Board Buddies

I was thinking of getting a pair of Board Buddies for my table saw. Has anyone else tried these and do they work as advertised?

I'm mainly interested in the claim that they keep the work against the fence.

Thanks, R.C.

Reply to
Richard Cranium
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I _rarely_ use mine as I find them a pain to push stock through the cut when you use them.

They DO keep the wood out of the blade though, you can actually stop midway in a cut, walk to the back of the tablesaw and pull the rest of the cut through with no indication of where the blade was.

Alan

Reply to
arw01

| I was thinking of getting a pair of Board Buddies for my table saw. | Has anyone else tried these and do they work as advertised?

I have a pair (yellow) and they _do_ work as advertised. I've mounted mine atop an Incra fence. I'd buy 'em again. I will say, though, that when I don't want to use them, they're a PIA to remove and re-install. YMMV.

| I'm mainly interested in the claim that they keep the work against | the fence.

With one mounted just in front of the blade; and one mounted just behind the blade, mine do that fairly well.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

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Reply to
Morris Dovey

I looked at a lot of variations on a theme and I wound up with these:

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I'm mainly interested in the claim that they keep the work against the > fence.

The ones referenced above can be angled inward slightly to hold firmly against the fence.

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

I have used the old Liechtung version of those which is now sold by woodworkers supply

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have been a trusted safety friend for almost 13 years now. With them close to the fence, you can rip boards as narrow as 2" and still use a push stick. For anything that narrow or narrower, I just push a sacrificial "stick" right behind the stock and into the blade until the plank passes by the blade.

They work great..... but as the other posts have mentioned, for very thin and or very narrow rips, they must be removed. They also work good on the router table as well.

Give em a try!

Dennis

Dennis Slabaugh, Hobbyist Woodworker

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Reply to
Dennis

IIRC, that's where I got mine as well - and about the same time or even earlier. They do seem to last :-).

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

Larry... I like the idea of these, but wonder if the angle of the wheels are enough to eliminate the need for feather boards? My concern would be that it appears that you couldn't use feather boards with them?

Mac

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Reply to
mac davis

I ripped about 1 mile of 5/8x1-1/2 battens from 2x12x24 ft Doug Fir construction lumber using a ShopSmith and B/B.

Couldn't have done the job without them; however, these days, don't use them very often.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

It seems that all of you like them. Also all seem to agree they're a slight pain to remove for narrow cuts. Based on your feedback I just ordered a set and I'll give them a try.

Thanks again, I appreciate it!

R.C.

Reply to
Richard Cranium

All I can tell you is I've never used featherboards while ripping with them. I do use featherboards when ripping very narrow stock where the wheels get in the way.

I usually put one wheel just ahead of the blade and the other just behind the blade. No reason you couldn't use a featherboard in between the two, either horizontal or vertical.

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

I use them and they work great for keeping the stock against the fence. I have mine mounted 2 degrees toward the rear of fence to make sure they work correctly.

When you dont want to use them just loosen the two thumb screws and slide them off leaving the bases mounted all the time.

I would buy them again.

Gary

Reply to
gkemper

They are very easy to remove as long as you leave the bases mounted. They are in two pieces and you just loosen two thumb screws and slide the top part off.

Gary

Reply to
gkemper

Cool.. thanks, Larry.. Mac

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Reply to
mac davis

Gary... between your comments and larry's, it would seem that you can cut safely without feather boards... that cuts down setup time, also.. Mac

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Reply to
mac davis

They are OK. However, I have a set I picked up at a woodworking show a dozen years ago. I almost never use them. The only time they really work is on the router table when doing a pattern that requires consistent pressure and the work piece is too small to control by hand. OTT, they sit collecting the same dust as many other gizmos I get suckered into at the shows.

Dave

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Reply to
Teamcasa

It's an amazing day when you realize that so many "gizmos" are just shelf ballast.

Over time, I've gotten lots of good advice here and on the web, taken some EXCELLENT formal training, created lots of firewood by trial and mostly error, and spent some quality time with helpful locals. Eventually, you realize that the chubby Dane in the cheesy black and white pictures and so much of the experience I've mentioned in the previous sentence agrees, so all the "gizmos" end up on eBay (thank God for eBay for $$ recycling! ).

As Connecticut's woodworking season has recently opened , I was updating my shop inventory and enjoying some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and XM, this past weekend. My last update was five years ago. The shocker was that I probably now own _fewer_ tools, but the quality is dramatically different. Many WW'ing show gizmos have been replaced with jigs made from scrap.

I never imagined an insurance inventory could create so much introspection!

Reply to
B A R R Y

What that signifies, unequivocally, is that you are waaaaay past the newbie stage!

introspection!

LOL ... I just did the same thing. My Excel spreadsheet, and my insurance company, thank me.

Reply to
Swingman

That's exactly how I do it.

One tab is anything that runs on electricity (stationary, hand held, or battery) or air. Tab two is human powered. Another is "accessories", a.k.a. the shrinking page. The last is blades and bits.

The "blades and bits" section can be kind of a shocker. Since a good

10" blade or raised panel router bit typically exceeds a hand held power tool's cost, it makes sense. I also added a column here to keep track of sharpening data.

The last time I updated the records was 2001, I really have got to get in the habit of keeping it up.

Reply to
B A R R Y

They look like what David Marks uses on his tablesaw on Woodworks.

Alan

Reply to
arw01

Dave... bring them to El Dorado when you come down..... I'll find a home for them in the new shop.. *g*

Mac

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Reply to
mac davis

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