Woodstock W1104 Board Buddies, Yellow

by Woodstock

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The yellow wheels turn clockwise on these Board Buddies to help prevent kickback on table saws and router tables. Mounts to fences 3-Inch to 3-1/2-Inch high by 1-Inch or wider.

Product Description

This is an amazing hold down and anti-kickback device. Each set of Anti-KickBack Safety Rollers comes complete and ready to install on your fence or fixture. Yellow rollers rotate in a clockwise direction and will not rotate counter-clockwise preventing kickback on table saw and router tables. Rather than permanently mounting them to your machinery, the 24" track allows you to move them from one machine to another. 24" track sold separately.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 17 x 14.5 x 3.5 inches ; 3.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000223VK
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: W1104
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,909 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

136 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start, needs improvement, December 20, 1999

By 

Howard Beale "operation-mobocracy" (Flyoverland, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Woodstock W1104 Board Buddies, Yellow (Tools & Home Improvement)

I grew tired of the awkward to align splitter/blade guard on my Delta CS and these seemed like an ideal way to get some anti-kickback protection. The idea is that the wheels, which sit at an angle, hold your stock to the table and against the fence. Since they only turn one way, a work piece that binds against the fence and the blade can't shoot back at you. You should also get more square cuts since the work piece can't drift away from the fence.

They seem well made (cast aluminum bodies, large yellow rubber-like wheels), but there are some problems.

Mounting is the main problem. The mounting base that comes with them has a 4" x 2" flat bottom that is a problem to attach to most fences. The picture on the packaging shows them using some kind of aluminum insert to ride in a TS fence extrusion -- this isn't included. Short of drilling holes in your fence, the flat bottom bracket that comes with the Board Buddies isn't exactly mounting friendly.

I mounted mine to my Unifence by switching it to the "low" position, and mounting a plywood assembly to the mounting extrusion used when mounting the fence in the high position. The Board Buddies mount to the plywood assembly. The main problem with this (or any Unifence mounting) is that the Unifence isn't designed to have much upward force on the back side of it. Unless I'm careful about the height of the outfeed wheel in relation to my stock thickness, I can really get a lot of lift on the fence.

The wheels are raised and lowered by turning an eyebolt that presses on a plastic wedge that pushes the wheel arms up and down. This plastic wedge is very soft plastic - mine came out in the course of mounting them, and it already had a 1/16" ding in it from the eyebolt. The wheel arms and body seem to have a certain amount of friction between them, which keeps the arm motion from being completely smooth.

All in all, I think this is a smart safety idea that actually seems to make my cuts a little more uniform and arguably safer. However, I think Woodstock needs to work a little harder on making their design mechanically smoother and a lot easier to mount non-destructively on common fences.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Use them on a daily basis, June 19, 2000

By 

Rich in SLO (San Luis Obispo, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woodstock W1104 Board Buddies, Yellow (Tools & Home Improvement)

The review by [e-mail], though accurate seems a little harsh and may put some people off. I've been using "Board Buddies" in one configuration or another for probably 12+ years. I wouldn't be without them. They hold the work solidly down and against the rip fence. If I'm ripping a board -- vertually any size -- I can remove my hands from the board and walk away while the saw continues to run and the blade is in the kerf of the board and the board *will not move*. A convenient feature when you realize you left your push stick on your work bench.

swb is right in saying they can be difficult to mount to your rip fence without the T-Slot accessory . But with the T-slot extrusion permanently mounted to the top of your rip fence, the Board Buddies are quick and easy to adjust, and can be removed easily.

The only time I ever injured myself during a ripping operation was when I failed to set up the rollers because I was "just making a quick cut" (Fortunately, I still have all my fingers and thumbs -- knock-on-wood.)

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE ANSWER TO FRUSTRATION, May 11, 2004

By 

T. A. Hansen "sturmandordrang.blogspot.com" (eagan, mn USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

I have a Powermatic table saw and was having a hell of a time with the fence and spreader that came with it. I could never properly align the blade guard and spreader. It was constantly binding. It was especially bad when I tried to cut an angle. I ultimately removed the guard. Like many others I had wood bullets shoot back at me. Board Buddies seem to be the answer. The stock is pressed firmly to the table and I have had no kickback.

I recommend getting the 24" track also. It's long enough to cover most of the fence and you only have to install it once. If you need a different position you loosen two screws. If you didn't have the track you would have to install the buddies each time you needed a new position. It's just more efficient with the track.

I did have some misgivings recently when I noticed that there is a set of Board Buddies you can get from Amazon(Tool Crib?) directly and not pay shipping. For some reason I did not notice the W1104's. I ordered the G2370's on Amazon but through Grizzly. I had to pay for shipping(like you I don't like paying shipping), but these Board Buddies are aluminum and are very sturdy. If you look at the reviews for the W1104's you'll see a review that sorta laments the fact that the W1104's are cast iron. He states that cast iron is more prone to cracks. I noticed one other difference from the photo of the W1104's. They don't have a long(4") eyelet screw. The G2370 have this screw and it allows more height adjustment for the rollers. Maybe the W1104's have this but I did not see it in the photo.

In any event, I highly recommend Board Buddies.