BOW FeatherPRO FP1 Featherboard with Replaceable EVA Feathers

Feeding a board along a fence leaves two things to manage: forward travel and contact with the fence. The BOW FeatherPRO FP1 adds flexible EVA fingers beside the moving workpiece, with a body you can position for the stock. For a woodworker changing between board widths, the attraction is being able to reset that contact for each new piece of stock.

Set the contact where your stock needs it

The black EVA fingers sit in a plastic body with two adjustment slots. With the power tool off, you position the body to apply the desired tension, check the feather direction, and tighten both knobs. The knobs secure the position; how the feathers bear on the wood depends on that setup.

Consider a change from a wider board to a narrower one. The previous setting may no longer put the fingers where they need to bear. Repositioning the slotted body lets you set that contact again before tightening the knobs. That is a practical reason to look at the adjustment layout when buying, alongside the feather material.

In the intended setup, the wood advances past the fingers while they bear against it. The adjustment is made for the workpiece before feeding begins. FP1 therefore suits someone willing to set the contact for each arrangement, rather than expecting one position to work for every board.

Check the mounting space, as well as the slot

The current product page lists an AnchorPRO miter bar for a 3/8 × 3/4-inch miter slot, plus hardware for T-track mounting. A matching slot size is only part of the decision. Its position must let the body reach the workpiece while leaving the cutter, guard, and fence the clearance your setup requires.

The two slots let you reposition the body before tightening it. Their travel is not a statement of maximum board width. Measure your own slot-to-fence arrangement, and confirm the supplied mounting hardware against your machine before ordering. A machine label such as “table saw” or “router table” cannot tell you whether this particular body will fit where it needs to go.

Reverse the insert or replace damaged feathers

Bow’s manual describes reversing the EVA insert for left or right feed arrangements. The fingers need to face the correct feed direction for the setup, so reversal is a configuration choice made before work begins. It does not change the power tool’s required feed direction. When checking a planned mounting position, check how the insert will face as well as where the body will sit.

If feathers become damaged, the insert can be replaced separately. FP1 includes one Standard EVA insert; replacement feathers are a separate purchase. This makes the contacting part serviceable. For someone choosing an accessory to continue using across projects, it is useful to identify the matching FP1 replacement at purchase time, without assuming another Bow featherboard’s insert will fit.

Placement changes with the machine

For table-mounted side pressure on a table saw or band saw, Bow’s manual specifies the infeed side, at least one inch before the cutter. On a table saw table, placing it after the cutter can pinch the stock against the blade. A fence-mounted arrangement applying downward pressure has different placement instructions.

Router setups also have their own limits: the manual says not to place the feathers directly above or horizontally beside the bit. Read the FeatherPRO instructions with the machine’s manual and switch the tool off for setup. Bow explicitly states that a featherboard is not an anti-kickback device.

The buying decision starts with that usable mounting position. If it is available, FP1 combines adjustable contact with an insert that can be configured and maintained separately. If your existing featherboard already gives you suitable contact and a serviceable insert, these features alone offer less reason to replace it.