featherboard. Looking for UK sources

[pe2dave]

I've been watching a video, in which a featherboard is used vertically to keep
down the wood as it exits a sawtable. Rather neat. See http://www.workbenchmagazine.com/main/w ... video.html . Its all about creating thin strips on a table saw (hint from this forum, thanks ).

If you watch it, there's a triangular, orange plastic featherboard. I'm looking
for something similar I can buy in the UK. For this I'd rather buy than make one.
Any recommendations please?


( See http://www.workbenchmagazine.com/main/w ... 1.html#rip for the full article)

TIA

Dave[/url]

 

[WellsWood]

Yet another idea from our cousins over the pond on how to lose fingers :roll:

For featherboards try this

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Dave

You mean like this one at Rutlands.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[pe2dave]

Yet another idea from our cousins over the pond on how to lose fingers :roll:

For featherboards try this

Thanks Mark. Did you think it unsafe?

This seems to be the same beast in the video? Try the right search string in Google and I get far better results :?

Dave

 

[pe2dave]

Hi Dave

You mean like this one at Rutlands.

Cheers,
Neil

Sigh. Yes Neil, I'll shut up now


Dave

 

[gidon]

Yes I have some of those bench dog feather boards. They are great - I have many many homemade ones but since getting the bench dogs I always try and reach for one of these first.
And I got them from Rutlands.
I use them on the router table though mainly.
Cheers
Gidon

 

[WellsWood]

Thanks Mark. Did you think it unsafe?

unguarded blade poking up through the workpiece, no riving knife, .. er yeah just a bit.
Watch what happens to to bit he's just cut right near the end of the video, the back end of the sled is hanging off the table as the cut completes allowing the featherboard to tip the thin slice up so the front edge is no longer behind the stop. At this instant any contact with the blade stands a good chance of turning that strip of timber into a 100mph+ arrow heading straight at the guys gut. Not my idea of fun.

 

[pe2dave]

Thanks Mark. Did you think it unsafe?

unguarded blade poking up through the workpiece, no riving knife, .. er yeah just a bit.
Watch what happens to to bit he's just cut right near the end of the video, the back end of the sled is hanging off the table as the cut completes allowing the featherboard to tip the thin slice up so the front edge is no longer behind the stop. At this instant any contact with the blade stands a good chance of turning that strip of timber into a 100mph+ arrow heading straight at the guys gut. Not my idea of fun.

Yes. Thanks.

No reason not to have the riving knife in place. (Don't the Americans use a
different system?).
I can't see any reason not to have the full blade guard in place for that matter... I'll
let you know.

Otherwise, the featherboard 'tension' need only be enough to stop the back half
of the blade tipping the workpiece - or look to the front end for support. I'll let you know.

The other option is to buy a bandsaw, for a dozen pieces of 12x20mm.
I'll give this a whirl first. Currently gluing up.

Dave

 

[WellsWood]

If I absolutely had to cut a few thin strips like this I would at the very least calculate the fence to bade distance to make the strip the waste, i.e so that it (the strip) falls on the left of the blade where it cannot be trapped between sled and blade. Of course, if going this route you don't really need the sled at all :?

 

[Newbie_Neil]

If I absolutely had to cut a few thin strips like this I would at the very least calculate the fence to bade distance to make the strip the waste.

After a bit of searching I found Noel's post, which is a corker. PLEASE NOTE that the guards are removed for clarity.

Here we go:

The stop at the back of the push shoe advances the stock through the blade and the feather board keeps everything nice and tight.
As I mentioned there's plenty of space between the blade and the fence and the handle keeps digits away from the danger zone. Without the push shoe the only options are to set the fence to the required width (in this case 6mm) leaving no room for any type of pushing aid as well as having any type of blade guard (crown or overhead) come into contact with the fence or to keep re-setting the fence, as discussed earlier.

A push shoe similar to above can be adapted for cuts up to a metre long. Any longer and I prefer to use a carrier of some sort fitted with toggle clamps or a BS. With regard to the method of re-setting the fence for every cut it really depends on how many rip cuts are required and how accurate the cuts need to be. Above all a safe and comfortable method is paramount.

Noel

 

[Woodmagnet]

Cheers Neil, i was just thinking about how to cut thin strip
the other day. Can't remember why now though. :? :lol:

 

[pe2dave]

Well I built it.

Like the other one in this thread the basics are a notched board which acts
as the main guide running close to the blade. The advantage is the hinged
board, which when flipped up, allows longer pieces to be fed through prior
to using the handle.

Just run 12 strips in oak, 12mm from 20mm thick. No real problems.

The issues and safety tips:

If you have one, extend some run off support for the edge, it is heavy and may
cause an upset.

I slit the board to hold a steel slider which is glued to the side piece, in turn
clamped to the main guide. This needed waxing to keep it slippy.

The main piece needed to be smooth and slippy to slide comfortably over
the table saw bed.

No need for the featherboard after all (sods law wins again!), At 12mm
it wouldn't fit between the 'sledge' whatever you want to call it, and the
blade.

I left the blade guard in place. A nuisance when pulling the sledge back,
but added another safety element. By then the power is off anyway.

Running the last piece I managed to leave only about 10mm waste, using
a push stick to keep it close to the sledge until the blade had it.


Overall a good mornings work.