Hi all,
I have recently seen the need for a magnetic featherboard especially when ripping wide stock. A commercially available one costs around $40 and has what I consider floppy feathers. The commercial one states it has 125 lb magnetic force. What does this mean and has anybody made their own mag. featherboard. I am interested in ideas, feedback and design.
Thanks
Clark
Replies
I assume the commercial one of which you speak is the Grip Tite Magnetic Featherboard. Trust me, those feathers aren't "floppy" LOL! However, if you want to make your own, here's a design (scroll down the page, you'll see the picture):
http://www.woodworking.org/Exchange/Forum2/HTML/020944.html
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Now, to the feedback part. I have 3 of the Grip Tites and I always use one for ripping operations. The side fins are stiff but flexible and work quite well. The release mechanism makes removing the featherboard pretty easy, and it has a very very strong hold. If you want it to move sideways, you have to use a "persuader." The only part I'm not fond of is the "hold-down" fin, which I generally remove. It never feels like the pressure is right.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Thanks Forestgirl for the info as well as the experience (I have never used those "floppy ears" so I really didn't know how effective they were). I also appreciate another link to valuable forums like this one.
Talk to you later,
Clark
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