Today in the shop (Kreg feather Bds)

[reible]

The particular set I purchase went by the title

Kreg PRS3020 True-FLEX Featherboard pack of two.

So why was I interested in getting these? Good question. I'm building another jig and was looking at the range that the shopsmith version covers, it wasn't as much as I wanted so this was an option to solve that problem.

Let's start with a picture so you know what I'm talking about.

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I'm pretty happy with the shopsmith version and the kreg version is almost identical, well in function anyway. I had even hoped the slot spacing would be the same but it is not.

For the benefit of those of you who have not played with the shopsmith version there a few things they didn't mention or show that I have found to be a real plus. The hardware that comes with the shopsmith version allows it to mount in shopsmith miter slots, and it also works in slots you create in fences/fixtures/attachments. You can remove the track hardware and mount it, great for some applications. However one big plus is that it will take 1/4" hardware. Now this opens another window of opportunity.

In this next picture you see a couple of t-nuts that fit the 505/510/520 tables and other similar shopsmith miter slots.

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I'm not going to force feed you examples but now that you know this simple fact it should be obvious that the featherboards are no long just for your shopsmith. If you have anything with standard t-track you can simply use the same 1/4" hardware it takes to mount them. Keep this in mind when we look at the Kreg version be used in this next picture, it could just as well be the shopsmith ones.

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It also means that the Kreg can go where the shopsmith ones normally go. Here are the t-nuts with a set of knobs I keep for my shopsmith ones.

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And now it is mounted on the shopsmith (this will not work on the older machines without the t-track miter slot).

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In the next post we will cover more on the Kreg kit that I got and what comes with it etc.

Ed

[reible]

Here is a picture of what came with the two pack.

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A "normal" assembly would look like this.

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The hardware included lets you do a stack like this.

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It is designed to fit the normal miter slots like this non-shopsmith band saw.

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But it is not going to fit the track on the shopsmith (some adventures types might modify it to fit but I'm not going there, well at least of now)

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If you are looking for featherboards these might be a consideration especially if you have the t-track table. For those that don't a bit of sanding might be enough to get them to fit the shopsmith size slot but I can't promise how well that would work. They do give you some added hardware which expands the flexibility which is nice. Price wise it is a wash, this pair is about $30, the shopsmith price for a pair is about $30, order from somewhere with free shipping like amazon could save you a few $.

Recommended reading:

http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic.php?t=2717

Information about some other uses of featherboards.

Ed

[rpd]

I really do need new glasses. or at least to give the old ones a good clean.
On first read I thought it said Kreg feather Boa.