# How do you feed past the safety wheels?



## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

How do you get a push stick past?

Is this really a 'safety' tool?

M


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Use a push stick in each hand. Different
shapes are available, some of which can be
held on the corner of the stock. Switch
hands as needed.

I have Board Buddies. I used them for
a few years but don't anymore. My favorite
similar safety device is a magnetic 
featherboard.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

I was always told *not* to swap hands as this causes a full release of the stock & hence a safety violation.

How are you going to push between the two or past the blade?

I really don't see a safety improvement, or am I wrong?

Lets hear from someone that owns a set.

M


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I *do* own a set.


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## HTown (Feb 25, 2015)

I've got the Jessem version. The wheels keep the stock tight to the fence and prevent it from kicking back. If it posts properly, here is an image of a push stick I copied from a FWW article









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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

No, I want to know how they improve safety. I have a full assortment of push blocks, the stick, the shoe, the pad. I can't see how any will work with this gadget. If you can explain how you would do it, that would be helpful.

M

HTown, I can see how that might work but it would help if the manual gave a hint. Lol


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## HTown (Feb 25, 2015)

The push part of the stick I posted is only 3/8 thick and passes under the wheels. It is fed flat, parallel to the table, just like the picture. Hope that helps


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

Yeah, I was thinking something similar. The manual says "feed the stock" but doesn't suggest how or with what

Loren: why did you stop using them?

M


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## pirate (Sep 4, 2009)

Just make a push stick, that fits. In the picture, there is room under the wheel.


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## TungOil (Jan 16, 2017)

I have a set of these, but I use them on my shaper when raising panels.


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

*Use wider stock*!

Works great for cutting dado's. Holds the boards down flat and secure. That's safer.
Keeps longer boards from falling off the end of your saw when you don't have a out fall table. That's safer.
Safety starts with you. Using any fam dam item depends on how well you utilize it.

If you can't figure out how to safely utilize it for yourself then you should pass on purchasing them. 
But there are advantages using them for certain things.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I found mag featherboards faster to set up
and in any case, as long as constant pressure
is applied in pushing the stock, kickback is
uncommon. It's a risk I'm willing to take
and most of the time I rip without any safety
devices except a push stick.

Where the round wheel things excel is in keeping
stock with a tapered edge tight against the 
fence, a situation where featherboards on
the waste side lose contact. They do a good
job I think but are fussy to set up for thickness
variations. Using those I would start out 
ripping a 4' board pushing by right hand, pick
up a corner or side push stick when my 
hand neared the blade, using my left hand,
then, when the cutting was done push the
ripped-to-width piece off with a long push
stick held flat against the table.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

How about when resawing?

For the shaper they make perfect sense.

M
.


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## RobS888 (May 7, 2013)

> I was always told *not* to swap hands as this causes a full release of the stock & hence a safety violation.
> 
> How are you going to push between the two or past the blade?
> 
> ...


The wheels will keep it in position, so no loss of control. The yellow ones only go forward and pull the stock into the fence.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

I have owned my Board Buddies for +6yr and love them.

That said, they are best with wider stock, thus allowing you to set the yellow wheels farther away from the fence. That in turn allows one to use a longer narrow push stick between the fence and the wheel.

I also use a second push stick, rear of the TS blade, to hold the piece against the fence. Never use the second push stick from blade forward, which would pinch the cut.

FWIW, I have used two Grippers when cutting narrow strips, placing the narrow cut between the fence and the blade. I DO NOT LIKE THAT SET UP. As a matter of fact I have ruined the 1/4" narrow Gripper fence when doing so. I no longer will use Grippers in that manner, as I find it to actually be hazardous to do so.

BOTTOM LINE-Use a wider piece of wood when using the Yellow Board buddies, even when cutting narrow strips. Just make the narrow strips/cuts outside of the blade side, so that they don't/can't bind. After the board gets to be just 2-3" wide, get another board to cut strips from. My 2-cents…


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## dbeck (Jun 1, 2017)

Thanks for starting this topic, i as well have wondered at times if these would be a benefit or not. Great advice from the experienced fellows.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

So we rate it 'sometimes' for the TS, incomplete instructions that don't show a push shoe, and 'for wide boards only'.

