Woodworking Archive

Featherboard Anatomy

1/a in.-wide fingers, spread Vb in. apart.

If necessary, remove ^ fingers for bit clearance.

1/a in.-wide fingers, spread Vb in. apart.

If necessary, remove ^ fingers for bit clearance.

Router-table helper. This short featherboard, wide enough for two-point clamping to a table overhang, presses stock against a router-table fence.

thick material for my fcathcrboards, which provides good finger strength.

You can slicc the fingers with a band-saw, but I prefer to cut them on the tablesaw. Although cutting fingers on a bandsaw is a safer operation, fingers cut on the tablesaw tend to be straightcr, and the wider kerf allows more finger flex in use. When cutting fingers on the tablesaw, I begin with featherboard stock that is at least 18 in. long, to keep my hands a safe distance from the saw blade. I raise the blade to its full height to minimize the undercut on the exit side of the kerf. (Caution: This much exposed blade can be dangerous, so use a blade guard.)

I rip the fingers from left to right, with the fcathcrboard's acute angle against the fence, as shown in the bottom photo on page 79. I make the first cut, then reset the fcncc in. closer to the blade for every subsequent cut. This creates Vg-in.-wide fingers with Vg-in.-wide spaces between them. (Caution: Backing a workpiece away from a spinning blade invites kickback. It's much safer to turn the saw off when you reach the end of a stopped cut like this, keeping a firm grip on the workpiccc. Then wait until the blade stops completely to back the workpiccc away.)

You can mount a featherboard to a machine table or a fence, as shown in the boxes on these pages. Featherboards