Woodworking tools like table- and bandsaws are extremely useful and versatile, but they generally have the distinct disadvantage that they make no distinction between the wood and the digits of the person using the machine. While solutions like SawStop were developed to make table saws sense flesh and try to not cut it, [James Hamilton] makes a compelling argument in a recent video for the use of power feeders.
These devices are placed above the table and feed the material into the machine without having to get one’s digits anywhere near the machine. Other than the safety aspect, it also means that the material is always fed in at a consistent speed, which is great when using it with a router table. Most of these power feeders are portable, so a single unit can be moved from the table saw to the router table, with [James] showing how he is using MagSwitch magnetic clamps to ease the process of moving between machines.
With the 1/8 HP mini power feeder that he’s using, the 4 magnetic clamps appear to be enough even when cutting hardwood on the table saw, but it’s important to make sure the power feeder doesn’t twist while running, for obvious safety reasons. On [James]’s wish list is a way to make moving the power feeder around more efficient, because he only has a single one, for cost reasons.
Although these power feeders cost upwards of $1,000, the benefits are obvious, including when running larger jobs. One might conceivably also DIY a solution, as they appear to be basically an AC motor driving a set of wheels that grip the material while feeding. That said, do you use a power feeder, a SawStop table saw or something else while woodworking?
Matthias Wandel has made a power feeder before. Might be worth learning from his experiments before making your own.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tPiaduBZHRU
Yeah I always think of Matthias’s version when it comes to working on a budget. Its a wonderfully simple design.
Its part of what has inspired any of my own power feeder designs for production runs.
Nice. I can see the magnets added to Matthias design as something that i might use a lot.
It is worth noting that Hamilton is a professional woodworker who has employees working with him. In that kind of environment, it makes more sense to buy something like a power feeder than build one.
That said, plenty of his videos show shop-built jigs and fixtures.
I quit watching Stumpy Nubs years ago, almost all his videos are advertisements. When they are not its usually a rehash of very basic things.
Putting this on a mag lock base kind of takes the safety out of this, it doesnt have to twist more than a tiny bit before shooting a sheet of plywood at your face, and a kickback has more than enough power to break the magnets free…
Also 8HP motor, good lord that’s more than our Bridgeport at work (might wanna check that cause the biggest one they sell @ grizzly is 1HP, most are a quarter)
1/8 is what he mentioned
I started watching his videos years ago and have learned so much from him. Ads are usually at the end which is when I usually switch off. He’s one of the good YouTubers.
1/8HP, not 8HP. Come on….
I’ve watched Stumpy for five years. I don’t the hyperbole of his video titles. It doesn’t stop him from being a superb resource. As for the “advertisement” part, it is nonsense to say “almost all his videos”. I really don’t know where you’re getting that, but the “years ago” means it certainly isn’t a current observation.
Two things that pucker my arse with the unit.
First one is the drive wheel and the support point (ball joint) are not in a direct line with the travel force.
The ball joint is offset from the drive wheel. This makes the drive unit try to push itself in an arc and thus twist out of alignment with the lumber travel.
Someone else can nitpick the cantilevered arm rig, if you feel inclined.
2nd issue? As much as I like the ease of positioning a ball joint clamp? (photography)
This is a dusty operation and a small amount of dust will make the ball easy to slip.
Most people will just simply over torque the clamp screw/knob rather than stop and clean it.
Along with leading to bent clamps that twist and slip… which Kills parts at the least, wounded workers at the worst case.
This over tightening tends to end up causing indentations in the clamping surfaces that the two parts tend to slip back into. Thus you begin to get alignment aggrivations.
But you need to watch for grooves and ridges in ALL types clamping devices, be they simple slots in a frame, C-clamps on a table top, or the ball unit above.
All that said? Oh yes yes yes, I definantly like the idea of trying to get our fingers away from the cutting or pinching areas of our handy gadgets when we can!
[Please don’t take this comment to mean I have anything against SawStop. In fact, I know someone who still has a finger they would have lost.]
The article mentions that power-feeders are expensive, but so is a SawStop, and their approach to safety is more expensive each time it saves your finger because their must-replace, fail-safe cartridges are expensive.
My question is this: is the power-feeder approach applicable to casual/occasional, non-production woodworkers? Are power-feeders so time-consuming to set up, or difficult to get right, that people will just skip it? I’m thinking about the user-experience (UX) here. If I had space in my office/garage for a table saw, I’d buy one in a heartbeat.
