Life, Liberty and DIY

BOW Products Feather Board Probably Your Best Choice

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Have you ever cut your finger on a table saw? I have, it isn’t the funnest of activities.

If you want to hear more about me putting a finger in the table-saw listen here: My tablesaw sent me to the emergency room

With that in mind the I think the Bow Products Featherboard is one of the best on the market, and the one you should buy. Here is why.

How The Feather Board Prevents Cut Fingers

One of the problems that comes up with cutting on the table saw is if you get distracted, you can lose track of where your hands are. You don’t have to always be distracted, you can also just be super new and trying to think of everything at one time. (points at self)

Giving a physical barrier for your fingers to touch is a great way to help you keep track of where those fingers are.

As an example as you are feeding long boards through the saw. Your left hand is generally holding on to the board to keep it steady while on the table. The question is how far forward do you move that hand before taking it away?

Do you know how far you have pushed that hand forward?

Some people hook a thumb at the edge of the table to so they keep it there.

Well the feather board can allow you to touch something with your fingers giving you feedback to stop moving your hand. That alone makes a feather board super important in my opinion.

Helps Prevent Kickback

Most feather boards just help to keep wood pressure against the fence. However, the bow products board has a rigid foam with teeth. These teeth will help to grip on to the wood if the saw tries to kickback on you.

It does this by being slightly flexible, then when the board moves backwards it causes the teeth to protrude more than normal putting extra pressure against the fence.

Multi-tool

I think one of the final, great, things about this feather board is you can use it on multiple types of tools. So it isn’t just limited to the table saw.

If you get the double stack option you can use take them apart and use them as 2 separate ones. If you stack them together you can use it with taller stock on various tools.

There is also a t-track option if you have t-tracks on your router table, or assembly table.

Cons

I have talked pretty extensively about the pros, and by far there are a lot of pros. Enough to make this an easy buy.

However, you should know about the cons.

  1. I think the biggest frustration is since the foam board is so big you can’t use too wide of a board so it really only works for smaller cut offs on the side opposite the fence. Now most of the time this is not a big deal at all, but on occasion it can be annoying.
  2. The parts that go into the miter slot can be tough to actually push into the slots, sometimes. I don’t really understand why. At times they just slide right in at others I have to coerce them. (that said the new version has a bit of a different way so this cold be fixed)

That is really about it.

Conclusion

If you don’t have a feather board totally buy the Bow products featherboard. It is well worth the money. If it is possible to use it, then I do. I am also going to make sure when I build a router table, I can definitely use these feather boards with it.

Finally they have a product for the bandsaw to re-saw wood. I like this one so much I am going to buy it to test out and use.

BudDIY Podcast – Episode 56 – Topic Roundtable

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This weeks episode is a topic round table and a list of problems from this week.

In this weeks episode I discuss the importance of paste wax, tool maintenance. I hit on my top 5 podcasts and why I like them, from a listener question.

I also discuss ordering chickens, and wrap it up with some technology discussions about backing up your life.

There is also a bit of a larger segment where I talk about some of the problems I had this week, and how I am working to solve them. Some weeks are just more productive than others.

Carhartt Quilt Lined Duck Shell Coat

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This quilt lined Carhartt coat single handedly changed my views on winter clothing.

I used to think there was no hope staying warm in the winter with clothing alone. I have done a lot of winter camping, and just stuff outside in the winter. However, I was always cold unless I was working, or hiking, or just constantly moving.

I would be warm, sometimes, in a low degree rated sleeping bag. I just never could stay warm.

Why I Got the Coat

To be honest I never really did a lot of research into winter clothing because I had never successfully been warm in winter, and for some reason I just accepted it would never happen.

A couple of years ago we got chickens and I was going to have to go out everyday no matter the weather and do chores. I decided I needed to figure out how to stay warm. Realistically, I wasn’t going to do the chores if I couldn’t be mildly comfortable. That would not be fair to the chickens.

The Coat

I started looking around at fellow farmers, and homesteaders in my area. Also those same people in colder climates. Most of them wore a Carhartt coat, so I figured they have to know something I don’t.

So I set out to buy a Carhartt coat with absolutely no knowledge of what I was doing, and I bought the wrong one.

The company I worked for offered branded Carhartt coats at a discount if you bought 5, it was mostly meant for sales staff.

I rounded up the people, and we bought 5. Only these were jackets not actual coats. I almost swore off Carhartt coats then and there.

However, my wife convinced me to try one last time. We went to atwoods, and I tried on coats. They were much different than the jacket I owned. They were thick, heavy duty, tough, and super warm. I even started sweating in the store.

It was glorious, but I didn’t buy just yet.

The Purchase

I actually, out of curiosity while my wife was looking at the clearance rack, scanned the coat with the amazon app. On amazon for that day I could buy that coat for $30 off, so… I did. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but it was $30 off.

The Coat is Amazing

For the last two years I have used this coat extensively in all kinds of weather. Here are my favorite reasons I like it

Pros

  1. It actually blocks wind, never experienced that in clothing even when they claim it.
  2. Sheds water for a long time before it starts to soak in. Usually plenty of time to finish the task I am on.
  3. Super warm just standing around down into the 30’s, and down into the 10’s if I am working. With a t-shirt or long sleeve t.
  4. Resistant to tears, I don’t know how many times I have nicked this thing against branches, wood, and other things. No tears.

