Homemade Bedboard, Homemade Featherboard

Homemade Bedboard

A homemade bedboard can be made as shown in Figure 26. Permanent guide rails are mounted as shown.

Homemade Featherboard

For face molding, a homemade guide and comb or featherboard can be combined to position stock for desired pattern cuts. See Figure 27. Select a straight piece of hardwood for the guide. This piece should be 2” x 1/2” and at least 27-1/4” long. The guide should be exactly parallel to the milled edge of the planer bed. The guide can be held in place with C-clamps. You will have to cut clearances in the guide so the guide will fit beneath the rollers.

A featherboard can be of great help in guiding stock. It is quickly made from any piece of 1” thick stock, approximately 8” long and 3” wide. Saw the parallel slots about 4” deep and 1/8” apart. The feather board can be C-clamped at any position to exert a spring tension to hold the stock against the guide.

Homemade Guide Set-Up for Edge Molding

Figure 28 shows a wooden guide set-up for edge molding. The guides are C-clamped on each side of the stock and are within 3/4” of the top edge to provide maximum support so that the narrow stock will travel beneath the knife.

Installing Single Pattern Knives

Pattern knives are easy to install and adjust.

Always disconnect machine from power source before changing knives or molding bits. Always use the gib(s) supplied with a particular molding knife.

1.Loosen the gib set screws and tap all gibs down to release the planer knives.

2.Remove the planer knives, then the gibs and jack screws. Clean the cutterhead slots and the custom pattern knife thoroughly with a nonflammable solvent to remove all wood, dust, gum, and any protective coatings.

3.Re-install the jack screws. Install the aluminum gib and then the pattern knife into one of the cutterhead slots. See Figure 29. Tighten the gib set screws. Double check during this tightening, to insure against the knife creeping up during the tightening process. If necessary, tap the knife down with a hard wood block until it has bottomed out in the cutterhead slot.

Figure 26

Figure 27

Figure 28

Figure 29