A featherboard is a tool used in woodworking to keep wood from getting caught in saws or routers. It is made of wood or plastic with parallel fingers that flex to maintain pressure on the wood. Homemade versions can be made, and there are also manufactured ones available. Using a featherboard adds safety and improves the quality of the cut.
A Featherboard is a small angled piece of wood or plastic with small parallel fingers cut into the angled edge. These toes are spaced 1/8 inch (about 3.175 mm) to 1/4 inch (about 6.35 mm) apart. When clamped or strapped to the table or fence, the little fingers on a featherboard flex slightly to allow a piece of wood to slide past while maintaining pressure on that piece of wood so it doesn’t get caught in the saw, saw radial arm or router table.
With a feather in place, the wood being cut is less likely to twist between the blade and the fence and kickback or bend the blade. A Featherboard helps keep the cut in a long piece of wood smooth and clean. It is especially useful when cutting small pieces that can be difficult to fix securely.
A down jacket can be attached to the table or fence. Homemade versions of this tool are easy to make with extra defect-free plywood or scrap wood, and instructions for making a feather can be found in a wide variety of woodworking books and from online sources. This homemade tool can be bolted to the table to hold a piece of wood tightly against the fence or to the fence to hold a piece of wood tightly against the table. Sometimes, two or more featherboards may be used together to secure a piece of wood against both the table and the fence as it runs through the saw.
To use a feather duster safely, the short end of the angle should face the front of the saw. Otherwise, it will have an opposite effect on the piece of wood and prevent the wood from moving through the saw. This could cause the wood to jam and the blade to spin.
Several manufacturers, such as Bench Dog, Magswitch, and Grip-Tite, make magnetic versions that eliminate the need for a clamp, or offer easy-to-use table saw featherboards with specially designed clamps that clamp into the mitered slot or screw into the fence. . The manufactured ones are often made of durable polymer and can also be purchased at local hardware stores. Using a Featherboard adds an extra layer of safety, prevents the blades from twisting, and gives a cut piece of wood a higher quality finish.
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