I had an idea.

[Bill Wyko]

If you were to make yourself a push stick for the tablesaw that was some nice wood and a shaped pistol grip on top, do you think it would get used more? I made a rough push stick out of some BB plywood and dremmeled a grip into it and i find that I go to it more often. If you are a person that may take chances, you might consider trying this. It worked for me. :DBeats the heck out of your pencil erasure.;)

[gary Zimmel]

In my shop everything is always put away in its place in cabinets and drawers. Except for my push sticks. They are always sitting on my TS fence. When ever the saw is used there is a push stick within a couple of inches where I am working. This is my reminder to always use them.

Mine are plastic and somewhat sacrificial. Ripping small pieces around 1/2" they have touched the blade the odd time....

Might be nice touch though having a cocobolo push stick.... If it gets someone into the habit of using them BEFORE something happens then thats great.

[Greg Peterson]

I like your line of reasoning Bill. Put some craft into the tool and perhaps it will get used with greater frequency.

Since push sticks are generally sacrificial tools, perhaps crafting a nice pistol grip with a replaceable sacrificial stick would be the way to go?

My TS scares the bejesus out of me. No splitter or guard. You can bet your bottom dollar this machine gets all of my attention when I'm using it. I just assume it is waiting for an opportunity to bite me in one way or another. Push sticks are a must.

[Bart Leetch]

I like to make my push shoes with a hook on the back end & then they extend about a foot forward over the material being pushed through the saw. I also make it so the handle can be unscrewed from the bottom so the bottom can be replaced when it gets to chewed up. I also have a pair of Grippers that I like real well.

[John Thompson]

When I get to "Red Line" on my TS tach.. the push stick is always used.. always.. Red line is 8" in front of the first blade tooth, BTW..

Sarge..

[Kevin Johnson]

I was once taught that push sticks (the ones shaped like a shoe) should always be made from plywood and not solid wood. The reason is that solid wood may break at the handle while you are pushing on it, sending your hand into the blade. Plywood won't do that.

[J. Z. Guest]

I only use a push stick when ripping narrow stock or cutting dadoes/rabbets. As much as I appreciate the extra safety they give in certain operations, I feel safer pushing with my hand when it doesn't need to be near the blade. I can really feel what is going on with the board, if it starts to lift up or bind, I can feel it sooner when I'm pushing it by hand.

The theory is good. I know when I get a nice tool (ex. Bosch 1591 jigsaw) I tend to LIKE using it, as opposed to using it out of necessity only.

[Stephen Edwards]

If you were to make yourself a push stick for the tablesaw that was some nice wood and a shaped pistol grip on top, do you think it would get used more? I made a rough push stick out of some BB plywood and dremmeled a grip into it and i find that I go to it more often. If you are a person that may take chances, you might consider trying this. It worked for me. :DBeats the heck out of your pencil erasure.;)

A guy I used to know had a sign in his shop that read:

Do not use remaining fingers as push sticks!

I think of that sign everytime I turn on my table saw for narrow cuts, or the bandsaw for resawing. I can still count to 10, thank God!

[Jim Becker]

What you describe is similar to what I've used religiously for years as a push block. I never, ever use anything that could be descibed as a "stick" for this purpose...I consider that unsafe since it does not capture the material under it and can cause your hand to move down and toward the blade if it slips.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I made one from PT spruce. I like it so well I made another. It's Cheap so I don't give a fig about sacrificing it.
But it does have a nice rounded part where my palm fits is.

They are also thick (4/4) so I drove a screw in the notched end of one and I use that for narrow little stuff . The screw sticks out just enough to let me hook the work and maneuver it around after the pass.

[Peter Quinn]

I made a push block out of 5/8" CDX plywood, another out of 1 1/2" MD Lite, softened the hand contact edges a bit, they get used religiously. I'm afraid if I made a nice one it would never get touched, possibly put in a display case.

I occasionally modify the heel on mine to accommodate different thickness of stock and often refresh the bottom with a quick cut on the SCMS and BS if I use them to push narrow stock close to the fence and typically run them right through the blade on the first pass. I see them as sacrificial in every way and invest only enough time and materials in their construction to make them safe and useful.

Push sticks strike me as a way to encourage cattle to enter a pen more than a way to guide stock through a table saw, designed more like a pool que than a tool. I have never liked them and have never used them. My push blocks are always longer than the blade and always higher than the fence, and I'm real careful to be pushing 'forward' near the blade and not straight down in case things get weird.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I make and use push blocks but want mine out of a material that I won't worry about dinged, chipped or a line cut down the middle. Those plastic things scare me....the plastic seems to be made to slip around on the material and those ones with the dinky little birdsmouth seem to be daring the table saw to try something.

[Butch Edwards]

I make and use push blocks but want mine out of a material that I won't worry about dinged, chipped or a line cut down the middle. Those plastic things scare me....the plastic seems to be made to slip around on the material and those ones with the dinky little birdsmouth seem to be daring the table saw to try something.

yep... I made one with the maple I used for my 1st project a few years ago.. it's gotten nicked a few times... better it than my fingers...:D

[Chris Barnett]

Want to know how to make a push stick that can handle 3/16 in square walnut strip about 1 1/2 inch long. I was close, maybe 3/4 inch today, cutting box trim and set my push stick aside. Although the blade was very sharp and cut well, I want to devise a better device for the small stuff. Perhaps a cool push stick is not the answer, but a small trim TS might be.

