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The Grip-Tite System works very well, protects you better and it is made in the USA! Click image to enlarge

Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards

Magnets are for more than the refrigerator art show

Text. Photos and video by Tom Hintz

Posted – 3-31-2011

Not that long ago magnets were confined to electric motors and sticking kids artwork to refrigerator doors. Then Jerry Jaksha came up with the idea to build a magnetic featherboard and Grip-Tite™ was born. Now over 250,000 people - including the US Navy and the Smithsonian Institute - are using Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards and other offerings from Jerry’s company, Mesa Vista Design in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Another reason to be happy about the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards line is that they are made in the US!

The Basics

At their core the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards are essentially a large magnet surrounded by a heavy plastic body. The standard Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboard has a large, focused magnet that develops over 80-lbs of clamping force and resists over 40 pounds of side force so they are not going to just fall off. In fact, the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards have a lever on the rear that “cams” the magnet away from the surface to make taking them off easier. A large contoured handle helps the user to manipulate the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards easier.

They are not joking when they say that the Grip-Tites have a strong magnet! (left) the lever-operated cam (right) helps break the magnets grip on the table so that you can get it off easer. That cam is also helpful for adjusting the position of the Grip-Tite. Click images to enlarge

Flexible Lexan arms on both sides of the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards actually apply the pressure that holds the wood in place. A separate, larger Lexan arm can be inserted through the arm when the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboard is placed on the table surface. This longer arm can be installed from either side to work as a hold down or to hold wood against the fence.

The Grip-Tite™ Pro Magnetic Featherboards shown in this review have an even more powerful (50% stronger!) magnet and comes with the Lexan arms described in the standard system above. However, the Grip-Tite™ Pro Magnetic Featherboard includes the abrasive-covered RollerGuide™ wheel and mount that is screwed into the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards body. The RollerGuide™ mount is angled enough to “steer” the wood passing beneath it firmly against the fence.

The kit also includes a 4”-tall by 42”-long steel “Fenceplate” that you can screw directly to your fence face or a wooden sub fence with the included screws. The steel Fenceplate has been ground to be sure it is flat and clear-coated to help prevent corrosion. The Fenceplate-e provides the magnetic surface necessary for the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards to work on virtually any of today’s table saw fence systems.

Lexan wings on either side (left) make using these Grip-Tite Featherboards in more situations. The angled roller (right) does a very good job of keeping the board against the fence. Click images to enlarge

Grip-Tite™ also offers their HoleClamp™ that is essentially a specialized clamp for attaching a sub-fence to your existing fence. The HoleClamp™ fits into holes drilled in the top of the sub fence and provides a way of clamping that assembly to your fence without altering it.

In the Shop

The Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards System has been around a long time and with so many people already using it, we are a bit late to the party. After using the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards in my shop I can say that later is better than never. It is clear that the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards are well thought out, built to last and work very well.

The magnets on the Grip-Tite™ Pro Magnetic Featherboards are indeed strong making worries about them slipping or falling off simple wasted effort. I suppose it is possible to just pull the Grip-Tite™ Pro Magnetic Featherboards off but using the built in cam release is much easier – and smarter. Remember where that cam lever is as it can be a major help in getting the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards into the exact position needed much easier.

The Fenceplate (left) adds the steel you need to use these magnetic featherboards. They even grind this Fenceplate to be sure that it is flat! Grip-Tite also has the HoleClamp™ that make attaching the Fenceplate easy but very secure. Click images to enlarge

I have tried the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards applied to the Faceplate on the fence or stuck directly to the cast iron table surface and in either position they work fine. I have to admit being a bit surprised by the amount of force you can generate with the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards to hold wood down or against the fence. Because the units have Lexan arms on both sides the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards can be used in many more situations.

The RollerGuides™ appear rather small but have a big impact on how a board passes under them. You really don’t feel much in the way of resistance but the “steering” of the RollerGuides™ into the fence makes your rip cuts exceptionally straight and eliminates you having to fight the board during the cut. That can only be safer.

There is a learning curve to using the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards but it is very small with the majority of that devoted to getting a feel for how much pressure that you want to apply with them. I think that most start out with too much pressure but after using this system a while it becomes clear that excess pressure just makes moving the wood more difficult. Install the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards so that there is enough preload to keep them engaged with the wood and making virtually any type of cut is easy.

Conclusions

The Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards Systems are easy to use and effective. Though they may look simple I am betting that lots of thought went into developing what we see today. You just have to use them once or twice to recognize the increased safety they bring to the table saw.

The Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards have a street price of around $35 for individual Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboards to $150 for the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboard Systems. Unless you do something very, very wrong there really is no wear to anything but the easily replaced Lexan wings so this system should keep on protecting you and making your work a little better for many years to come. As safety investments go, the Grip-Tite™ Magnetic Featherboard System is both a good and economical one.

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