Kreg push stick...WARNING

[John Coloccia]

I have the push stick with the ruler and magnet built in. Many people will buy this because it is much thinner than other push shoes out there. Beware: if you're using it to rip thin stock, pop out the magnet. I'm in the habit of doing a "test run" before I do what I consider to be a challenging cut (i.e. anything that gets me within an inch of the blade). It's just a habit so that I'm sure everything's set right, and everything will fit the way I want it to. When I did it with the Kreig, the magnet unexpectedly drew the push stick right into the blade. Woops.

Consider popping the magnet out if you're doing really thin cuts. At least be aware that it can bite you unexpectedly, and be prepared for it.

[mickey cassiba]

Really...a magnet on a push stick?:eek:

[Gary Breckenridge]

Let's see if I have this correct, a magnet on the end of a push stick that goes real close to a high rpm steel table saw blade. There might be a problem but I can't quite put my finger on it.:)

[Michael Schwartz]

I make my own sacrificial push sticks that I can run over the blade if I need to. I usualy make a bunch at a time from a template so when they get chewed up I toss them and grab another.

[Dean Karavite]

The magnet does not make any sense. I'm sure Kreg will have some kind of explanation, but they didn't think it through.

I'm doing all my thin strips on the other side of the fence and the blade with this cheap little jig and it is a lot easier and seems much safer. I got it on sale for $15, but at 20ish it is still a very useful tool.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18056&filter=thin

[Mike Heidrick]

Not sure how that magnet could bring the push stick into the blade if your blade height was set correctly? :confused::confused::confused:

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Let's see if I have this correct, a magnet on the end of a push stick that goes real close to a high rpm steel table saw blade. There might be a problem but I can't quite put my finger on it.:)


Let's hope that you DON'T put your finger on it! :)

[Richard Wolf]

Here is a link to the push stick. That must be a very strong magnet.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16412&filter=push%20stick

Richard

[John Coloccia]

re: why is the magnet there
They were thinking that you'd slap it on the side of your saw for storage

re: mag can't get into the fence if the height is set right
The magnet's only an inch or two from the table. If you're cutting 1" planks, for example, the blade is most definitely high enough to attract it.

Anyhow, if you own this push stick it's easy enough to try for yourself and see how powerful the magnet is. If it doesn't bother you, great. If it does, pop it out and move on. When I did my test run, I wasn't expecting it at all, and it took me by surprise. I decided to pop it out as a precaution so I never had to think about it again.

[John Coloccia]

Here is a link to the push stick. That must be a very strong magnet.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=16412&filter=push%20stick

Richard

Actually, this is the one I'm talking about.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=20408&filter=kreg%20push%20stick

[Steve Clardy]

Yep. I can see why now. That type of push handle is nice, but I would leave the magnet out for sure.

I have this one. Magnetic is way up on the handle.

Well I can't find it on Rockler's site now.

It's like the one Richard posted, but the stick portion is aluminum, not plastic.

[Richard Wolf]

Actually, this is the one I'm talking about.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=20408&filter=kreg%20push%20stick

That makes it a lot more understandable. I can see how that could be a problem.

Richard

[Dave Lehnert]

Not sure how that magnet could bring the push stick into the blade if your blade height was set correctly? :confused::confused::confused:

I with Mike on this one.

http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/28257-02-200.jpg

[Henry Ambrose]

Folks with wood shops and they're buying plastic push sticks?

[Harlan Coverdale]

Good that you did the test run first. Another reason why I prefer push blocks like the Grripper.

[Leo Vogel]

I'm always amazed at some of the dumb things manufacturers do. I just don't see how you can be around a saw all day and design the push stick that way.

[Peter Quinn]

I'm confused. First of all, putting anything ferrous on a device meant to be pushed into a wood working machine strikes me as stupid beyond reason. Really? A magnet? what the bleep do you need a magnet for on that push stick. How about they drill a hole in it and provide a magnetic hook that stays on the cabinet? Or how about they let you leave the thing ON THE SAW NEXT TO THE FENCE AT ALL TIMES WHERE YU CAN REACH IT SO YOU CAN USE IT. Its always worked for me. Seriously, no metal on the push sticks for me please.

Which leads to my next line of though, why the bleep would you pay money for a piece of plastic to push wood through a TS? I can't wrap my head around that concept. I have great push sticks on every machine that needs them all made from the scrap bin, all work at least as well as any plastic gizmo I've seen. John, do you really prefer the plastic thingy to the shop made option?

Kreg has a nifty slide hanging jig with a few powerful magnets in it, a blue plastic thing that looks a lot like that push stick. It works great and was well worth the money. I'd guess someone at Kreg was brain storming ways to repurpose the concept and increase profits? That one looks like more of a brain fart to me than a brain storm.

[John Coloccia]

Geez. Lots of hostility against store bought push sticks. The answer is yes, I prefer plastic push sticks and things to shop made push sticks. If you take a thin piece of wood, and then machine it into a push stick, you will most likely end up with a warped piece of wood....maybe tommorow, maybe a year from now. And then again, maybe it will stay straight forever. My stupid plastic one will stay straight forever. And then again, sometimes I use shop made push sticks because it's better for what I'm doing at that moment.

