Carl Calabria's Composite, Magnetic Featherboard

Carl Calabria in a renaissance man. In addition to being a Senior Vice President of Engineering at MarkForged and an excellent photographer, he's a woodworker. Carl's shop features a combination of standard equipment and customized solutions of his own creation.

One problem Carl solved with a 3D printed solution was creating a magnetic featherboard. Traditional, mitre slot attached featherboards weren't flexible enough for Carl. He knew the best possible featherboard would be a magnetic version that could be easily moved and reset.

The featherboard is printed in nylon with 16 layers of carbon fiber reinforcement. The continuous carbon fiber is concentrated in the middle of the board for maximum stiffness. The feathers are all pure nylon to allow them to flex against the workpiece; this also maintains force as the wood moves through the saw.

The hardware are two Magswitch magnetic jigs from Rockler Woodworking. When turned, the two knobs engage the magnets and hold the board in place. This makes it a very efficient and flexible tool, while also making it easy to store. Carl just engages the magnet and it holds in place on the side of a tool cabinet.