Featherboard
Make Your Own and Save Money!
This pattern is for two Featherboards. You make both at one time. It is easier to rout two than
just one. With a longer board than necessary, you use clamps for stops, and to hold your work.
I made mine from 1/2" HDPE (High Density Polyethylene). You can make them from Hickory, Oak, or Maple.
If you need a good price on HDPE, let me know.
Once routed, you cut in half with your miter gauge set at 15-degrees. Then you cut each end at
15-degrees for near final shape. You cut the sides at the same 15-degrees to expose the fingers. You round the edges to make them smooth.
Here are the steps:
The 1/4" holes allow a router to have a pathway for the 4" long attachment slots. You can drill
the 1/4" holes before you rout the fingers, so that you don't have to take the fixture apart.
Pencil your cut lines on your work prior to clamping everything into place.
When ready to rout the fingers, clamp boards on each end square to your work. They serve as
stops for the router. You are clamping your work as well.
The picture below is the router with two edge guides in play. It is easy to rout the gaps (1/8"
wide) for the fingers. Each finger is 1/4" wide. Just slide the router along the steel rod 1/4" for
each finger. You loosen the black knobs that hold the router in place. Then retighten when ready.
The 4" long holes are for 1/4" bolts to fit into T-miter nuts. These fit the miter channel on a
tablesaw. You use the 1/4" Bolts to fit T-slots on your router table fence.
When finished, cut the piece at the center with a 15-degree angle. After cutting your board down
the center at 15-degree, you end up with two boards. Both are 8" w x 14½" long. The diagram
below gives you the rest of the steps to complete each.
Uses of Featherboards:
You clamp yours to the Bandsaw when resawing. This holds the board tight to the fence.
You clamp them onto the front of a router tabletop to hold a board tight to the fence. This is
especially important when routing a long board.
I use them in a router table fence with t-channels to hold the board down. You get a nice even
profile with this method.
You can use them in my tablesaw miter channel to hold boards tight against the fence. Real nice
with long boards.
I purchase a couple of T-Miter Nuts (Woodpecker) that fit the miter slot in the Unisaw. They
take a 1/4-20 bolt. Also, the 1/4 Bolt fits in the T-channel of my router table fence. That is the
reason for the 1/4" slots 4" long in the sides of the featherboards.
Below is an actual setup on my Tablesaw. I used one featherboard to hold a piece of wood tight
to the fence. The cut was only 1 1/8" wide. That is too close for my comfort!
I use a Push
Shoe so my fingers are not close to the blade. The Featherboard holds the wood to the
fence, so I don't have to worry about that. Notice you locate the Featherboard before the blade - NOT
after.
It works Great!
