Polycarbonate ("Lexan") Feather Boards.
Click to see larger image.
These are feather boards (finger boards, hold downs, hold ins.) that I designed using lexan rather than cutting fingers in wood or buying plastic types. The one that mounts on the SMT fence is obviously for the Ryobi BT3 line of table saws. The main benefit that I like about this type of design is that I am able to regulate the amount of pressure placed on the stock with relative ease. This can be done with other types as well, but maybe not as easily. These are a great aid to safety to help prevent kickbacks.
These are fairly straight forward in construction.
The first pic is the hold down for the rip fence. I used a scrap piece of walnut 8" x 3" x 1/2" thick. The 1/4" lexan stock is cut at 1/2" x 9" or so. I simply screwed the lexan to the bottom clipped corner of the walnut. This angle isn't so critical. Just eyeball it. I only use hand clamps for this to attach it to the auxilliary rip fence. You could make these parts wider and be able to apply even more downward pressure if you chose to.
The bigger part for the feather board on the SMT is 2 1/2" x 3/4" x 12" or so long. The 1/4" lexan is cut at 2 1/2" x 9". The top part on the SMT fence is about 1 1/2" x 6" x 1/2" thick. This part attaches to the SMT fence with a t-nut. I cut a 30 degree angle on the end of the larger piece and this is where the lexan is screwed to. I hold the SMT fast with another spring type hand clamp so it doesn't slide once you have the pressure adjusted. Adjustment should be pretty obvious for these things. This design can be changed to acheive better results for differing set-ups. I do use these often and I think they work great.
If you have any questions about these things, feel free to e-mail them to me.
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