I remember some discussion in the past on this issue but a search yielded no hits.
Nevertheless, I just purchased a set of Board Buddies for my Unisaw with Biesemeyer fence. I was hoping they would provide an extra hand when feeding panels of plywood by keeping it flat on the table, and not lifting into the blade.
Well now that I have them in hand, I doubt much leverage could be exerted with my fence design, as the rear is not secured to the table. So instead of the wood lifting the entire fence would lift from the rear. Also I am concerned that the aluminum front guide rail would be dented from this movement.
I know I need a sliding table and outfeed support, but would appreciate any comments before I return my “buddies”.
Joe Coty
Replies
Joe, that is a problem with many fences. Without a hold down at the rear of the fence, the downward force of the Board Buddies forces the fence up. In the shop I was involved with, we tested a number of fences with the intention of using RipState hold downs. The only fence that worked was the Vega which has a rear guide rail and a bracket to keep the rear of the fence from lifting. Without a hold down, the anti-kickback feature is almost fully compromised.
You can try clamping the rear of the fence down.
Used to have board buddies in a shop I once worked at. Used them a couple on times then just put them aside. Practice in ripping is the answer we found. You say you have a Bies fence...all steel...no aluminum! If you do have a Bies, I recall Powermatic has a device to hold their cloned Bies fence at the other end. Might be something you could retro-fit. I've been using a clamp to secure my Bies on those odd occasions and plan to make something up someday.
Definitely add an outfeed table as soon as possible. There's a post going on now about add on sliders. Personally I know of a few folks with Excaliburs and Exactors and they seem to be pleased with them. I've used 10 foot industrial ones but one has to stay within ones budget. The tool is just part of the equation...a good operator can make the tool perform at 110%.
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