Featherboard questions

[DFC1047]

very new to woodworking, but realise having watched a video about kickback on table saws, I am in need of some featherboards.
I have a cast iron table saw bed with 2 19mm chanels across. The featherboards I have looked at useT bolts to fasten them down. How do I fasten the featherboards down to my saw bed ? I have seen the magnetic ones but I want to use the same boards on a home made router table which is not magnetic, so those are out of the game plan.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Generally they either simply manually clamp from any available lip on the table edge on the underside with the top bearing down on the featherboard or in vertical mode, clamped to the fence. Or another common method is to use the t tracks in the table with some kind of jig so the jig slides in the track (with appropriate tightenable fixtures) and the featherboard is attached to the jig.

Oddly enough I had the same problem in that my main machines are cast iron but my router table has a phenolic over mdf top and a wooden fence. So I did get the mag-jig yellow ones because I find them staggeringly useful on table saw, bandsaw and planar but I either clamp manually on the router table or I use a sled jig that runs in the t track slots with a bessey toggle clamp screwed to it for tricky end grain cuts like in door making. I also use a backer board for those operations to avoid tearout.

 

[DFC1047]

Thanks for the info.
On searching about I see that you can buy 19mm width T Track .That would fit the track on the saw bed, and the featherboards etc. would fit that.
Sorry for asking a stupid question

 

[custard]

Personally I think relying on You Tube for table saw training is a mistake, but they're your hands and your fingers so you must make your own decisions.

At the very least read this,

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis16.pdf

Better still get some personal training from someone qualified to give it.

Good luck.

 

[James-1986]

Out of interest what do you need feather boards on the table saw for?

Interesting reading that HSE article. I always run my blades at full height when ripping timber, whilst it is more dangerous in terms of chopping your finger off, it is far safer in terms of kickback simply because the work piece has further to go before it finds the top of the sawblade and fires across the workshop. If it starts pinching on the plate you have plenty of time to stop the machine or try and get control with push sticks. My uncle taught me that but he was apprenticed before all the PUWER regulations. The HSE recommended setting for a bridge guard are also a bit daft.

 

[DFC1047]

Late response sorry:
Custard: I understand your reply about training and would agree entirely, but unfortunately just not possible so have to rely on advice and whatever I can pick up elsewhere. The Youtube on kickback was a real eye-opener. Actually a couple of weeks ago I got my fingers too close and took a small nick of my middle finger left hand. Wife really gave me some stick for that as you can imagine. I read the HSE document, and yes, in an ideal world .........., although do not disagree with anything said.

James 1986: Feather boards to hold the work against the fence and down on the table. Definitely worried about my fingers now !!! Interesting re the height of the blade, sounds good sense, although if that is the case why is the "advice" just to have the blade just throuigh the workpiece, if you should not have your hands anywhere near it .?

Once again, thanks for the input.

 

[blackrodd]

You should heed the HSE pdf, They are the beginning of a happy association with the table saw.
I learnt my trade in a Joinery shop and sawmill, safety was drummed into us from the onset, so we had no machine accidents, lacerations, etc.at all.
Don't go thinking this HSE is big brother stuff, or using you're own words, "in an Ideal world" 'Cos it's not LA, LA, Land.
Strangely this is what was drummed into me, Almost everything on these HSE files.
Keep the saw blade low as possible, has 2 benefits,
1, the stock you are cutting is guarding most of the blade, and 2, you have most of the teeth cutting and doing the work.
Smaller radius of saw blade, meaning less momentum in the kick back situation to come at you.
The biggest problem is cutting short timber stock and having little control over the timber being sawn.
Once the saw is set up, fence alignment and projection, Riving knife and guard set at 8mm gap recommended between the saw blade and the riving knife, and the guard covering the remaining teeth above the stock,
Use the correct and sharp crosscut blade for crosscutting and a sharp ripsaw blade for ripping, and
Using a couple of push sticks cut what you need to cut, at least 900 long!
Don't be afraid of it just be wary and careful and let the saw do the work.
Making a cross cut sled is a good idea for safer working too, theres plenty out there!
Regards Rodders

 

[DFC1047]

Thanks Rodders.
I wasn't trying to write off the HSE document as going too far, I know that it is all very applicable and should always be followed.
I am in the process of obtaining all the relevant safety bits, and making a crosscut sled.

 

[blackrodd]

Thanks Rodders.
I wasn't trying to write off the HSE document as going too far, I know that it is all very applicable and should always be followed.
I am in the process of obtaining all the relevant safety bits, and making a crosscut sled.

I just find it frightening that some people, ( not necessarily you) just don't seem to see danger around machinery.
After finishing my "time" I worked in a door factory, for a while,
The boiler had an explosive fire, (Sawdust) 3, or4 times a year and people had hands, fingers cut, shortened and just plain mangled, and other really bad cuts and accidents every few weeks, as I recall.
Totally different from where i learnt my trade, where safety was constantly drummed into you're head.
The warwickshire college is a training provider and do in house courses,and also have posted some "tasters" on u tube, Here's one on the saw bench, short timber stock and the push sticks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luS0q1GmjxM

Regards Rodders

 

[James-1986]

James 1986: Feather boards to hold the work against the fence and down on the table. Definitely worried about my fingers now !!! Interesting re the height of the blade, sounds good sense, although if that is the case why is the "advice" just to have the blade just throuigh the workpiece, if you should not have your hands anywhere near it .?

I've never seen them used on saws before, infact I haven't seen a machine you could mount them on. You would need a rigid fence. I've used auto fed rip saws but never used pressure fences on one.

Although you are supposed to keep your hands away from the blade, you might take a risk one time or forget where your hand is and be down a few fingers. So having the blade low down makes sense in that respect. If I was ripping a short piece of sawn timber the main danger would be kickback so the blade would be up, controlling it with push sticks and standing to the side. If I had a planed piece of timber 6' long then I wouldn't be as bothered about having the blade low as kickback is less likely.

A kick stop button is a nice thing to have on a saw, if it all starts going wrong you can just hold everything where it is and stop the machine. You have a variety of operations on a saw, what is safe for one isn't necessarily safe for another.

 

[DFC1047]

Having watched the youtube video, it certainly reinforces the need to use push sticks...........I do not like the idea of using a saw blade that size !!!!!!!!!!!!! . However it brought to mind a problem I have had when ripping wood more than a meter in length, that quite frequently, after the first couple of feet has passed the blade, the edge starts to move away from the rip fence and so goves a small "taper" effect on the piece I want to rip.
That is why I am thinking of using the featherboard a few inches after the blade, to keep the cut straight.

 

[memzey]

If I were to use a featherboard on a saw bench I'd certainly only use it to keep the stock tight to the fence an inch or so before the blade and never any further into the cut.