Anti-kickback Roller System

[andrewm]

On page 2 of the Tilgear Autumn Sale leaflet that they have just sent out they have an Anti-kickback Roller System for use with table saws and planers. Looks to be the same as this one from Woodcraft in the US.

Does anyone have any experience of this and is it any good or would a pair of homemade feather boards do just as well? It might make a good addition to my Christmas Present List.

Andrew

 

[Philly]

Andrew
I have a pair of those - very handy for cutting sheet material. But not so useful on other stuff - they can be fiddly to set up and mounting them can be a mission, depending on the type of fence your saw has.
But for the money, worth a go.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[wizer]

Philly, does that mean you only use it on Sunday at lunchtime?

 

[Niki]

I read about them in many American forums. They are also called "Board Buddies".

They turn only to one direction, holds the workpiece down to the table and because of the slight angle between the rollers and the rip fence - they push and keep the workpiece attached to the rip fence.

I'm not sure how they will react in case of "Reaction Wood" that will spring toward the fence.

On one forum, one complained that the cast just broke under normal operation...

Another problem that was reported by a few guys was that, if the rip fence is not clamped also on the far side, the fence lifts up...

But in general, many good reports...

I made my own version but use it only with large sheets or in case that I cannot use feather boards like, straightening one side of a board.

Of course, they will limit the minimum width that you can cut (between the blade and the fence).

For cutting solid wood, I always use a feather board (actually - rollers) and short fence.

They come in three colors (I don't know the difference) and you can see them also here
http://grizzly.com/products/searchresul ... ?q=buddies

Regards
niki

 

[Philly]

Argh.......edited to read "sheet material", not "sheep material". Thanks Tom :roll:
Cheers
Philly

 

[andrewm]

Thanks, I didn't realise that there were in fact three varieties. I guess that the ones for the radial arm saw rotates in the opposite direction to those for the table saw.

Philly, which one do you have? The one concern that I have with the one-way rotation is that if you stall the saw blade it is impossible to pull the timber back to release it easily. Don’t know to what extent this would be an issue.

The other thing I will need to look at is how I can fix them to the fence of m TS2000.

Andrew

 

[Philly]

Andrew
The yellow ones from Rutlands.
Cheers
Philly

 

[ivan]

I got a pair from Leichtung Workshop in the US (phoned for mail order), as these had got the gong in a Fine WW test. The key point was ability to handle up to about 3" with little or no adjsuting. They work quite well, and even keep sheet stock tight against the (extra long for this) fence. Reasonable price too. Have a look on the FW website for the review (early to mid 1990's?)

 

[Chris Knight]

I used these when ripping on a RAS and for that they were quite useful but for most other stuff, setting them up was a pain. I sold them along with my RAS some years ago and haven't missed them.