Power feeder recommendations

[Jared Sankovich]

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?

Failed as in the design just didn't really catch on. The delta was a modern take on the older style feeders.

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[Rod Sheridan]

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.

Why do you have to remove the riving knife?

I run a standard feeder on my saw with riving knife installed………Regards, Rod

[Tom Yaegle]

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

I have a PM 4 wheel 1hp up for sale trying to get $800 for it. It is heavy and I would not want to move around on machines. I am in NW PA.

[Michael Burnside]

Why do you have to remove the riving knife?

I run a standard feeder on my saw with riving knife installed………Regards, Rod

If you read the comments/responses by the inventor and watch the videos you'll see the recommended use case is just in front and just behind the blade. It's a whole conversation over there if you're bored, with a long response from the creator as well.

[Rod Sheridan]

If you read the comments/responses by the inventor and watch the videos you'll see the recommended use case is just in front and just behind the blade. It's a whole conversation over there if you're bored, with a long response from the creator as well.

Thanks, I'll look that up............Regards, Rod.

[al ladd]

There are distinct advantages to a fence mounted power feeder. The Unifeeder was awkward, and seemed to rely mostly on adapters made for the unisaw and Rockwell shaper.There was a similar machine called the King feeder. But a fence mounted feeder can be used for wide panels without special accommodations, and the action of pulling work into the fence doesn't cause fence deflection the way it does with a conventional feeder with wheels canted towards the fence from one side or the other of the fence. Both of those older units suffered from now antiquated AC motor systems using gears or adjustable pulleys for transmission and speed change. They'd be pretty cool with the motor system of the baby feeder.

The baby feeder suffers from poor wheels, only 1-1/4" wide, usually made from rubber that hardened over time losing grip. It also is a PIA to adjust, as the canted arm and universal joint requires multiple moves for simple adjustment for height. Most users find it difficult to mount and change from machine to machine, such that there's now a magnetic base for it for sale that costs nearly as much as the feeder. It's slowest speed of 6.5 fpm is too fast for most resawing, and it only bears against that 1-1/4" of height.

The Little Proteus power feeder is powered by a brushless motor drill, and it looks like a toy. But if your need isn't for heavy duty table saw ripping or shaper work it satisfies many task requirements, and mounts in less than a minute in router table, band saw or table saw. For small band saws it's the only feeder that will fit that actually is configured for resawing, and can go down to 2 fpm. With a little ingenuity, it could be mounted on a jointer. It costs less than the baby feeder, and it's American made......