Customer Reviews

Woodstock W1104 Board Buddies, Yellow

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

The review by swb@mercury.campbell-mithun.com, 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.)

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.

I saw the Board Buddies in a magazine and they looked like they would work really well, but sometimes items you find in magazines can be gimicks. I went to a friend's workshop and saw that he was using them. He really liked them so I decided to order a set. They work great when ripping wood. It takes a little more time to set up your cut, but it is well worth they extra time for the nice cut you get and the added safety. They work esp. well when using dado blades. They keep the wood down to the talbe and pulled the the fence. I may get a set for my router table next.

Great little addition for any table saw (I purchased the green wheels for my shaper as well) - you'll probably need the track for it. Holds down, pulls towards the fence, and prevents kick-back all in one! Well worth it!

I'm a heavily engaged amatuer, meaning that most of my woodworking and construction is for my family, but still serious stuff.

If you're like me, you probably have habits that are less than idea, particularly around power tools. I mean, a pure hobbyist might maintain insane levels of care with tool use (like, reading the manual more than once) and a pro (someone paid for the work) might just know better. People like us know enough for a dangerous level of confidence.

With the Board Buddies, I get a fairly secure material hold-down very close to the blade, with my hands staying well behind it. It prevents, or at least reduces, the chances of a binding blade throwing oak back in your face, and lets you focus on the woodworking, not trying to hold yet another thing down.

This is particularly good on the outfeed, because you've got one wheel holding down the wood and pulling it toward the fence in a place where you're hands can't (or at least shouldn't) ever be.

I use it with the optional mounting rail, which sits securely on my existing saw fence (yes, it's extruded aluminium and, no, I'm not thrilled about it, either). Rather than anything exotic, I use four M6 2" bolts slipped into the track on top of my fence, and hold it to the Board Buddies with four wingnuts.

I highly recommend this, particularly with a smaller contractor saw, where space on the table is limited. It's light, adjustable, easy to install / remove (key, for tablesaw safety equipment), and helps me in woodworking a lot more than I expected it to.

I just added these to my 10" Jet cabinet saw. I had a real problem trying to rip plywood sheets while keeping them aligned to the fence. Even with a buddy helping me we would tend to get some wander in the ends of the cuts while cross cutting.
After installing the board buddies I cut some 4' x 8' oak plywood sheets by myself and got prefectly straight cuts. I used them for both 3/4" and 1/4". They did work better on the 3/4" than the 14" as the 1/4" 4/8 tends to flex all over. The board buddies held the sheets down tight and snug against the fence. I now rip to size instead of slightly oversize and only make one pass.
Although I put a rail on top of my Exacta fence to install these, I don't picture ever removing them and could have just bolted them directly to the fence.
I haven't tried them, yet, on my router table as I have a Panel-Loc there. I think these would great for rails and stiles which the Panel-Loc won't handle well. I'll edit this review in the future and let you know how they worked.

I had the experience of cutting a piece of stock, and it got trapped between the fence and the blade. It wouldn't matter except that the wood lifted slightly, and that caused an off angle into the blade. Consequently it binded, and sent a piece of wood flying into my stomach at about 50 mph. Okay maybe it was 40, but the speed was irrelevant. What did matter is that it was painful, and forceful enough to leave a welt and scraped the skin. If it wasn't a square ended board, but rather a sharp pointed one, it would be of even greater concern.
After that experience, I broke out the hold down that originally came with the saw. Since it is a circa 1950's Sears, the hold down wasn't in the best of shape. It was the kind that sits at the back of the table. I didn't like the arm sticking up, and having to pass through the thin slit of the freshly cut wood. What if I was using a thin kerf blade? I decided instead to take the advice of a professional, and concentrate on not letting the back side of the piece of wood lift up on the fence. With a push stick that has a long tail I was able to do that. I recognize that this is just one more angle priority I have to remember when pushing stock through. Then I got the board buddies.
At first I hesitated because Incra who makes my TSIII-32 table saw fence said that board buddies are not compatible with the Incra fence. Knowing the engineering principles involved with the board buddies, and Amazon's generous return policy, I decided to go ahead and order them. I'm glad I did.
The reason why Incra stated that the fence did not work was because the center plate that mounts the adjusting arm to the fence, sat above the upper surface of the fence. That is easily solved by using a 1/4" shim made of wood, or Masonite etc and simply kerfing out the section where the adjusting arm center plate edge sits proud. That makes a completely flat surface area all across the top of the fence for the board buddy to sit on. I also ordered the Woodstock mounting bracket-plate made for these board buddies. That enables me to be able to remove and reinstall the board buddies with the least amount of effort.
The universal advantages of the board buddies, is that they are built a lot more substantially than the pictures show. They are large. That is great because they can handle the type of rigor required for a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" plywood.
I couldn't figure out how they mounted from the pictures, but they attach across the top of your fence. The yellow plastic-rubber like bumpers extend out and press down on your work and are adjustable thanks to the spring loaded tensioner. So you can fine tune them for different size stock thicknesses.
Another nice feature is that the cylindrical drums roll in only one direction. That allows you to freely feed the work in, but if the work piece wants to start to back up it instantly stops it. That back roll is nipped in the bud, and that is the movement, that leads to the binding that I was telling you about. Combined with the hold down effect, that stops it altogether. So it actually performs a double protection effort.
In terms of creating perfect cuts, the board buddies help to maintain an even surface angle. Beneficial when your shooting for smooth finish grade cuts.
One more thing to note is that these mount freely anywhere along the top surface of your fence. The best position is one immediately before your blade, and the other immediately after it. For some reason I was imagining that they projected directly over the blade, and therefore were only good for stock that was wide enough to meet with the buddy. NOT. By placing them in front and behind the blade, you can adjust them for anything from small to large stock.
If I had to be critical of the buddies, I would be concerned for certain fence types that can not accept the challenge of the buddies creating lift on the fence. With the buddies set to press down on the work piece, when it enters the buddy it will press them up, and that creates a lifting. A less than substantial fence with a tie down only on the side, closest to you, may create a lifting concern. If your fence, when fastened holds on the rear and front, then the lift is of no concern. If your fence only holds down on one end, an easy way to determine the buddies usability is to simply fasten it, then use something to pry on it to test the level of resistance. The buddies are spring loaded and adjustable. To get the maximum usability without more frequent adjusting, a front and rear hold down fence is preferred.
Overall I highly recommend the buddies. They add to the safety and precision of making table saw cuts, and could be used on router tables with a compatible fence. The heavy castings, and industrial grade rubber should give you years of use.

With Grizzly's own part number 'G2370' and not Woodstock International's 'W1104'. The picture shows the Board Buddies mounted on top of a Shop Fox Fence rail and no mention at all that any optional hardware being used. Since I bought Grizzly's table saw figure I should get the right unit in their recomended accessories list.

When shippment arrived the box says Woodstock International W1104. The hardware needed to mount on the fence railing is 'optional', meaning extra cost, extra shipping charge, and more time waiting for more parts.

The wheels and castings looks good, but I wished that I have ordered the Woodstock International's W1104 and save $10 from lower price and free shipping. Going to take a run to the Woodcraft store and pick up those missing 'T' nuts, NUTS!

Used to swear by these, but am questioning the quality of current mfg. as my new set just arrived with cracked casting.

Seems to be poor QA at the factory...

Also, be prepared to build your own fence mounting interface-they should disclose the availability of a mounting rail, etc. as the lack of info. results in much wasted time.

We'll see how the replacements look-will try one more time...frustrating.