Feather
Board Description and Usage
A featherboard is
a safety device used when working with stationary routers or
power equipment such as table saws, band saws or Jointers.
The purpose of a featherboard is to prevent fingers from slipping into the
cutting blade. A feather board may also help ensure an accurate cut by securing
a work piece against the fence.
Featherboard shapes and sizes vary depending on the
tasks for which they are intended. A serviceable featherboard can be
shop-fabricated from an approximately 3/4 x 3 x 11 inch piece of straight
grained, defect-free wood cut crosswise at a 45 degree angle on one end. Several parallel cuts in the direction of
the grain create fingers or "feathers" that flex in the direction of work
piece travel, preventing the work piece from being dragged backwards by blade
friction.
Commercial featherboards are usually made of
plastic.
A feather board can be clamped in place, locked in a miter
track or held in place with strong magnets. Note: Magnet feather boards will
only work with steel or cast iron tables or fences.
Making
Your Own Feather Board
To begin making a featherboard, cut a clean piece of
3/4" stock (I prefer to use a scrap of 1x6, preferably from stock with
less sap than pine) anywhere between 12-18" in length by 5-6" in
width. In this example, we'll cut the stock down to 12" x 5"
dimensions.
Next cut a 30 degree angle at one end of the board.
Next
make a stop line
Using
a bevel set to 30-degrees; mark a line three inches in from the mitered end of
the board, parallel to the 30-degree mitered cut. This will serve as the stop
line while cutting the fingers of the featherboard with the table saw.
To
make the cuts
Set
the fence of the table saw 1/4" from the blade. Place the long side of the
board firmly against the fence (and flat on the table) and run the board
through the saw until you reach the stop line. Next, carefully retract the
board until it safely clears the blade.
With the stock and your hands clear of the blade, move the fence an additional
3/8" away from the blade and make another cut, parallel to the first and
again up to the stop line. To be safe, the saw should always be turned off
while adjusting the fence.
To make this easier for those who cannot see. Clamp a thin stop
block on your fence for the distance of the first cut. Then mark the front edge
of the block with a piece of tape. Then move the block a little until the stop line
is reached. For each consecutive cut move the stop block the same distance further
from the tape to make the next cut.
Sources
for Comercial Featherboards
Rockler
Woodworking-Featherboard
ﴀ
[1]˽ﴀ[1]˽ﴀ[1]
HYPERLINK "mailto:webmaster@ww4b.org" Click to submit page comments.
[1]
ĺļ㕎㣼溈溌枤淺珬˽[1]˽[1]
Click to submit page
comments.