Craftsman 315.22811 To Make a Push Stick, HOW to Make a Featherboard, 13/16in 10in

_ WARNING: Never stand directly in line with the

blade or allow hands to come closer than 3

inches to the blade. Do not reach over or across

the blade. Failure to comply can result in serious

personal injury,

•Use the right type of blade for the cut being made.

TO MAKE A PUSH STICK

A push stick is a device used to safely push a workpiece through the blade instead of using your hands. Push sticks in various sizes and shapes can be made from scrap wood. The stick must always be narrower than the workpiece. If it is too wide, it may jam on the rip fence or blade. When ripping narrow stock, always use a push stick so your hand does not come close to the saw blade.

Note: Push blocks and featherboards should always be used when making non-through cuts.

A simple push stick design is shown in figure 34. Remember that the stick must always be narrower than the workpiece to avoid risk of injury.

FEATHERBOARD

A featherboard is a device used to help control the workpiece by guiding it securely against the table or fence. Featherboards are especially useful when ripping small workpieces and for completing non- through cuts. Featherboards are made from a solid piece of straight grain wood, free from splitsor knots.

HOW TO MAKE A FEATHERBOARD

The featherboard is an excellent project for your saw. Select a solid piece of lumber approximately 3/4 in. thick, 3-5/8 in. wide and 18 inches long. Mark the center of the width on one end of the stock. Miter one-half of the width to 30° and miter the other half of the same end to 45 °. See page 29 for information

3/8 INCH DIAMETER

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 as indicated in figure 35.

Prepare the saw for ripping as discussed on page

29.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 inches. 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 allow approximately 1/4 in. fingers and 1/8 in. spaces between the fingers. See Figure 35.

HOW TO MOUNT A FEATHERBOARD

Remove the adjusting clamp knob, bolt and washer from the Miter Fence Holder. Place the bolt through one of the holes in the featherboard. Positioning the featherboard will depend on the placement of the bolt and the position of the sliding miter table on the rails. Place the washer on the bolt and attach the adjusting clamp knob, loosely. Position the featherboard with the hex head of the bolt in the miter table slot but do not tighten. Completely lower the saw blade. Position the rip fence to the desired adjustment for the cut to be performed and lock. Place the workpiece against the fence and over the saw blade area. Adjust the featherboard to apply resistance to the workpiece just forward of the blade. Securely tighten the adjusting clamp knob to secure the featherboard in place. Attach a C-clamp to further secure the featherboard to the edge of the S_idingMiter Table.

_lh WARNING: Do not locate the featherboard to the rear of the workpiece. Kickback can result

from the featherboard pinching the workpiece and binding the blade in the saw kerf if positioned improperly. Failure to heed this warning can result in serious personal injury.

1/4 in.

3/4 in.

1/8 in.

1-13/16in.

6in,--

8in.

10in.

12in.

18 in.

Figure 35

CRBFTSMIIN" TABLESAW315.22811026