# Board Buddy/Featherboard Type Device for Bandsaw?



## bill4123 (Apr 25, 2011)

Hi All,

I just started rough cutting a huge pile of maple logs I claimed from a recent storm. I am cutting everything deli style on the bandsaw and am feeding everything through by hand. The blade I am using is very intimidating and very aggressive. I would like to keep my hands away from it as much as possible. Something that would make this job go much smoother would be something kind of like a board buddy but it would hook to the miter slot of the bandsaw and would push the log against the resaw fence. It needs to have enough "push" to keep the log against the fence but needs to have enough travel to accommodate the irregularities of the wavy log.

Basically I want something that does what a featherboard does but has way more "travel". Something like this would allow me to concentrate more on feed rate and safe hand placement and less on keeping the board lined up with the fence.

Does anybody know of an existing product that serves this purpose? I'm sure I could make one but if someone already makes it then I would gladly pay for it. My search efforts weren't very fruitful.

Thanks,
Bill


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## Sanity (Jan 13, 2011)

Carter Accuright® Log Mill™ - is this what you mean? I think if you do a search on videos, people have made their own versions of this.


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## thebicyclecafe (Mar 29, 2012)

I would think if you make some type of sled similar to the Carter log mill you'd be fine. A featherboard type idea is fine but your log would have to be very straight and without too much variance (almost never) to begin with, otherwise it won't pass through the featherboard securely.

Alternately you can do this if you don't want to get too complicated: make a simple sled out of two pieces of ply, (one side to ride against the fence, one side to ride against the table top) attached at a 90 degree angle to one other. Make sure the base is narrower than the log, and then run a few screws from the outside of the fence side face into the log (which is nestled within the sled), make sure the screws are short enough so it won't contact the blade on your first pass through the BS. Then, rough cut one face on the BS, remove the screws, flip the flat face onto the sled, and then saw the adjacent edge at a right angle to the jointed face. At this point you have one face and one edge flat, then just use your fence or any type of drift compensated straight edge to mill/resaw the boards to rough thickness.


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