If someone else prefers wooden push sticks, I encourage you to use wooden push sticks instead. There are way too many people on this one thread alone getting bent around the axle on my choice of push stick.

[Brian Penning]

"Yummy yummy" says my SawStop....:)

[mickey cassiba]

Geez. Lots of hostility against store bought push sticks. The answer is yes, I prefer plastic push sticks and things to shop made push sticks. If you take a thin piece of wood, and then machine it into a push stick, you will most likely end up with a warped piece of wood....maybe tommorow, maybe a year from now. And then again, maybe it will stay straight forever. My stupid plastic one will stay straight forever. And then again, sometimes I use shop made push sticks because it's better for what I'm doing at that moment.

If someone else prefers wooden push sticks, I encourage you to use wooden push sticks instead. There are way too many people on this one thread alone getting bent around the axle on my choice of push stick.No hostility here John, I was just wondering about moving a magnet into the neighborhood of a whirling 10" piece of sharp metal.I myself use wooden ones because I scored a box of 100 about three years ago. If they'd been plastic, I'd be using plastic. No magnets though.
On the other hand, I do appreciate the warning, I probably would not have suspected that a magnet was there.
Mick

[Roger Jensen]

I have this push stick and haven't had a problem with it. If you run your blade just above the wood it doesn't get anywhere the magnet.

I use the magnet to attach the push stick to the saw. It is the only one I can consistent find.

As normal, no one size fits all.

Roger

[Chip Lindley]

Rockler's ad for the suspect push stick states that the magnet conveniently allows the push stick to be *stuck* to the TS so the operator can find it when needed. Oh Well! Those ambulance-chaser lawyers are just waiting for one like this!

I won't spend $17 plus Shipping for anybody's push stick! This is an item which can be shop-made TOO Easily! I use a piece of flat tempered aluminum set into a wooden handle which has served me well for 20 years!

[daniel lane]

If you run your blade just above the wood it doesn't get anywhere the magnet.

There are times when this isn't the best choice for setup. I don't wish to revisit the blade height argument, so I won't get into it here. However, I do appreciate the warning about the Kreg push stick and will be avoiding it. There are times when I run the blade higher than 1 tooth above the wood and would prefer to not have to remember not to use that pushstick.


daniel

[Keith Christopher]

John,

All discussion regarding buying push sticks _vs_ making them aside. It is this kind of information that helps the creekers work like a family and look out for one another. Sure glad you did a test run, something like this might be easily overlooked if someone was making a quick cut before ripping larger stock and grab for this item. A word of caution to be sure. Thanks for letting us know 'the bridge is out' ahead of us in some cases.

Personally I own a gripper and I LOVE it. It has the use of more than a dozen push blocks I could make wrapped into one. I also make MANY of mine. so I have an assortment.


Keith

[Randal Stevenson]

Seems to me the blade guard would get in the way. I bet we see an overhead guard, in the next advertisement of this.

[Lee Schierer]

Geez. If you take a thin piece of wood, and then machine it into a push stick, you will most likely end up with a warped piece of wood....maybe tommorow, maybe a year from now. And then again, maybe it will stay straight forever. My stupid plastic one will stay straight forever. And then again, sometimes I use shop made push sticks because it's better for what I'm doing at that moment.

Make them from plywood, they are stronger and don't warp.......

[Bob Sanders]

I'm a bit confused on why people see this as a problem... the magnet is around an inch and a half away from the bottom of the push stick... not a simple 'tooth height' as someone mentioned earlier. You'd have to have your blade WAY higher than where it's supposed to be for this to be a problem.

Your blade should be barely above your workpiece when you make a cut, otherwise you aren't cutting things safely. Am I wrong? Kreg's design seems fine to me.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I read the reviews and I can't believe that there's double sided tape holding the magnet in place and 2 out of the 3 reviews say the magnet fell out.

Now I don't know about you guys, but a magnet falling out of a push stick will be highly likely to find its way to becoming a flak weapon of some sort.

My stick style push stick cost me 89 cents at harbor freight when it was on sale... So I got two of them.

My other type of push stick (looks similar to the kreg one) was made in less than 5 minutes out of a scrap of 1/2" MDF and a jig saw.

[John Coloccia]

I'm a bit confused on why people see this as a problem... the magnet is around an inch and a half away from the bottom of the push stick... not a simple 'tooth height' as someone mentioned earlier. You'd have to have your blade WAY higher than where it's supposed to be for this to be a problem.

Your blade should be barely above your workpiece when you make a cut, otherwise you aren't cutting things safely. Am I wrong? Kreg's design seems fine to me.

Just to clear up any confusion, I started this thread and never knocked Kreg's design. I simply wanted to make people aware of something that caught me be surprise. For the record, I typically set my saw blade about 1 1/2" above the piece I'm cutting. I feel that's the best compromise between kickback, clean cuts and blade safety and that's what works for me. If someone does mostly sheet goods, they may have another favorite height. I don't know since I do mostly solid wood products.