After carefully reading reviews and watching videos, I gave these a try. Glad I did! With the T-Nuts (sold separately) they attach directly to Ridgid fences or any similar fence that has slots in the top. That's nice since I'm impatient and do not like products that require building a jig to use the device. Installation is fast and easy. The instructions could be a little better, but the diagram is adequate so putting these together is intuitive. Each part has only ONE obvious connection, so you can't put it together wrong. It took about three minutes for each one including adjustment. You just screw on the rollers and tighten their nuts, screw in the adjustment knob, attach the base to your fence with T-nuts, slide in the body and lock in place. ADJUSTMENT... If you look at the photo, you can see TWO adjustment screws; one with a butterfly-nut (on the upper arm) and another with a loop (on the lower body.) The UPPER nut adjusts spring tension. The LOWER screw adjusts the height of the rollers. Although the instructions do not state this clearly, as soon as you play with them for a few minutes you quickly learn that these two adjustments interact. You have to balance the spring pressure with the roller height for the best results. Once you get the hang of it, it takes only a few seconds. Having explained that, I think that is why some people do not like these as much as I do. I understand that pro carpenters are necessarily rushed since time = money, so they loathe anything that interrupts their workflow. Although I find these intuitive to adjust in seconds, anyone unfamiliar with them might find adjustments to be "fussy" or complicated. Another thing I've noticed in some reviews is that those who do not like these have the T-bar (Biesemeyer) style fences. Those fences do not lock at both the front AND back like fences on contractor saws. Having noted that, I find that these work especially well on my Ridgid 2410 and 2412 saws. These saws (and most modern saws like them) have extruded aluminum fences that lock in both the front AND back. That not only provides a more stable and rigid fence, it prevents these from pushing the rear of Beisemeyer fences up. Now, I read some reviews here and elsewhere that claim Board Buddies "get in the way" of push sticks. That's true to an extent, but for rip-cuts on long or wide boards, that is a non issue. In fact, the way I use these, push sticks are unnecessary. I put the front roller well in front of the blade, and the back roller one inch behind the blade. I view that area between the rollers as a "no hand zone!" I NEVER put my finger beyond the first roller. That gives me a HUGE margin of safety while maintaining positive downward pressure on boards. When I get to the last few inches of a board, I walk around the back of the saw and PULL the board through to finish the cut. That means I do not need an extravagantly large out-feed table to work alone safely. I know... some people will tell me that is dangerous. I disagree. The board buddy rollers hold material down and perfectly stationary. Assuming they are adjusted adequately, the board will NOT budge. I've been working with large wide boards and long thin boards like this for decades using much weaker hold downs and never had a problem. But do not let me convince you otherwise if YOU think that is a dangerous practice. If a method does not seem safe to YOU, the YOU should not try it. As a musician who absolutely cannot risk any injury to my hands, I find this method with these devices gives me a HUGE margin of safety, and a greater sense of confidence for rip-cuts. Now here is the fun fact that refutes some negative reviews. When the rollers are positioned as I described ( front roller well in front of the blade and back roller an inch or two behind the blade) you can move the fence to within a 16th inch of the blade and rip VERY narrow pieces. The rollers are actually to the LEFT of the blade while the fence is close to the RIGHT of the blade. This is VERY handy for making narrow strips such as those we use for edge-banding or long strips for boat building. With any new tool like this, I spend some time learning how it works, learning how to set it up and adjust it. That's a good practice anyway with any tool, but it paid off especially well with these. To test an extreme example, I cut multiple thin strips from a 10-foot 2 X 12. The board buddies allowed me to rip dozens of very narrow strips (about 1/16th inch) with only ONE set up! I did not have to use those "thin-strip jigs" which are often inaccurate and a nuisance since you must move the fence for each strip. So, if you build Kayaks or need many perfectly uniform strips for edge-banding, these things are GREAT! Having said that, I must point out that you cannot use the entire board with this method. The board must always be wide enough that some portion of it is under the rollers. You will end up not using the entire board, and that might be considered 'waste" if you do not have other uses for the leftovers. Therefore, this is not a perfect solution to everyone's needs, but it certainly is great for those types of rips. Also, I cannot say these are the perfect solution for small parts. For certain applications, Grr-rippers are a better solution. For others, standard hold-downs and or feather boards are better. Overall, I feel these are an excellent addition to an arsenal of safety devices. It is up to each woodworker to know what is best for his needs and select the right option for each task. I do not mind wasting a little material to protect my hands, get perfect multiple thin strips with only one set up. I consider that cheap insurance against tragedy and assurance of accuracy. When making many multiple cuts the same size, it is a real time saver too! One set-up (which take less than twnety seconds) yields perfectly consistent rips of thin strips. That does not mean these are the one-and-only solution for all rip cuts. There is no such thing. Instead, I suggest we view these as an addition to a collection of jigs. Considering their robust design and manufacture, the ease of set-up, and how quickly you can make multiple thin rips, these are actually a time-saver for that task. They are a bargain too since they are only $25 bucks a piece for real metal that is Made in the USA. I don't know of any one-time insurance premiums that low! So, please do not think these will solve every hold-down problem. They will not help you extract every last inch of material from thin boards. They are not as good as Grr-rippers for small parts. But when properly adjusted for rip cuts, they are a wonderful addition to other safety devices. They save time when making multiple rips and they cooperate with a well-adjusted fence to make perfect accurate thin strips. Seeing how repetitive rips of thin strips is one of the most dangerous cuts we can make of a table saw, i consider these a valuable addition. And because the designers understand that these are not perfect for every cut, they made them a snap to remove quickly. You don't need tools to loosen the two screws that hold these in place. They come of the fence in five seconds each. Bottom line? If you value your fingers and must cuts many thin strips for edge-banding or boat building... these are worth the money many times over! If you are looking for a more versatile system, especially one for small parts, you should also look at Grr-Rippers. If you have a table saw with an iron top, look at Mag jigs too. They are also very good, but they only work on magnetic surfaces, so you either need an iron table-top or must add-on a metal top and fence to make them work. As an experienced and VERY cautious musician / woodworker I recommend these, but only as an addition to other devices. Use them for their intended purposes, and they will give you great results, super easy.
