Kreg PRS3020 True-FLEX Featherboard, 2 Pack

Kickback happens when the blade catches the workpiece and violently throws it back to the front of the saw, towards the operator. It can be thrown very hard and can injure the operator. It is not uncommon for the object to have high enough velocity to become embedded in a wall or to cause other damage or injury. Never stand in a direct line between the blade and the fence when ripping narrow stock. A kickback can be fatal.Kickback happens when ripping if:The wood pinches the blade because of internal stresses. This is difficult to predict and can be impossible to control when using fingers to hold the wood down. Many times the board pinches the blade and is thrown back before the wood reaches a splitter. This type of kickback never happens when a board is not cut all the way through (dado). By starting a cut with a dado and then raising the blade to leave a splitter tab of uncut wood, this type of kickback can be avoided, but raising the blade during a cut cannot be done unless anti-kickback hold downs are used, so it is safe to raise the blade with a free hand.The wood is allowed to raise up or moved sideways during a cut, then pushed back down, taking too big a bite at the top of the blade. This can be prevented by using feeder wheels very close to the start of the blade and hold downs after the blade to control the wood all the way through the cut. The right feeder wheels are very effective for both dados in plywood and for rip cuts on boards as narrow as 1/8". Feeder wheels can be powered or unpowered, clamped or held magnetically, and replace fingers near the blade so a hand can be free to turn off the saw during a cut.The board is pinched between the rear of the blade and the fence. The fence should be parallel with the blade, for the best cut on both sides of the blade. The fence can be set with the rear farther from the fence for safety, but at the expense of upcut marks on the "waste" piece. Never allow the fence to be closer to the rear of the blade than the front.Kickback can also happen when crosscutting boards with internal stresses. A chop saw or circular saw is the best preference for cutting poor lumber.[citation needed]The risk of kickback is reduced by certain practices:The blade must be kept sharp and clean, something novice users may not recognize. The buildup of pitch on a blade greatly increases friction and increases the probability of kickback. It also decreases the quality of the cut, causing it to burn.The saw must be aligned, adjusted so that it is parallel to the miter grooves, with the rip fence should angled minutely. If the blade is parallel with the fence you will notice the marks made by the back of the blade on the wood. It is possible for the workpiece to be pinched between the blade and the rip fence, which will cause violent kickback if the fence is closer at the back of the blade. The correct relationship for the fence is minutely spread which means that the angle is different depending on the side of the blade the fence is set.The blade guard should be used whenever possible. Typical table saws incorporates a riving knife, a spreader which helps prevent the cut from closing on the back of the saw blade. Natural tension can exist in wood that causes the cut to close. Some blade guards have anti-kickback devices that allow only forward travel past the blade.Push the workpiece past the blade. Do not release a workpiece until it is past the blade and removed from the saw. Turn the saw off before removing small cut off pieces.Always maintain control. Do not execute a cut where you do not have complete control of the situation. Make sure there are no obstructions. Do not cut a workpiece that is too large to handle.Do not use the rip fence as a guide during crosscuts. If you need to make a series of equal length crosscuts, use a stop block in front of the blade so the workpiece is not in contact with the rip fence during the cut. It is easy for the workpiece to twist out of perpendicular at the end of the cut and thus get caught by the blade and thrown.Check for flaws in the wood. Cutting through a loose knot can be dangerous. Cutting a warped or twisted board along the rip fence is dangerous because it can get pinched between the fence and blade.

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I bought the two-pack back in the beginning of 2016 as part of a upgrade project for my Delta 34-670 table saw which primarily consisted of building a router table onto the extended rails of the fence (an earlier upgrade). Well...the featherboards ended up on a shelf in the back of the shop until today when they were rediscovered. One now is mounted in the T-track on the router table, and other in the 3/4" slot in the saw table. I used the router table today and the featherboard exceeded expectations! It held the workpiece against the fence perfectly, and helped keep my hands away from the action. The cut was perfect.If anyone is interested in the details of the router table, a simple search of "woodsmith extension wing router table" will take you to the article on the table and fence. They both needed some customizing and I made some more significant modifications to the fence design in order to utilize the existing table saw fence. The whole configuration works great.

I bought these to go with my new Kreg router table. They come with interchangeable hardware to sit on the fence or the 3/4 miter slot of the router table or a table saw.All I can say is that yes they are featherboards, yes they are sturdy (feeling- I have yet to drop them or anything) and yes they work. Their first job out of the package was to help me route some 3/4 maple. As both side and down force assists these never once loosened on me. I have an older kreg feather board that's still going strong. While I can appreciate the views of those skeptical about paying so much for what amounts to 95% plastic parts and some simple bolts I would also say they are a good site cheaper than a ruined workpiece or a ruined hand.

The feather board 2 pack arrived quickly and in perfect condition. However, there were instructions in just one of the two packages. Of course I opened the one without the instructions first. I didn't want to open the other package until I was sure I wanted to keep them, so I assumed there were no instructions. trying connecting the miter slide to the feather board correctly was not self-evident. Kreg customer service was excellent. After emailing them, the instructions were emailed back to me very quickly. Once the miter slide bolt was correctly placed the feather board worked perfectly! I tried a few cuts and found the feather board to work very well. Plenty of tension on the board when I wanted it and more gentle tension when less is more. So I opened the second package and what do you know, the instructions were right their behind the marketing card!I don't understand the complaint that the feather boards cannot produce enough tension. They work so well I couldn't push the board through the saw and had to back them off a little. So it seems Kreg's claim that variable tension is designed into the feather boards might actually be true. These feather boards are a joy to use, but a hassle to go from singe feather board to double. I will get a second set to save time and frustration.