Cons

  1. The hood. The only con I have is the hood, and it really isn’t one. I don’t like hoods as I wear full brim hats, a lot, so the fact it is there I don’t like. However, the coats without them I didn’t like as much so…

If you are on the fence about buying one, definitely do it. It is totally worth the money. I am so on-board with this coat I will buy one full price if I need to once this one wears out. That said I don’t know when/if it will wear out. It still feels, almost, new and is a couple years old.

After this purchase I have put more time an energy into finding good winter clothes instead of assuming they will all be bad. So, if you are in the same boat I was. Don’t give up.

BudDIY Podcast – Episode 55 – Tell Me About Wood Routers

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How do you use a wood router? I know I didn’t know how.

In fact I started using one just by adding a bit and turning it on to have fun. I started not knowing anything about how it works, I was totally safe.

Now that I am ready to jump into the next level of woodworking skill, and I ordered stuff to fix my 3 hp router I need to actually figure out how they work.

To that end this episode is all about the theory of using a router that I learned with several hours of research, it is a summary to refer back to at any point if I forget something. Hopefully it helps others as well.

Maglite 3-Cell D Battery is The Only Homestead Flashlight You Need

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LED plus Maglite is an instant win because you know it means quality. That is why I recommend the Maglite LED 3-Cell D Battery.

I have been around Maglites for years, and owned and used several different types. Maglite is, if not the best, one of the best flashlight companies around, period.

LEDs have also been the best lights, pretty much, since they were invented by GE. I have loved LEDs as general lights since before the compact fluorescent craze set them back several years. LED lights are stronger, lighter, produces less heat, lasts longer, and are safer for you and the environment than any other type of light.

So when I saw there were LED Maglites, I put away my old ones and immediately ordered them. I heard at one point these were not great, but have been fixed in recent years. I only learned about them a couple of years ago, I was still happily using the old incandescent lights.

Which Maglite should I buy?

I think the answer is easily the D-Cell sized Maglites. Preferably the 3 D-Cell.

My reasoning is kind of simplistic. It is a great form factor for most hands to hold on to. It is has a little heft to it so you aren’t swinging it around everywhere as your hands twitch so it forces you to be specific about what you do.

The D-Cell sized lights are also super durable, and with the amount of power they store lasts a LONG time. Also if you need to use that durability for other things, they will do that too.

Plus one of the most important things is the lights are super bright. I can shine it on my neighbors house 300 feet away and see what is happening in their yard. This is great when checking for predators at night.

I just wish they made a 6-Cell version of these.

How many flashlights to buy?

At least 1.

I also try to have one at each exit in my house, and I have these D-Cell Maglite Mounting Brackets for quick access to a lite on the door I am heading out.

I also recommend one for each vehicle, but I haven’t found a good way I like to secure it inside the car. So I keep removing them, and they don’t make it back for a long time.

Conclusion

To be honest it is crazy how often you use a flashlight, especially in the winter, that once I started having one on hand most of the time I wondered what I ever did before.

So to wrap it up I recommend the Maglite LED 3-Cell D Battery for the light, and to mount the light. I recommend D-Cell Maglite Mounting Brackets

BudDIY Podcast – Episode 54 – Building the Stair Dresser

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The loft bed is done, but there is no way to get up to it.

In this episode I discuss the build and construction of the combination dresser and stairs that I have built. This was a fun project as it was fairly large and put my skills to the test.

The project didn’t go perfect, but I was able to get it done while still looking great. So I want to walk through the process and talk about some of the “how”, and a few of the mistakes. Also talking a bit about some preventative measures I could have taken.

BudDIY Podcast – Episode 53 – Look at 2021

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Looking back and analyzing the last year is great, and in fact we did that.

However, looking forward and figuring out what you want to do in the future is just as important. If not more important. And making sure it aligns with long term goals.

2021 is going to present some interesting challenges. Especially since I plan to up my content creation this year.

I also plan to attempt to make money from this thing called woodworking and teaching. We will see how that goes.

Give this episode a listen if you are curious what is in store for 2021.

BudDIY Podcast – Episode 52 – Year of Good, Bad, and What?

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Was 2020 a wild ride for you?

Overall 2020 was a pretty interesting year in a lot of ways. For me and my family it was productive, and I am super thankful for that.

As is the tradition at the end of the year I take this episode to look back at successes failures, and a few other random things that happened this year. It is a great start to a reflection to setup for next weeks episode.

BudDIY Podcast – Episode 51 – All My Problems Building the Loft Bed

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Even when successful you can have things go wrong. However, it is what you do with those failures that really help to step up in skills.

The best thing you can do when you get done with a project is to stop and think through the work. While thinking through everything think about all of the steps, what went good? and what went bad?

In this episode I discuss each of the things that I came across that went wrong, and my attempt at how to rectify those problems. Or if I don’t have a solution what I plan to do to figure one out. Fortunately, or unfortunately, some of these problems are just a purchase away. Others are woodworking skill development.

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BudDIY Podcast – Episode 50 – That Week I Built a Loft Bed

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Building a large project can be hard. This week I built almost an entire loft bed from start to finish. I also learned a lot along the way, and there was a lot to learn.

I think one of the biggest problems in building projects that are outside of your skill level is lack of planning, and lack of confidence that you can do it. I know I am guilty of these same things.

However, on this project while I knew it was above my skill level in several areas. I also had skills in a lot of it to tackle the project, and it was a, mostly, great experience.

Listen to this weeks episode where I talk about the experience, and the things I learned.

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