As someone who runs a shop that keeps a SawStop running constantly, I can say the cost of a blade and cartridge (both of which need to be replaced on a trigger) easily dwarf the cost of whatever god-awfully-high medical bill you’d receive from having to re-attach a finger (and no, using super glue to save it does not count as going to the doctor, though it is non-toxic). I have heard horror stories about accidental triggers but honestly, these are rare and a little common sense can prevent 99.9% of them. We were having triggers way too often until I implemented a “warning sled” in my shop. Ever since, people don’t dare feed a damp, stapled or other piece that may trigger the brake.
I have to agree with you that a power feeder seems obsessive and part of me feels that a good sled or jig can serve the same purpose for way less. You also have to consider feed speeds which should change dependent on the wood used. I would also argue that a well-waxed glide surface, fresh saw blade and good machine maintenance to keep feeds consistent will also make your machine safer to use.
In my country healthcare is free and universal, no matter if you are CEO or unemployed bum. Maybe consider moving to Europe instead of living in 3rd world country armed with nukes where hospitals are run like roach motels.
Yes, because anyone can just pick up and move to another country without having to consider finding work, housing and avoiding xenophobes who blame their social ills on immigrants rather than their lack of adaptability. This article is about power feeders, not your social grievances.
In your country, as in mine, healthcare is not free at all. It comes from taxes that we all pay.
Bah. If you have enough space for one large enough to meet your material-handling needs, then CNC machines rule. Not cheap, but way, way more affordable than significant personal injury. My scary old tablesaw was the first machine to go. Some types of CNC cuts—bevels, for example—can require a bit of ingenuity (and an investment in various router bits), but Ingenious is our middle name ’round here, right?
What I’m really waiting for is an affordable, 4×8 foot, X-Y drive CNC router I can mount on my wall and that makes nice, straight cuts on plywood and 2x4s (as long as you patiently wait for multiple passes). I currently have an upgraded “Maslow CNC” clone that is really cool and almost what I’m looking for, but which I can never get calibrated enough to believe it will substitute for a real saw. I like the CNC router approach because I hate saws (and don’t have the space), though my lumber yard does have a vertical stock plywood saw that would solve my not-enough-horizontal-space problem.
I’m probably missing something here, but I’ll ask the question anyway. If you mount a CNC router on the wall and are using it to make through-cuts, how do you stop the pieces you cut from falling and getting in the way of other cuts? The only (semi) practical method I can see involves one helluva vacuum…
You just have to insert tabs into the design. Tabs can be numerous and vary in thickness and width dependent on the user’s preferences. Also recommended for any piece that will be loose upon finishing a cut, unless you want those nice yucky piloting gauges in your piece.
I’m looking at something more like the JessEm stock guide. Not powered but helps keep stock aligned. https://jessem.com/products/clear-cut-ts-stock-guides?srsltid=AfmBOop5m71h3fxC5MjdyYHzPO4VZiutPlTqPGFuITvs9LdOXRM4eMXM
I’ve been interested in stock guides for a while after having seen some in several YouTube videos. So I tried to look up the one you’re interested in, but I’m in Canada. JessEm doesn’t honour the link you provided – instead it forces me to the root of their Canadian site, and doesn’t show me anything about stock guides. I can get close by substituting “ca” for “com” and deleting everything beyond “guides” in the link yo provided, but that still doesn’t let me know exactly what you’re looking at. It shouldn’t be this hard to merely get close to seeing the product you’re considering.
That alone is sufficient for me to not consider their products. Heck, even Amazon honours links to their American site and merely asks me if I want the Canadian site instead. My guess is that JessEm doesn’t want people comparing Canadian and American prices. But whatever the reason, they won’t be getting any of my business.
So, basically, an expensive featherboard?
At $330 USD? Yup, that’s expensive for a tool that commonly costs less.
For that money (and way less) you can just build a good jig or sled and get the same effect.
Huh. Now that you mention it, why not? Surface planers and stuff already have feeds. One missed trip to the ER even for an mi or injury prevented and it’s already made itself worth it.
I do lots of woodworking and the problem with power feeders is that they are usually set up for production jobs. The time needed to properly set one up for one off cuts is too long. Setting up the power feeder incorrectly can cause even more dangerous blade bind ups and exploding work pieces. The power feeder should provide very light pressure toward the fence and needs to be positioned on the fence side of the cut. Misalignment can be really bad. Personally I dont like table saws for long rips and prefer to use bandsaws for that cut.