Rockler thin rip jig. Funny video

[Dave Lehnert]

Look at the video. I am not a lip reader but I have a guess what he said after the kick-back. LOL!!!!

I don't understand how the jig would help you prevent the kick-back like in the video. The jig is just a thickness gage. The cut is preformed the same way each time????

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?Offerings_ID=18056&TabSelect=Videos

[Dewey Torres]

Ok,
I just fell out of my chair in laughter:D

Look for these fine points in chronological sequence before you watch:

1) Kick back scene... read his lips when the board kicks back. I think it was ouch f-----

2)Wife comes to the rescue in a flash armed with Rockler products

3) Adult film soundtrack kickin' in the background!!!

4) Listen for the words. "Made of the same tough material" and look for the hidden product they are selling...hmmmm, Well I guess it does sell

Man there may be more I have to watch again!!!

[David G Baker]

Dewey,
How is it that you recognize the adult film soundtrack kickin' in the background. :D

[Dewey Torres]

Dewey,
How is it that you recognize the adult film soundtrack kickin' in the background. :D

David... Try as I may. I am a Sailor!

[Ray Newman]

I use the Rockler thin rip jig, but only in conjunction w/ a splitter & the Uni fence set @ the low position.

Running a TS w/o a splitter or a riving knife is an accident waiting to happen.

I also though the Rocker’s statement of using a zero clearance insert for added safety & w/o a splitter was a bit much.

If the commentary was not so serious in this video, it would be funny....

[David DeCristoforo]

Ya baby! Can't print that here! What I always get a kick (no pun) out of is how these things always show the guy performing the operation in the stupidest, most dangerous manner possible. That guy is lucky he didn't eat that piece of wood! If it had knocked his teeth out (which it nearly did) I'll bet you would not see that in the video!

[Nigel Tracy]

Ya baby! Can't print that here! What I always get a kick (no pun) out of is how these things always show the guy performing the operation in the stupidest, most dangerous manner possible. That guy is lucky he didn't eat that piece of wood! If it had knocked his teeth out (which it nearly did) I'll bet you would not see that in the video!
Yeah I can hardly believe they staged it that way. The guy took the board high on the chest but it easily could have smacked him in the face... :confused: Crazy

[Chris Rosenberger]

I do not get it. The jig has nothing to do with preventing the kickback that this guy had. He did not push the board clear of the blade. As others have said. It could have been much worse.

[Jason Beam]

So many things wrong ... with their "Don't" portion as well as their "Fixed" segment.

But my biggest complaint beyond the stupidity of the missing splitter/guard was that horrible push stick. That is THE WORST push stick to use in this situation. Even with their little gimmick, that push stick is terrible. Did you see how he had his hand riding along the fence in the "Fixed" version? BECAUSE THE PUSH STICK WASN'T DOING THAT FOR HIM. His hand violates my "Distance from the blade" rule by about double or more. I have one of those push sticks and I wrote on it NOT SAFE. DO NOT USE. I only keep it around because I sometimes hold classes and use it as an example of how little the peddlers care about your actual safety.

There are many ways to safely rip narrow strips on the table saw. This is NOT one of them. It could be improved with a real push shoe. But it's still not my favorite. Moving the fence for each cut is senseless to me. I put the fence where I want it - 1/8" for example. Then with a sacrificial push shoe (a 2x4 with a lip on the end, for example), I hold both pieces down and forward with the lip. This keeps everything moving through the blade without shifting. A riving knife that sits just below the top of the blade is ideal here. Second would be a low splitter that won't interfere with this cut. That's how _I_ do it. Someone else may have a different way they like better. But calling the method shown in this video anything but unsafe is a disservice to those who don't know better.


EEK! I'm on a rant. :D

Sorry! :)

[Matt P]

Can you post any pics of how you do this? I'm a novice and learning how to safely do this kind of thing. Tx! Matt


So many things wrong ... with their "Don't" portion as well as their "Fixed" segment.

But my biggest complaint beyond the stupidity of the missing splitter/guard was that horrible push stick. That is THE WORST push stick to use in this situation. Even with their little gimmick, that push stick is terrible. Did you see how he had his hand riding along the fence in the "Fixed" version? BECAUSE THE PUSH STICK WASN'T DOING THAT FOR HIM. His hand violates my "Distance from the blade" rule by about double or more. I have one of those push sticks and I wrote on it NOT SAFE. DO NOT USE. I only keep it around because I sometimes hold classes and use it as an example of how little the peddlers care about your actual safety.

There are many ways to safely rip narrow strips on the table saw. This is NOT one of them. It could be improved with a real push shoe. But it's still not my favorite. Moving the fence for each cut is senseless to me. I put the fence where I want it - 1/8" for example. Then with a sacrificial push shoe (a 2x4 with a lip on the end, for example), I hold both pieces down and forward with the lip. This keeps everything moving through the blade without shifting. A riving knife that sits just below the top of the blade is ideal here. Second would be a low splitter that won't interfere with this cut. That's how _I_ do it. Someone else may have a different way they like better. But calling the method shown in this video anything but unsafe is a disservice to those who don't know better.


EEK! I'm on a rant. :D

Sorry! :)

[Dewey Torres]

Matt,
Here is how it is done:

http://www.microjig.com/video/prodofyear.wmv

See it in action. (http://www.microjig.com/AVI/Grr-RipperCuttingAction.avi)


http://www.microjig.com/

Not the only way by all means but for you as a newbie please try this and get used to your saw while counting to 21 naked.

[Mike Parzych]

Dewey...I believe your lip reading skills are quite accurate. After I stopped laughing I realized this poor fool VOLUNTEERED for a kickback! They should have had his wife show up with the small cutoff from the kickback impaled in her forehead.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Hey, I just was wondering why nobody noticed that this doofus was standing to the RIGHT of the blade. I always had it drilled into my head that you are supposed to stand clear, and to the LEFT of the blade to avoid/minimize damage from kickback.

