Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Jan 19, 2003 09:02am | #1

   The GripTites are fabulous.  There were two threads after the Seattle show that talked alot about these featherboards.

   Did you get the whole system with the fence-plate and rollers?  If you did, be sure an watch the (hoaky) videotape that came with the set.  There are a number of safety tips and process-specific techniques illustrated in the tape.

   Glad you had fun, and glad you found the Grip-Tites and Timberwolf's.  Both excellent products.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   mbiker1999 | Jan 19, 2003 03:51pm | #2

   I ended up getting the whole system.  I liked the idea of being able to use the grip tights on the fence, especially for thin rip cuts.  I did look at the video.  Kind of hokey, but I did learn a few things from it.  

   Was funny at the show.  This guy had bought a $300 jet table saw from a local Woodworkers Warehouse.  After the show they sell it for $250.  I guess it beats the heck out of hauling a TS around the country!! The thing was he was using a $20 combo blade that looked pretty beat up and he was pulling veneer off of plywood!!!

   Don't think i'll be doing too much in the shop today.  It's -10 degrees right now.   BRRRRRR.

   Later!

   Edited 1/19/2003 7:52:15 AM ET by BillM

   Edited 1/19/2003 7:54:02 AM ET by BillM

1. 
   ian | Jan 19, 2003 04:17pm | #3

   I'll swap.  was 108 F and 80% R.H here yesterday

2. 
   BG | Jan 20, 2003 01:31am | #4

   Bill,

   Was that the show in Springfield, MA. ?

1. 
   mbiker1999 | Jan 20, 2003 09:37pm | #9

   Sure was.  I went Saturday morning.  Man was it cold waiting in line to get in!!

3. 
   DennisS | Jan 21, 2003 01:49am | #10

   Bill -

   Be careful *not* to have the outfeed roller against the tailing end of the cut when cutting thin pieces next to the fence. The roller will tend to draw the waste side into the back edge of the blade. It's mentioned somewhere either in the video or in the instructions.

   Also note that on the biesmeyer, etc. style fences, you'll need to clamp the outfeed end down to prvent it being forced up by the featherboard wings. That, too, is mentioned somewhere in the package.

   ...........

   Dennis in Bellevue WA

   [email protected]

2. 
   user-559069 | Jan 20, 2003 02:30am | #5

   The Woodworking Show will be here this coming weekend, and I can't wait. I look forward to it every year.

   I saw the Grip Tites myself 2 years ago, but just didn't want to spend $40 on a feather board. Couldn't get them off my mind, tho, because they are really nice.

   Found myself 2 retrieving magnets at Menards a few weeks later for $4 each, and after a bit of designing and fiddling, came up with a copy of them that work just great. I bought the plastic for the little arm thingey at a plastic retailer here called Hyaline Plastics--a 2 foot by 2 foot piece was $1 from their scrap bin.

   I fashioned the bodies for the things out of wood and glued the magnets into them with epoxy. The retrieving magnets will lift 100 lbs each, but Menards had bigger ones as well for $6 each if you wanted a bigger featherboard. Mine release with a toggle cam similar to the original.

   Hyaline Plastics also sells that high-density self-lube plastic for a fraction of what they want at the shows. I have faced all my fences with it for about $7--wonderful stuff! If you live near a big city, look in the yellow pages under plastics. Hyaline's front showroom has a dozen or so bins of all types of cutoffs for next to nothing, including Lexan for router table plates. Unless you're rich(I'm sure not!), resources like this can really make a big difference and save you some cash!

   For me, it's off to the show this next weekend. If you're here in Indianapolis for the show, the plastic business is at 9th and Capitol close to downtown.

1. 
   silver77 | Jan 20, 2003 02:34am | #6

   Been thinking about doing that myself CAT. Cool idea. Possible for you to post a picture?

   cheers,

   silver 

1. 
   user-559069 | Jan 20, 2003 04:51am | #7

   LMAO, funny you would ask that right now! For the last hour or so, I've been trying to figure out how to put a picture of me in my personal info and I still haven't gotten it right! Thank god I'm a better woodworker than computer nerd, that's all I can say! I'll take a picture of the thing tomorrow and see if I can manage to get it in a post, but please don't hold it against me if it never appears!

   This computer works by Voodoo magic or something, and I'm just an Indiana farmgirl. Secretly, I think it plots to drive me nuts! If I could just take a saw or a chisel to it.....Can you even imagine not being free? We are so lucky, and I am so grateful. God Bless America.

2. 
   SawdustSteve | Jan 20, 2003 05:18am | #8

   I found a great source of STRONG magnets if you want to make your own 'Grip Tites' and best of all, they're FREE.   Find an old discarded microwave oven.  Take off the cover and find the 'heart' of the nuker (it's called a magnatron).  It is about 3 x 3 x 5 inches in size.  There are two donut shaped magnets in this unit.  Take a pair of pliers and remove as much of the steel housing as you can.  Remove the cooling fins  (looks like a section of radiator) and carefully work off the two magnets.  A word of caution...  these magnets are STRONG.  If you get them near your wallet as I did, you will 'erase' the magnetic strips on your credit cards and you will have to make a lot of calls to get new ones.   Yeah, I had to get EVERY card replaced... I'm lucky that I did not have any 'store return credit' cards as they would be almost impossible to replace.   The magnets are brittle so if you drop them, you will have to find another microwave unit.   Happy Hunting.....

   SawdustSteve    in COLD New York

3. 
   Mach70 | Jan 21, 2003 07:23am | #11

   I've made a couple attempts at this myself.  I picked up a stack of 3/4" 'rare earth' magnets and mounted 4 in the bottom of an oak version of the Grip Tites.  Not-so-good.  These little magnets are incredibly strong but 4 of them is just too weak for a featherboard :-( 

   I bandsawed the bottom to remove the magnets and now am looking at one of my long bar magnets that used to hold wrenches at my bench.  Hmmm....

   While I don't like the idea of paying $40.00 for a Grip Tite I obviously can't keep messing around with "prototypes" or I will end up wasting more than that.  You guys who do this for a living probably would have just bought 'em & been done with it...

1. 
   mbiker1999 | Jan 21, 2003 02:28pm | #12

   I know it seems like a lot of money for the Grip Tight system, $129 at the show.  The way I look at is, I've only been into woodworking for about a year now.  I already have experienced the wonderful pleasure of a kickback on my table saw and was pretty lucky I didn't get seriously hurt.  I figure the price of the Grip Tights is cheap when you compare it to loosing a few digits.

1. 
   silver77 | Jan 22, 2003 09:14am | #13

   Old school I am...a penny saved is a penny earned.

   I don't have the patience to tear apart old nukers but lee valley has 1" mags for 2 bucks each and they will lift 30 #each. I'm going to epoxy 2 of these to the bottom of some ol fashioned feather boards and have the same thing for 5 bucks each, pick up a 12 of XXX and celebrate my savings.( don't drink and rip)

   cheers,

   silver