[David Peters]

After trying several different "sticks" I was unhappy with the control they offered, and in some cases required my off-hand (the left hand in my case) to be closer to the blade than otherwise.

I am generally pleased with this style stick, which offers a much greater sense of control due to it's long rubberized foot that allows lateral pressure against the fence, and rotational stability, in addition to the expected ability to push the workpiece forward through the cut.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=30067&cat=1,240,45884&ap=1

[Not sure if it's kosher to post directly to a catalog page... if not, mods please remove and accept my apologies]

[Chris Padilla]

David,

It is very much encouraged to post such links!

I use this pushstick (http://www.grizzly.com/products/Precision-Saw-Tool/G3445) in my shop. The label that has the measurements has come off and it has a few nicks but as someone said earlier, better nicks in the tool than my body! :D

[Chris Padilla]

Want to know how to make a push stick that can handle 3/16 in square walnut strip about 1 1/2 inch long. I was close, maybe 3/4 inch today, cutting box trim and set my push stick aside. Although the blade was very sharp and cut well, I want to devise a better device for the small stuff. Perhaps a cool push stick is not the answer, but a small trim TS might be.

http://www.microjig.com/GRR-Ripper.htm It can handle stock as narrow as 1/4" but I *bet* you can modify it to work in your situation.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I use a Grr-Ripper (http://www.microjig.com/GRR-Ripper.htm) for most of my push blocking, as well the triangular shaped Table saw guide master push sticks. They both have rubber pads that grip the work well for narrow or thick stocks. While certainly more expensive that free, as a plywood push stick or block would be, I feel more comfortable at the table saw or router table with those.

Doc

[Anthony Whitesell]

I have made several "push sticks" for use at the table saw. One thing I don't like about most of them is the fact you have to wrap your hand around the handle to use them. For some reason I don't like to close my hand around anything that I'm cutting or used for cutting. If the machine wants it, the machine can have it, and I'm not going to stop it from taking. I also don't like to present a the back of my hand to the blade.

For example, when I use my Grr-Gripper I don't put my fingers through the handle. I made a thin-strip cutting jig from wood magazine website tip. I drilled the holes in the handle but don't use them. I really like the shoe-shaped design and build one recently, but I modified the handle such that you can't wrap your hand around it (why should I both, I won't anyway). It has a contoured handle for the palm of my hand but no finger holes. I think this adds one more barrier between my fingers and the blade/cutter.

[Guy Roland]

I'm a newcomer to Sawmill Creek and hopefully will be a helpful contributor.

I've already learned a lot. This thread is particularly interesting as pushsticks are a pet peeve of mine. I make mine from scraps of good plywood and cut them to a consistent shape.

If it's ok i'd like to add something for folks new to woodworking ( you old pros already know ). I'm pushing 60 now but have spent the last 34 years as a 91/2 finger woodworker, had a run in with a TS in my twenties - gained a lot of respect real quick-

Always keep your blades sharp, take your time and most important if your gut tells you something doesn't feel right shut the machine down and reassess what your doing.

Please forgive the preaching, it's just that I enjoy my tools so much and know that sometimes we just forget. Thanks

[Lee Koepke]

I'm a newcomer to Sawmill Creek and hopefully will be a helpful contributor.

I've already learned a lot. This thread is particularly interesting as pushsticks are a pet peeve of mine. I make mine from scraps of good plywood and cut them to a consistent shape.

If it's ok i'd like to add something for folks new to woodworking ( you old pros already know ). I'm pushing 60 now but have spent the last 34 years as a 91/2 finger woodworker, had a run in with a TS in my twenties - gained a lot of respect real quick-

Always keep your blades sharp, take your time and most important if your gut tells you something doesn't feel right shut the machine down and reassess what your doing.

Please forgive the preaching, it's just that I enjoy my tools so much and know that sometimes we just forget. Thanks
Thats one thing I like about here .... gentle reminders of the important things !!

I tend to use my blade guards and push sticks / blocks every time I can. I dont have a 2" rule, I have a 'saw running' rule ... and I also dont GRIP my sticks tightly, for the same reason as the above poster ..

[Bill Wyko]

I'm a newcomer to Sawmill Creek and hopefully will be a helpful contributor.

I've already learned a lot. This thread is particularly interesting as pushsticks are a pet peeve of mine. I make mine from scraps of good plywood and cut them to a consistent shape.

If it's ok i'd like to add something for folks new to woodworking ( you old pros already know ). I'm pushing 60 now but have spent the last 34 years as a 91/2 finger woodworker, had a run in with a TS in my twenties - gained a lot of respect real quick-

Always keep your blades sharp, take your time and most important if your gut tells you something doesn't feel right shut the machine down and reassess what your doing.

Please forgive the preaching, it's just that I enjoy my tools so much and know that sometimes we just forget. Thanks
Welcome Guy. Thank you for your input. If we can keep even one person from touching the blade we've done good.

[Wayne Doan]

I use the push "stick" that you can see in this picture beyond the shelf. The left side is removeable so I can change it after it has brushed against the blade a few times.

[Mike Cutler]

Wayne

First off welcome to SawMill Creek, and that is one heckuva a solution. I'm going to be copying it as soon as I have time.
I like it!!! :D

[Bill Wyko]

Welcome Wayne. Now that's what I'm talkin about. Nice job.

[Floyd Cox]

Welcome Wayne, very nice there, think I will make me one too.