Shop owner invents a cordless power feeder

The Little Proteus is a power feeder for smaller machines, such as jobsite table saws, 12” band saws and router tables, that runs off a cordless drill. It was invented and brought to market by Al Ladd, a woodworker in Colrain, Mass.

“This allows you to feed at a pre-determined set speed with no hesitation from beginning to end of feed and holds it tightly against the table and against the fence in a way human hands can’t do,” says Ladd, who finds the features helpful for his business, Ladd Fine Edge Woodworking, which produces jewelry boxes, cutting boards and more.

“My power feeder is usable in places where no conventional commercial feeder would work. It works remarkably well, especially for resawing at the band saw. It provides a full 6” height of feed roller in its band saw configuration, so it produces similar results to feeders built specifically for the band saw, which are too big to mount on band saws smaller than about 20”.”

The Little Proteus is sold as a kit or fully assembled. It mounts to a T-track on a table saw or router fence, or with a shop-made plywood plate for resawing on a band saw. It weighs about 16 lbs. with the drill installed.

Ladd recommends using a cordless drill, 18 volts or more, with a brushless motor.

“The brushless motor drills have electronic feedback between a micro-processor and the drill’s power source which allows the drill to have full torque at very low speeds, making it excellent power source for a power feeder,” says Ladd.

For pricing and ordering information, visit powerfeeder.alladd.com.  

This article was originally published in the February 2023 issue.