Thread: Push sticks and blocks

I use Push Sticks on the panel/table saw and Blocks on the Jointer, I have a few CAD designs for Push Sticks and I cut them out on the CNC.

My Push Stick designs are a bit like the one in the bottom left of your pic, the rebate bit that grabs the wood I glue on and replace it from time to time once it becomes unusable by cutting it flush on the Panel saw and gluing a new bit of hardwood on to form the rebate again.

I found this on youtube while researching push sticks - even if you don't use the design shown in the video, it's a great tutorial on how to make and use templates on a router table.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h4O...LevelCarpentry

The template is here: Dropbox - NLC Push Stick Pattern full size by Dave Smith.pdf - Simplify your life

Be warned! It's in some strange archaic system of measurement! XD

Just talking about tablesaw usage here, but I don't like plastic tools.

With wooden tools you can run over the blade deliberately (or accidentally).

With the plastic tools if you touch the blade they can grab or shatter which is not the best. Plus you've just gouged something that you've probably paid too much money for.

I've been using this style for years, and really like the generous contract area, which helps apply pressure laterally as well as forward and down.

I prefer to use thicker stock for comfort, but have one 6 mm one for when ripping thin stock, so that it can still fit between the fence and guard.



They are very much sacrificial items, requiring frequent trimming of the base when the foot gets cut up. I would be loathe to buy one when they only take two minutes to make several, and would certainly not want plastic.

Why not make some different styles from scrap and see which you enjoy using.

For the jointer, I made these, with 400 grit sandpaper on the base for grip. One has a foot to hook over the back of the piece to help push it through.



I've got a Gripper too, but it always feels like such a faf to use that it never gets any action. I really wanted to use it as it's a clever piece of engineering, but gave up searching for a niche where it would excel years ago. Now it just shoots on the shelf of shame, all alone.

one that you actually use...
It depends on on your setup and what you're cutting as some work better than others, for example with my overhead guard in place i find its easier to use scrap ive got lying around rather than say a gripper or standard push blocks, as i find the additional reach handy to finish the cut.
Similarly, if i'm breaking down sheet goods, the regular push pads that come with the saw work well.

So horses for course i say, just got to remember to use them, as its quite easy to forget.

Opposites attract. When making push sticks the same applies; softwood for hard wood and hardwood for softwood. Same for wedges. It is surprising how much better they grip.

Originally Posted by rustynail

Opposites attract. When making push sticks the same applies; softwood for hard wood and hardwood for softwood. Same for wedges. It is surprising how much better they grip.

Huh, that's an interesting thought which has never occurred to me.

Originally Posted by LanceC

I've got a Gripper too, but it always feels like such a faf to use that it never gets any action. I really wanted to use it as it's a clever piece of engineering, but gave up searching for a niche where it would excel years ago. Now it just shoots on the shelf of shame, all alone.

I bought one a few months ago and it's heading in the same direction as yours. Same with the simpler flat ones with the falling hook on the ends.

Upgrading from simple time tested push sticks / handles to flash expensive plastic doesn't guarantee improved performance.

Originally Posted by DustyBuilder

What do you prefer to use? And are there really any advantages or disadvantages to any particular design?

I work on whatever seems to be the optimum between keeping my flesh away from cutting things while maintaining the necessary pressure and feed on the workpiece on whatever stationary tool I'm using. "Keeping my flesh away from cutting things" includes an assessment of what's going to happen if the workpiece kicks or I slip or something else goes wrong and where my flesh is going to end up related to the cutting thing. I try to avoid moving my flesh unduly close to or over cutting things.

As indicated by my post on the Gripper, it's hard to go past home made push sticks and push handles for a satisfactory, safe and affordable tool. I suspect that some things like the Gripper are more a testament to a seemingly good idea well engineered and better marketed rather than a major improvement on, say, a push stick.

I know which I'd rather be holding when it kicks back hard:
1. Gripper with my hand slightly above the top of a table saw blade on the outfeed, versus
2. A simple push stick with my hand well above the top of the saw blade and well behind it on the infeed.

I use a range of traditional push sticks / devices including the GRRipper. Each has advantages and disadvantages in use and with their designs. Like 419 I assess what may happen IF ... when I chose a push stick / device for any application. I pay particularly attention to where my digits will be during normal use and the what if scenarios. I also assess what may/will happen to the workpiece, waste and any pushing device in use.

Push stick / device selection is also dependent upon the saw table design, blade selection, fence design, riving knife / splitter and blade guard. Each presents its own unique hazard and risk profile for a particular task as an individual component and in combination. Then there is operator knowledge, skill, experience etc, i.e. a saw with no riving knife / splitter, a low set coarse tooth blade to be used for ripping thin narrow boards is asking for trouble!

High on my assessment criteria is whether there is a high likelihood that the push stick will contact the spinning blade during normal use. IF so then I almost always go for a sacrificial push stick made from wood or wood "composites" - as they present a lower risk to the operator, blade and machine. For some tasks it is desirable to have a sacrificial replaceable section or heel block on the push stick / device.

The GRRipper is my preferred tool for ripping narrow strips (6 or 7 mm sq) from 6 or 7 mm thick short boards (300 to 500mm long) and can be used on shorter boards with caution. Its main advantage in this application is the design of the unit and the soft pad interface between the workpiece and the body of the unit. When correctly adjusted and used it has many advantages over the traditional designs as shown above, mostly due to the operator's ability to constrain and guide the work piece and rip through the saw by keeping the unit forced against and guided by the fence. Its single main disadvantage is that it requires the removal of the blade guard - something that should never be done lightly. I'm also not a fan of an operator's hands passing over the spinning blade, though that hazard can be managed.

I find these days I'm more likely to use a sled for my specific applications in ripping or cross cutting material for inlay banding construction. The only time I use the plastic push sticks supplied with the saw is for ripping sheets where there is almost nil chance of it contacting the blade.

With reference to using any waste lying about as a push stick, please consider the hazards of the application and the grain alignment in the waste being used as a push stick. With the trend towards using lowset blades the kickback forces are predominately in the horizontal plane so considerable force can be exerted on a push stick. IF the grain is dodgy then there is a high risk of failure, and injury from the push stick itself. Higher set blades present a different kickback force scenario as a significant component of the kickback force is now in the vertical plane downwards towards the table.

For the jointer / planer I use the supplied push pads but pay attention to the gripping interface keeping it clean to ensure the highest possible friction between pad and board. I shy away from sandpaper bases due to the potential damage to cutters from stray grains caught in the timber.

an after thought ....

the throat plate / TS insert is an issue to consider when making thin rips - use / make a zero clearance insert so the rip and / or push stick don't jamb in the insert or disappear into the saw.

This is my lot of push blocks. The one on the left is based on a Steve Ramsey design and the ones next to them are based on the templates mentioned above and are my favourites. I also use grippy stuff so there's little or no chance of slippage. Each one of them has a specific use depending on the size and thickness of the stock. There definitely isn't a one size fits all when it comes to push sticks.

push.jpg

As commical as it looks, this is actually the best push stick I have used.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cct9Ycj...RlODBiNWFlZA==