit it to a given tool.

I have the little micro Comatic on my router table, its pretty good for that purpose but it's under-structured for heavier work and it wont run parts faster than the lowest speed setting but otherwise a neat thing to have for that machine.

I've run this little feeder on the tablesaw occasionally but it's such a PITA to swap them back and forth. That said, I'd go heavy enough that you can mount the support pretty far away from the fence so that it has a pretty broad range.

I put the mid sized Comatic bandsaw feeder on the bandsaw, it's great for everything except large resawing. And FYI, most bandsaw fences are not designed for putting the amount of pressure a feeder applies. I had to beef up the pin and bolt that retain my fence to square. The original design would push out of square fairly easily, so I ended up boring out the mount, installing a 16mm shoulder bolt with a 24mm shoulder diameter and replacing the 8mm roll pin with a 13mm solid steel pin. If it breaks again I'll replace it with the proper roller fence. This feeder runs too fast for resawing, even at the slowest speed, even on a 5hp bandsaw with a 1.3TPI carbide blade.

On the restored Martin I have an old Festo feeder that I restored, that thing is amazing. 8 speeds and built like an absolute tank. I replaced the wheels with some new fancy ones from Western Roller and it is smooth as can be. Absolute pleasure to run.

[Rod Sheridan]

Resurrecting an old post here but I too am in the market for a feeder. Plan is to use it for 3 maybe 4 machines. Sawstop 3hp/Router table 3-1/4hp/ Jointer 4hp and maybe 3hp bandsaw. Typically I would just get the biggest but is that a waste? Should I get a medium or light duty unit instead based on the machines?

I figure a mag base for the table saw, Clamp on base for router table, And I will need to attach a pedestal to the jointer.

Hi George, as other have indicated a 1/2 HP standard feeder works fine for saw, jointer and shaper in my shop.

I think it would be too big for a router table.

Mine is mounted on a saw/shaper and I swivel it 180 degrees to run on the jointer outfeed table.

You’re not going to want to try moving it from machine to machine as it will be well over 50 Kg.

Regards, Rod

[Mike Rambour]

I can't recommend it since I don't have yet, but I purchased Auto-Cut on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...?ref=user_menu
I like many features of it, magnetic hold down to the saw, ability to turn 90 degrees to be used on router tables. Easy on and easy off the table saw, to me it a perfect design but as I said, I don't have it YET so cant say how good it will be in the real world but the marketing is good It has been around a few years in different versions, so i felt pretty safe buying it.

[Michael Burnside]

I can't recommend it since I don't have yet, but I purchased Auto-Cut on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...?ref=user_menu
I like many features of it, magnetic hold down to the saw, ability to turn 90 degrees to be used on router tables. Easy on and easy off the table saw, to me it a perfect design but as I said, I don't have it YET so cant say how good it will be in the real world but the marketing is good It has been around a few years in different versions, so i felt pretty safe buying it.

Yea I saw this myself. I'm still pondering the idea after I had to build 12 maple drawer boxes recently. Having to remove the riving knife is about the only thing I didn't love about the design.

[George Yetka]

Thanks for the replies. I think Im going to aim at setting up a post next to my jointer. I will base everything on that.

[Jared Sankovich]

I can't recommend it since I don't have yet, but I purchased Auto-Cut on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...?ref=user_menu
I like many features of it, magnetic hold down to the saw, ability to turn 90 degrees to be used on router tables. Easy on and easy off the table saw, to me it a perfect design but as I said, I don't have it YET so cant say how good it will be in the real world but the marketing is good It has been around a few years in different versions, so i felt pretty safe buying it.

Someone re-invented the failed delta unifeeder

Screenshot_20240207_141221_Chrome.jpg

[Michael Burnside]

What made it "failed"? I know power feeders aren't all that typical on saws or prevalent in a lot of ships, so was it a financial thing or was it design?