Feather boards and the BT3 fence

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  • BeauxTi
    Established Member
    • Jan 2012
    • 108
    • Georgetown Texas
    • Ryobi BT300

    Feather boards and the BT3 fence

    Just checking - what is the most common way owners of the BT300 attach feather board hold downs to the Fence? I have been thinking about it - in the past I have just used clamps, but they can get in the way.
    Beaux Ti -

    If you see a Bomb Tech running, follow him....
  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    #2
    Most people here have and use the miter slot table, which is an optional purchase. I got mine at Sears back in 2000. A few have made their own miter slot table, about 5 inches wide and added it on as needed. A few have two and use the miter slot on both sides.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

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    • dbhost
      Slow and steady
      • Apr 2008
      • 9209
      • League City, Texas
      • Ryobi BT3100

      #3
      Feather boards on the fence itself? Not usually where I sould use a feather board, but rather on the table... Not sure how a fence based board would work...
      Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

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      • toolguy1000
        Veteran Member
        • Mar 2009
        • 1142
        • westchester cnty, ny

        #4
        a featherboard attached to a rip fence is there to exert downward pressure on a workpiece as it is passed through the blade.
        there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.

        Comment

        • BeauxTi
          Established Member
          • Jan 2012
          • 108
          • Georgetown Texas
          • Ryobi BT300

          #5
          Loring - do you ever attach to the rip fence for down pressure - keeping the piece in contact with the table?
          Beaux Ti -

          If you see a Bomb Tech running, follow him....

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          • pelligrini
            Veteran Member
            • Apr 2007
            • 4217
            • Fort Worth, TX
            • Craftsman 21829

            #6
            On a tablesaw using a down facing featherboard isn't all that common. I'll use them on my router table at times. You get most of the downward pressure you need on a tablesaw from the way you feed it. The cutting action of the blade is also creating some downward force. A riving knife will help keeping the lifting forces from happening at the back of the blade. I wouldn't want anything tall (like a vertical featherboard) getting in the way of me feeding a piece through on a saw. On narrower rips I like to be on the opposite side of my rip fence to the blade.

            I've seen some hold downs for cutting thin materials on tablesaws, nothing ever really tall though.
            Erik

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            • BeauxTi
              Established Member
              • Jan 2012
              • 108
              • Georgetown Texas
              • Ryobi BT300

              #7
              it is 1/4" plywood that I am cutting - I used a plastic feater board with clamps to keep it on the table and stop it from chipping - just found the clamps get in the way.
              Beaux Ti -

              If you see a Bomb Tech running, follow him....

              Comment

              • pelligrini
                Veteran Member
                • Apr 2007
                • 4217
                • Fort Worth, TX
                • Craftsman 21829

                #8
                I've seen some auxiliary fence faces used for the thin stuff, sometimes rabbeted. You can attach a board directly to the face of a BT fence because of the slot. I really like the Rockler fence clamps for auxiliary fences, and placing end stops for using the rip fence with the SMT or miter gauge. http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=49791

                Last edited by pelligrini; 07-05-2012, 03:49 PM.
                Erik

                Comment

                • LCHIEN
                  Internet Fact Checker
                  • Dec 2002
                  • 20914
                  • Katy, TX, USA.
                  • BT3000 vintage 1999

                  #9
                  I don't usually use vertical featherboads, I prefer to use a push shoe to keep the fed peice down on the table past the blade.

                  Also I find the fence clamps http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=49791 to be a very handy way to keep the area clear and also for holding down things in other creative ways. I've got at least three pairs lying around my tools - band saw, drill press, router table, table saw.
                  Loring in Katy, TX USA
                  If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                  BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                  Comment

                  • cabinetman
                    Gone but not Forgotten RIP
                    • Jun 2006
                    • 15218
                    • So. Florida
                    • Delta

                    #10
                    I don't have a BT, but typically fence mounted aids are hold downs. Without miter slots, a featherboard support can be just clamped to the table.

                    .

                    Comment

                    • BeauxTi
                      Established Member
                      • Jan 2012
                      • 108
                      • Georgetown Texas
                      • Ryobi BT300

                      #11
                      Guess I will fashion some type of holder for my feathers and use the fence clamps to hold it to the rip fence- at least they will be behind the fence.
                      Beaux Ti -

                      If you see a Bomb Tech running, follow him....

                      Comment

                      • leehljp
                        Just me
                        • Dec 2002
                        • 8429
                        • Tunica, MS
                        • BT3000/3100

                        #12
                        Originally posted by BeauxTi
                        Guess I will fashion some type of holder for my feathers and use the fence clamps to hold it to the rip fence- at least they will be behind the fence.
                        Since you are trying to rip 1/4 inch ply, I understand the need for a rip fence feather board. You could probably clamp on on the rip fence and do just as good as anything else.
                        Hank Lee

                        Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

                        Comment

                        • aiyou
                          SawdustZone Patron
                          • Mar 2006
                          • 106
                          • Charlotte, NC
                          • BT3100

                          #13
                          Wood Magazine, a few years back (2003), published a "best workshop jig & organizers" supplement that included a tablesaw hold-down plan. This provided a means to secure two featherboards (one front, one rear) on a t-track mounted to the rip fence. Might need some minor mods to make use of BT3's integrated track on the rip fence.

                          If you're using the rip fence as a router fence, too, by flipping the assembly around, the featherboards could server double-duty.

                          Rob
                          Last edited by aiyou; 07-06-2012, 03:09 PM.

                          Comment

                          • gsmittle
                            Veteran Member
                            • Aug 2004
                            • 2784
                            • St. Louis, MO, USA.
                            • BT 3100

                            #14
                            I adapted Jim Tolpin's aux fence from Tablesaw Magic and use a T-slot on the fence for featherboards. I've been ripping some rabbeted edging for bookshelves and the featherboards are handy for keeping the rabbet depth consistent.

                            g.
                            Smit

                            "Be excellent to each other."
                            Bill & Ted

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