Using Board Buddies

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adamshatch
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:52 pm

Using Board Buddies

Post by adamshatch »

Hello all,

I am about to rip my strips and after searching around this forum I have deceided that board buddies are the way to go. I purchased a pair of yellow board buddies and drilled and tapped my beisemer fence on my unisaw for the optional mounting bracket. I have them all adjusted to the point where I am happy with them, but when I ripped a test board, I realized there was a problem I'm not sure how to deal with.

Having done a lot of woodwork in the past (I am a Technology Teacher - Technology is a fancy way of saying shop) and always use a push stick or block for pushing the boards through the blade. So here is the big question - how do I push the board all the way through the blade if I am doing this by myself? I could see how it would work if I had a helper on the other side to pull the last little bit past the blade and out of the buddies, but I just can't visualise how to do it on my own.

Thanks for your help with this issue,

John
sluggo
Posts: 244
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:17 pm
Location: Vancouver BC

Post by sluggo »

Hey John,

I pushed my lumber through the blade until there was maybe 18" inches left (roughly speaking, I can't quite remember). See the pictures below and click on my links at the bottom for more pictures.

Image

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cheers
adamshatch
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:52 pm

Post by adamshatch »

Thanks for the reply Sluggo. So when you stopped pushing at approx. 18 inches, did you then move around the other side of the saw and pull the board the rest of the way through? If so, do the board buddies hold the board from kickback, or did you maintain your hold on the board as you moved around the saw.

Thanks again,

John
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Denis
Posts: 313
Joined: Tue May 11, 2004 8:11 am
Location: Lakefield, Ontario

board buddies

Post by Denis »

I pushed my stock at least half way through then walked around to other end and pulled it the rest of the way through. Keep an eye on the angle you are pulling it through on and try and keep it flat against the fence. I planed all my planking after both sides so minor differences in thickness were not a problem. I did have help one day and we got a lot done between the two of us one pushing and one pulling the rest of the way through.

Denis
Rod Tait

Post by Rod Tait »

I purchased a set of board buddies and found the same problem and gave up on them. I just push through by hand now and finish with the push stick. I find it much faster too. If you have access to the full shop, then maybe you have a power feed available. That's the only way I would use my Buddies.
DrPepper
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:20 pm

Post by DrPepper »

I am confused, why can't you use a push stick with a board buddy? I just use a scrap piece of wood that is thinner than the stock you are ripping. It slides right under the board buddy. If you want to go all out put a handle on it.
AkDan
Posts: 172
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:19 pm

Post by AkDan »

I'm not sure about these board buddies, but I used feather boards.

With the right sized infeed and outfeed tables you can run just one feather board and use a push stick just fine. It'll keep the board tight to the fence, and the infeed and outfeeds will keep it from bowing up. and it's quicker then dealing with a feather board that comes from the top.
sluggo
Posts: 244
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:17 pm
Location: Vancouver BC

Post by sluggo »

I think I held on to the board as I walked around but can't quite remember. There's wasn't any kickback though. If there was, the board buddies wouldn't be doing their job.

I'm not a tablesaw guru so I was never super comfortable with pushing wood with a push stick when ripping strips. I think I would be tempted to still walk around and pull the wood off of the back of the saw, in which case for me it wouldn't be any faster than using the bb. Actually, it wasn't the pushstick that bothered me. It was more of an issue of the cut strips flopping around all over the place after I finished pushing it through. I use push sticks all the time with bigger (ie wider) pieces of wood though.
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