Patent ID: 7299840

Claim:
A featherboard for use with a cutting machine having a table which supports a workpiece and a fence extending upwardly from the table, said featherboard serving to urge the workpiece both against the fence and against the table as the workpiece is pushed along the fence in a workpiece travel direction, comprising: a mounting portion; a row of flexible fingers extending from said mounting portion, said flexible fingers lying in respective parallel finger planes and having distal ends for engaging the workpiece, said distal ends generally lying in an engagement plane which, during use, is parallel to a featherboard engagement surface of the workpiece, and each of said flexible fingers capable of flexing in a flex direction perpendicular to said finger plane of the respective flexible finger; the finger planes intersecting the engagement plane at a first angle so that, during use, resiliency of said flexible fingers provides a static force which urges the workpiece downwardly against the table when said featherboard is oriented vertically or sideways against the fence when said featherboard is oriented horizontally; and in a compound angle configuration, the finger planes also intersecting the engagement plane at a second angle such that the flex directions of said flexible fingers are angled with reference to the workpiece travel direction so that, during use, a frictional force is developed which urges the workpiece sideways against the fence when said featherboard is oriented vertically or downwardly against the table when said featherboard is oriented horizontally.