3D printed a featherboard
3D printed a featherboard
It's wild how similar woodworking and 3d printing are.
- Get a 3d printer
- Print things for the 3d printer
With woodworking
- Get a table saw
- Make things for the table saw
Now I can mix and match
Model: https://www.printables.com/model/205258-featherboard-with-replaceable-heads-m6
There is another way I find 3D printing and woodworking are similar:
3D printing: buy a $500 printer an $30 worth of filament, make a $20 feather board
Woodworking spend thousands on equipment and hundreds on wood to save buying a $200 coffee table
I still love both things though....
But you make ten coffee tables and you break even. And then it's all profit
I have thousands of dollars worth of equipment and I only give things away, there will never be a break even for me but that's not why I do it.
I look at it differently. I make 1 coffee table that does everything I want/need, actually like the way it looks, & break even, albeit mentally. Same, but different, I guess.
TIL Featherboards exist! https://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/tips-for-mastering-featherboards/
The design seems like it could be prone to racking, how sturdy does it feel?
Holding up fine even after dropping it. Definitely works. And I decided to print the model I found with modular bits so I could reprint and replace the broken feathers when that eventually happens, instead of reprinted entire body.
This looks very similar to the traditional (eg purchased at a retailer) one I own with one exception: this looks like it screws into a continuous piece of plastic in the table saws track. Mine has two pieces of plastic - one per side. I've always assumed it was designed that way so the things it screwed into could rotate ever so slightly and bind in the track when you tighten it down
That’s awesome! How’s it holding up? Any signs of cracking?
Very cool!
I got into 3D printing during COVID and it led me to my local makerspace, where I’m now learning woodworking to make a filament rack and other cool stuff. Same for electronics - I hadn’t assembled a circuit since college, but I’ve done several simple to moderate projects to improve my printers this year.
I've been considering this. Let us know how it works/holds up
I imagine PETG would be plenty durable in this kind of application
I used PLA+ with no complaints so far
It worked pretty well for the ~10 long thin rips I did.