A Lexan® Feather Board: A simpler method

After posting a "How To" on making traditional feather boards I received a number of e-mails, and one in particular caught my eye. It seems the fellow doesn't have a band saw which negates the band saw method of making a feather board, and he was concerned about making one using the table saw method.

With his concerns in mind I've put together a lesser known method of making a feather board that works just as well as the feather boards in the original post. For those who like to re-saw on the band saw this method can easily be adapted for that use, and will prove to be very beneficial with only a few design changes to this method.

All that's needed to make this feather board is listed below and seen in the picture to the left—there are however variations on this method and I'll explain them later.

The board that holds the feathers (5" x 18" x ") needs to have three slots cut into it to hold the Lexan® feathers. Measuring from the far end (the end of the board farthest from the front of the saw) I've marked three lines starting at 7" , then 10" and finally a line at 13". These three lines will indicate where to cut a 3/16" groove to hold the Lexan® feathers. The next operation is to take the board to the table saw which has its blade tilted at a 45° angle and cut the grooves. Two passes per line are needed to create the 3/16" groove to hold the Lexan® snugly in place. It is at this time caution is needed to get a snug fitting groove but if the fit is sloppy there is a way to compensate for it.

Note on the use of Lexan®: Lexan® is a trade name for polycarbonate and any plastic vendor should be able to supply it in small quantities. Polycarbonate is an excellent material to use in the woodworking shop and can be machined with common woodworking tools. A phone call or visit to a plastics supplier in your area will prove to be very beneficial to the woodworker as these suppliers hold a treasure chest of products and information for any woodworker.

With the grooves cut into the board that holds the feathers we're ready to mix the epoxy and set the feathers into place.

One sure method of assuring whether the feathers are in line before they are epoxied into place is to place a straight edge across all three feathers and check for a perfect alignment. You can easily see that the middle feather is not in alignment with the others and will need to be shimmed into place when applying the epoxy. This sub assembly is epoxied and set aside to dry with the straight edge resting on top of the feathers, keeping them in alignment.

A 3" long adjustment slot is cut into the base of the jig with the aid of a plunge router and an up spiral bit. This slot is centered on the base and starts at 1" from the edge.

The installation of the support blocks is next and they are glued and screwed into place approximately 1" on center from either edge of the base.

The miter slot runner is made from any piece of hardwood laying around the shop and it's milled to a dimension of 3/8" x " x 12". A " hole is drilled and countersunk into the center of the runner and then a slot is jig sawed into the runner to provide expansion of the runner in the miter slot when tightened.

The jig can now be assembled and put to use, providing that the epoxy has had sufficient time to cure.

With repetitive use this jig is bound for improvements. One of those improvements is to bevel cut the feathers at a 45° angle to provide more bearing surface against the stock being ripped. If one chooses not to use Lexan® as feathers, 1/8" hardboard can be substituted but a few more feathers should be used as the hardboard has a tendency to wear and Lexan® may not be available to some. I trust this will help out others, I know it's going to be of special interest to one woodworker.