Ryobi BTS15 manual HOW to Make a Featherboard, HOW to Mount a Featherboard

OPERATION

FEATHERBOARD	in the featherboard. Positioning the featherboard will depend
A featherboard is a device used to help control the workpiece	on the placement of the bolt. Place the washer on the bolt and
	attach the adjusting clamp knob,		loosely. Position the
by guiding it securely against the table or fence. Featherboards
	featherboard with the hex head of the bolt in the miter table
are especially useful when ripping small workpieces and for
	slot but do not tighten. Completely lower the saw blade.
completing non-through cuts. The end is angled, with a
	Position the rip fence to the desired adjustment for the cut to
number of short kerfs to give a friction hold on the workpiece.
	be performed and lock. Place the workpiece against the
Lock it in place on the table with a C-clamp. Test that it could
	fence and over the saw blade area. Adjust the featherboard
resist kickback.
	to apply resistance to the workpiece just forward of the blade.
WARNING:	Securely tighten the adjusting clamp knob to secure the
	featherboard in place. Attach a C-clamp to further secure the
Place the featherboard against the uncut portion of the	featherboard to the edge of the sliding miter table.
workpiece, to avoid kickback that could cause serious	WARNING:
personal injury.
HOW TO MAKE A FEATHERBOARD	DO NOT locate the	featherboard	to the rear of the
	workpiece. Kickback can result from the featherboard
See Figure 19.
	pinching the workpiece and binding the blade in the saw
The featherboard is an excellent project for your BTS15.	kerf if positioned improperly. Failure to heed this warning
Select a solid piece of lumber approximately 3/4 in. thick, 3-5/8 in.	can result in serious personal injury.
wide and 18 in. long. Mark the center of the width on one end
of the stock. Miter one-half of the width to 30° and miter the	FEATHERBOARD
other half of the same end to 45°. See page 24 for information
on miter cuts. Mark the board from the point at 6 in., 8 in., 10
in. and 12 in. Drill a 3/8 in. hole at the 8 in., 10 in., and 12 in.
marks. Set the rip fence to allow approximately a 1/4 in.
"finger" to be cut in the stock. Feed the stock only to the mark
previously made at 6 in. Turn the saw OFF and allow the
blade to completely stop rotating before removing the stock.
Reset the rip fence and cut spaced rips into the workpiece to			PUSH STICK
allow approximately 1/4 in. fingers and 1/8 in. spaces between
the fingers.			BEVEL
HOW TO MOUNT A FEATHERBOARD			LOCKING
Remove the adjusting clamp knob, bolt and washer from the			LEVER
	“C” CLAMP	PUSH BLOCK
Miter Fence Holder. Place the bolt through one of the holes			Fig. 18

	3/8 in. DIAMETER
		30°
3-5/8 in.	1/4 in.
		45° 1-13/16 in.
3/4 in.	1/8 in.	6 in.
		8 in.
	10 in.
	12 in.
	18 in.

Fig. 19

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