Router table questions...

[RodKirby]

Prompted by posts here: http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...616#post267616

After 20 years of making/using Router tables, I've never found a need for a miter gauge slot - I know most store bought tables have them. Which leads to the question - do you ever use a "hold-in" featherboard on a router table?

At the risk of starting a flame war:
I never use any featherboards on the Table saw or Router tables - I prefer to "feel" what's happening, without the added resistance of featherboards. I would add - I am always VERY careful in what I do. What about you?

[Hoakie]

I guess I'm feather board kinda guy. I guess I like the piece of mind that the piece is being fed into and being held down tight while I concentrate on feeding the stock. I've ruined too many cuts where the piece kicked out a bit. Maybe with more experience, practice etc I'll get better with the "free hand" stuff but for now I'll stick with the boards.

[MilDoc]

Nope, haven't used 'em yet.

[Ed62]

I'll use a feather board to hold down the workpiece on the table saw, at times. It depends on what I'm doing.

Haven't used the router table enough to have a set plan. But I like the idea of using one as a hold down there too.

Ed

[steve-norrell]

I use featherboards and springboards whenever possible to hold the piece against the router or table saw fence. I also use featherboards to hold the piece down against the table top.

If I am using a bit with a roller guide, I usually do not use the featherboard.

Regards, Steve

[JimD]

I use a featherboard to hold the stock down sometimes and to hold it to the fence sometimes. I have two miter guage slots on top of my router table. My table will do both vertical and horizontal router table work so one miter gauge is for the horizontal table. The one for the vertical router table gets used less because the fence must be parallel to the slot to work. When I want to do this, I set the fence with a combination square.

My feather board to hold down stock is fastened to a t-slot in the fence. My feather board to hold things up against the fence is, I think, a Kirby design for the BT3100. It is a feather board that fastens to the sliding table. I clamp it to the top of the router table. I mostly use the feather boards when I am making long boards, like for moulding. For shorter pieces, I ususally just use my hands.

Jim

[lrr]

I ilke feather boards if the stock going thru the blade or bit is narrow (I use them on table saw and router table). Makes me feel safer in case of any kickback. I can use the feather board to hold the piece into the fence, and a pushstick to hold it down.

That said, I never use them on wider stock -- I too like to have some feel, or feedback, on the progress.

And I'd hate to see something like this start a flame war -- everyone has their own ideas on what works for them. Now, if you were to badmouth a tool brand I might happen to own mine ...

[Popeye]

I've not used them in over 30 yrs of WW. I do use push sticks on the TS with stock <2". I prefer the shoe style. I use push blocks on the router sometimes, more to reduce tearout. If I need narrow stock, like trim, my habit is to route wider stock and then rip it on the TS to final width. Pat

[Pappy]

Another one that has never used them. Probably a good idea, but I learned without them (or guards) and never changed.

[Ken Massingale]

About miter slots in router tables, I have one but haven't used it yet. But, I plan to try John Nixon's method of doing mortises for loose tenon joinery using a commercial TS tenon jig on a router table using the miter slot.
The 'Tool Stand' video at Eagle Lake Woodworking is worth a watch, so are his other videos.

[RayintheUK]

I built mitre slots into my router tables, but the only use they get is in conjunction with my rail and stile coping bit sets. I suppose I could use some sort of sled for those, but as I've got an identical Woodhaven mitre gauge to you, Rod, it seems a shame not to use it whenever I can.

I use featherboards (in both planes) sometimes, depends on the profile / cove / size of workpiece / whatever.

Ray.

[SARGE..g-47]

Greeting Rod...

I can't imagine why the question would start a "flame war". Ya either do or ya don't. If someone wanted to string a wire across their table-top and walk "tight-wire" over a spinning 4000-22,000 rpm blade, ya either do or ya don't as that's a personal decision as I see it. ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..

To answer your question personally..............

Regards...

[smorris]

For thin stock or long rips I'll use a featherboard in both planes on the saw. Never used one on the router but I put a slot into the fence I made to mount one if I ever want to.

[rcp612]

I try to always use a featherboard on TS and Router table. Since I was born with no right hand, and everything is built right-handed, it seems like the only way to be somewhat safe for me.
Now if someone would just invent a mag switch to work on my BT3K, I'd be all set.

[DonHo]

The router table extension I built for my saw doesn't have a miter slot but my old router table does, I have used feater boards on both. I connect feater boards to the fence to hold the work piece against the table in some cases but not always. Same goes for holding the work piece against the fence, sometimes I clamp a feather board to the top, most of the time not. I have also used feather boards on my table saw and bandsaw. I almost always use a feather board to hold the board against the fence when I resaw on the bandsaw.

DonHo