Thread: featherboards

They are dead easy to make.
feathers.jpg

Hodgo, if you want to go the extra mile (Km), then the JessEm guides are top of the heap. These both hold down and also force the work piece against the fence. Around $90 - this is cheaper than your plan to purchase 4 feather boards!

This is on a router fence I built ...





Now I do have that feather board to which you linked, and it is a good one. My router table does not have a track - I do not see one as useful. Instead, the feather board is position in front of the bit, and connected via a couple of holes/bolts when needed (such as a high piece that requires removing the JessEm guides) ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

At $34 each plus shipping they are ridiculously priced, Aliexpress sells them in pairs for around $26 shipped to your door and they can be stacked to make them double height.

As Bobl says though, they are quite easy to make. Probably the simplest are made from 1/2”-3/4” MDF with 1/4”-3/8” fingers. No need to cut wide slots; the kerf from a handsaw or bandsaw is enough.

How long have you had those Derek? After a few weeks use one of mine froze...and I cannot get a response from Jess Em for a repair part. Plus the rubber O rings perish with heat/humidity. Mine are both now useless.

Greg, I have found the best and quickest way to get customer service from anyone in the US or UK is to give them a phone call. It gets a good response especially from US companies as they can't imagine anyone would make an international phone call because a lot of Americans have no access to international dialling. I called Jet when they were running a special and the guy was so surprised he added more clamps to the order for the same price.

Originally Posted by Greg Q

How long have you had those Derek? After a few weeks use one of mine froze...and I cannot get a response from Jess Em for a repair part. Plus the rubber O rings perish with heat/humidity. Mine are both now useless.

Greg, I have had the tablesaw versions for about 18 months, and the router fence version about 6 or 7 months. The latter have not had much work, but performed well when used. There has not been any signs of wear on either. I take care not to set them with too much downforce. I have read one or two others report problems with wear, but no idea how much use time was involved.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Greg, I have found the best and quickest way to get customer service from anyone in the US or UK is to give them a phone call. It gets a good response especially from US companies as they can't imagine anyone would make an international phone call because a lot of Americans have no access to international dialling. I called Jet when they were running a special and the guy was so surprised he added more clamps to the order for the same price.

Yeah, I understand that, but we are talking about Canadians here...sophisticated, worldly people normally able to respond to a simple emailed request, eh? The rest of my Jess Em stuff is fine, but those contraptions have left me in a wretched state of despondency with nary a glimmer of hope of satisfaction.

thanks everyone for your input

after a bit of research regarding the jessems it would appear $94 is for 1 roller only, the best price I can find is $190+freight (gregory's)
also Greg O's findings on them have me thinking as well, I have a jessems mast r fence so I am interested other than that

the baladonia FB's come in a set of 4 for $95 so not that dear, I just wondered what they were like,
by the time I buy bolts,knobs and timber to make them I would have spent at least half of that

you guy's have some nice setups there thanks for the pic's

Originally Posted by Greg Q

Yeah, I understand that, but we are talking about Canadians here...sophisticated, worldly people normally able to respond to a simple emailed request, eh? The rest of my Jess Em stuff is fine, but those contraptions have left me in a wretched state of despondency with nary a glimmer of hope of satisfaction.

You have more patience than me, 24 hours with no response and I would have been on the phone asking why not.

Well, normally I would chase it harder, but I think the basic design is flawed. The O rings, to be grippy enough, are too soft and don’t like heat. I now have a used spindle moulder with a power feed that will replace the router table for almost everything anyway. If I can get those roller guides fixed I will of course, but they are on the back burner-too many projects.

Greg

I have both.

The horizontal ones are okay, the heads of the track bolts needed a sand as the casting was too tight in the t track.

The vertical ones have developed a fault where even when fully tightened the plastic board still slides in its slots. I did work out why and now cannot remember. Needs some work.

You can make your own as others have pointed out.

regards

Hi Hodgo,

I use the Baladonia featherboards regularly on the table saw and router table. They are well-built and I’ve not had any problem with them.

Regards,

Brian

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Hodgo, if you want to go the extra mile (Km), then the JessEm guides are top of the heap. These both hold down and also force the work piece against the fence. Around $90 - this is cheaper than your plan to purchase 4 feather boards!

Couldn't agree more! They are also a great safety device. You only have to concentrate on pushing which can be done horizontally and they are less bulky than the average featherboad.

I have been using these. Sure, they're expensive but I think they're worth it.

https://www.timbecon.com.au/bow-feat...-safety-system