M


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

I have em. Dont care for em. Went grripper instead.


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

> No, I want to know how they improve safety. I have a full assortment of push blocks, the stick, the shoe, the pad. I can t see how any will work with this gadget. If you can explain how you would do it, that would be helpful.
> 
> M
> 
> ...


I just use a narrow straight piece of hardwood against the butt of the stock I am cutting. Kinda like the one in HTown's pic only without the fancy handle. I like that handle though. Am gonna make one, but sometimes i am pushing on something that is only 1/2 inch wide or so.

I also have the Jessem version. Bought them after 2 kickbacks to the ribs in 2 weeks. They hold the stock down and against the fence. I still sometimes also use a mag feather board with them. The BB's or Jessem's do a great job. The Jessems were more money but gave me more piece of mind.

The 2 push stick technique always makes me uncomfortable for some unexplained reason. Something about pushing the wood from 2 directions, but that's just me.

P.S. I have a never used set of in the box Board Buddies if anyone is interested. PM me.


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

> I ve got the Jessem version. The wheels keep the stock tight to the fence and prevent it from kicking back. If it posts properly, here is an image of a push stick I copied from a FWW article
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Gotta ask…what is that yellow articulated thing on top of your saw??


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

I had something like that 30 years ago. Don't have a clue now what ever happened to them.


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I have board buddies, but never use them. I favor a riving knife and magnetic featherboards if needed.

I understand what some people are saying about board buddies working on wide stock or plywood, but large push paddles work pretty good for that too.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Obviously, they work fine with a push stick and wider pieces. When I use mine on narrow stock, since they provide pressure down against the table and toward the fence, I just follow the piece through with a pieces of scrap slightly smaller than the piece being cut (a much uglier version of Andy's).

I have a removable rack overhead, just forward of the front of the saw, where I keep all my push sticks, shoes, paddles and what not. If I forget to grab a shoe, I just reach up and grab the one I want.

Probably not shown in the picture are the four inch or so wide shoes that rest up there too. For side pieces, I reach for these more often than the wheels, which I usually only mount when I'm doing a bunch of precision cuts on flat stock.

SIDE NOTE: For my Unifence, I had to add a piece of wood on the backside to provide support for the wheels. Now, I have another fence someone on Lumberjocks pointed me to and it works wonderfully for jigs.


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## Carloz (Oct 12, 2016)

I always was curious about that thing. Wouldn't the saw in the case of kickback situation raise the Biesemeyer style fence and throw at you together with the piece you are cutting.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

Carloz, which one were you asking about?

Mine, just above, is a Unifence, so it's only supported on the front. I believe the Biesemeyers are supported on both ends (no/yes?).

It'd take one heck of a disaster to rip even my front supported fence off and I've never heard of it happening. A couple times, I left my brain in the house, went out in the shop and fired up the saw without fully securing the fence. Nothing came of it (probably lucky), except the fence moved a bit to the right and it was, immediately, obvious I needed to push the lock down farther.

In the case above, I just held the wood in place and I don't think I'd even got to the splitter yet.


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## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

> I have board buddies, but never use them. I favor a riving knife and magnetic featherboards if needed.
> 
> I understand what some people are saying about board buddies working on wide stock or plywood, but large push paddles work pretty good for that too.
> - pintodeluxe


I actually use both my Board Buddies AND keep my Riving Knife in place. I place the rear BB just past the back of the riving knife, when I can. On wider boards I can still put the BBs along side of the riving knife, or even closer to the cutting edge of the TS blade. So basically I can leave my BBs in place for nearly all cuts.

The only time I find it necessary to remove the BBs is when using my I-Box jig.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

I resaw 1×6's into 1/4" x 6" slabs on the TS. How does resawing that thin work? These are the type of jobs I'd like a failsafe on.

M


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