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A featherboard is an important part of any woodworking shop. It will help prevent the piece of wood you want to cut from chattering or kicking back. It's also a great safety feature and will help you get better cuts from your wood. Making a featherboard is easy if you follow a few simple steps.

CHOOSE YOUR WOOD. You'll want to use a nice piece of plywood to make your featherboard. The plywood should be about 3/4 of an inch thick and about 5 to 6 inches wide.

BEVEL ONE EDGE AT A 30 DEGREE ANGLE. One end of your featherboard will need a beveled edge, so cut one end of your plywood at a 30 degree angle. This end is where you will cut the "feathers" (or "fingers") of the featherboard.

MEASURE OUT YOUR STOP LINES. Before you cut the feathers into your featherboard, you'll want to measure stop lines. Measure about four inches from the beveled edge that you just cut, parallel to the bevel. Draw a line there.

CUT THE FINGERS (not your own!). Cut the fingers/feathers into the beveled end of the featherboard. Since the feathers are going to be about 4 inches long, cut up to the stop line you drew. Cut a feather, move the board down and cut the next one. The feathers should be spaced about 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart. Keep doing this until the feathers run across the entire beveled end of the board.

LOCK AND LOAD. Now you're all set. Lock down your featherboard with a few clamps and use it as a runner to guide wood you are cutting. You'll see less kickback, you'll get better cuts, and you'll be working safer.

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