Little Proteus Power Feeder

Little Proteus Power Feeder

Lightweight, Versatile, Inexpensive

The Little Proteus power feeder is a revolutionary new device that will allow many woodworkers to use a power feeder for tasks they never considered  a power feeder for.  See review from Fine Woodworking Magazine here. Use on table saws, router tables and band saws, including machines on which the smallest commercial power feeder is too big and heavy to mount .

Purchase  assembled feeders and kits: (from $116) here. Plan-only, instant download ($20) here.

The Little  Proteus  is  easy and fast to mount and dismount, so it can be worth setting up for just a few cuts, for safety or better results.

The feeder uses a brushless motor cordless drill as a power source,   plywood gear speed reduction, and three polyurethane feed rollers, providing wide variable speed and ample power.

Here's a short video of the feeder in action, feeding 7.5" wide cherry for resaw in a band saw, and ripping 8' hardwood on a jobsite table saw. A whole bunch of videos: here.

 

 

Little Proteus Power Feeder

Lightweight, Versatile, Inexpensive

Feeder is available in kit form  here.  Plan-only instant download is available  here. Plan provides detailed  comprehensive instructions and  the kit  supplies all the parts required – polyurethane feed rollers, gears and shafts, bearings, some custom machined and others available only in quantity,  and detailed plans for the feeder holders, to be built from good quality plywood or hardwood. The holders can be built by a competent woodworker with a table saw and drill  in an afternoon or two. The kit is available in four different levels: the cheapest option for those with their own CNC routers who can cut their own plywood gears and bearing plates, and the other options include those and more of the wooden parts many woodworkers will want to make themselves. The  prices for these options range from $116 to $269, US shipping included. Plan-only option is $20.

 

Little Proteus Power Feeder

 

Close up shot of the Little Proteus power feeder on a table saw. The wheels are far enough apart to straddle a 10 inch table saw blade, so the feeder requires no further adjustment once set for height.  It will simply move with the fence.  Work as short as 5.75" can be safely and accurately fed.

A total of about 3 square feet of 5/8 (15mm) multiply plywood, such as Baltic birch is required to make the  holder components  that will allow mounting the feeder in either a horizontal or vertically suspended position. The horizontal position is for  band saw resaw use, and for stock held vertically in router or table saw.

The most complete level of kit includes these pieces ready to be simply screwed together  (screws included!).

 

Little Proteus Power Feeder

 

Open view of the gear box, showing  the stout baltic birch plywood gears, and all ball-bearing construction.

The gears reduce the speed of the drill  by a factor of 3.8. The 3" diameter feed rollers thus turn at :  (drill RPM/5) feet per minute.

Some commercial power feeders are too fast for most  uses in a non-industrial shop. The smallest commercially available power feeder  feeds from 6.5 to 40 FPM.

Commercial band saw power feeders feed as slow as 3 FPM, and those slower speeds are necessary for much resaw work.

 Depending on the drill used, the Little Proteus can deliver speeds  as low as 2.5 FPM, and all brushless motor drills will deliver speeds as slow as 10 FPM. So if your intended use is thick resawing you'll want to choose your brushless motor drill carefully.

A whole bunch of videos here.