BTW, I'm wondering if the Mrs. in the video is going to be doing a promo for the new Rockler Facial Massager..............

[Jared Larrow]

They must have shot the video with a low quality video camera - I couldn't see the guy's lobotomy scars... :D

J

[Jim Kountz]

Anyone notice the standard insert (red) he used the first time, the with the "miracle" thin rip jig he used a zero clearance? The stupid jig had nothing to do with making this safer, the insert did!

[Pat Germain]

Hey, I just was wondering why nobody noticed that this doofus was standing to the RIGHT of the blade. I always had it drilled into my head that you are supposed to stand clear, and to the LEFT of the blade to avoid/minimize damage from kickback.

BTW, I'm wondering if the Mrs. in the video is going to be doing a promo for the new Rockler Facial Massager..............

I always stand to the right of the blade. But I'm left handed. It's quite awkward for me to stand to the left of the blade. As long as you don't stand in front of the blade, what difference does it make?

[Pat Germain]

3) Adult film soundtrack kickin' in the background!!!

Not only is the soundtrack suggestive, so is the narration. I don't know about you guys, but I find that woman's voice to be quite sultry. ;)

I'm wondering if the close up chest shot was also done to appeal to male customers. I'm thinking the director of this video got his start in the "other side of Hollywood".

[Jim O'Dell]

I watched here at work, NO SOUND!! :D I thought the way he was making the cut that it was staged and he didn't get hit at all. I'll have to look again this evening at home with sound. Jim.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Is there anything wrong with setting a standard fence to 1/4" and ripping? (assuming you use a push stick and splitter)

Using their jig, if you needed 20 pieces, you'd have to move the fence 20 times, right? How is this accurate, and fast?

[Chris Padilla]

From what I saw, he purposely caused the kickback. Notice that he angled the push stick in order to slightly angle the board back into the blade to cause the kickback.

I wonder how many takes they did of this?

I think it is VERY misleading to say that their thin-rip jig prevents kickback because it has little to do with preventing it but poorly placed, it could help cause kickback.

[Chris Padilla]

Is there anything wrong with setting a standard fence to 1/4" and ripping? (assuming you use a push stick and splitter)

Using their jig, if you needed 20 pieces, you'd have to move the fence 20 times, right? How is this accurate, and fast?

It just depends on which side of the blade you want the work piece to come from.

I feel much safer ripping thin pieces from the left side of the blade because that gives me, usually, a larger board to ride against the fence. I also happen to have an Incra fence with incremental adjustments so that I could rip thin strips of the same size all day by moving the fence.

The thin-rip jig is like placing a block of wood at the beginning of the fence to register a cross-cut from only this time it is placed opposite the fence. A piece of scrap from your bin can accomplish the same thing as this jig.

[Kevin Groenke]

That is THE WORST push stick to use in this ANY situation. Even with their little gimmick, that push stick is terrible.

The Rockler thin rip jig is a measuring tool, nothing more. It does nothing to safely make a potentially dangerous cut. That video is a travesty, it seems to purport that making a 2" rip cut without a pushblock is a reasonable operation, I would contend otherwise. The video is irresponsible AFAIC.

OSHA or the CPSC should do something about those worthless pushsticks, I wonder how many injuries such devices have contributed to.


Moving the fence for each cut is senseless to me. I put the fence where I want it - 1/8" for example. Then with a sacrificial push shoe (a 2x4 with a lip on the end, for example), I hold both pieces down and forward with the lip. This keeps everything moving through the blade without shifting. A riving knife that sits just below the top of the blade is ideal here. Second would be a low splitter that won't interfere with this cut.

THANK YOU JASON!!

Every time this topic of ripping thin strips comes up I am struck by the many ways people make this harder than it needs to be. Why move the fence for every cut? I just don't get it. Unless you have an indexing fence, moving the fence for each strip WILL result in inconsistent thicknesses. It's faster, more accurate and just as safe (if done properly) to just set the fence and make the cuts.

Like Jason, we simply use a push block that has a kerf in it exactly where it's needed. As Jason describes this allows you the set the rip fence to the actual required dimension and control the stock on both sides of the blade. A riving knife (or throatplate mounted splitter) makes the process safer, a ZCT may be required depending on the width of the strips. This process works great for strips down to 1/8", and can be employed down to 1/16" with care. If you're cutting thin strips off a wide board, rip it into more manageable 3"-4" wide pieces before ripping the strips. Take care to keep the push block square against the fence so that the kerf doesn't get chewed up, if you tilt the pushblock into the blade, it gets cut up and eventually there is no "heel" to push the thin rip past the blade which would probably result in a kickback. Stand to the right or left of the blade just in case.

We make our push blocks tall enough that 2 or 3 different kerfs (and heel heights) can be cut in them before they have to get thrown away.

1000's of novice-to-pro users have cut miles of scale lumber on our cabinet saws without a single injury and few kickbacks employing this method.

-kg

[Mike Robbins]

That video was something else. Think the product might actually be useful as a measuring jig, but just seeing someone have their fingers on top of a board that close to the blade as it moved through the cut made me wince.

Also made we wince that some watching that might rationalize poor safety habits. The 'after' picture had at least 3-5 major safety violations- (1) pushstick being used with 3-4" wide piece between fence and blade (torques it into the blade), (2) hand position too close to blade, (3) no splitter or riving knife, (4 IMHO) lack of blade guard on a through cut- zero reason not have a blade guard in place (5 IMHO) no featherboard or other method of ensuring workpiece is tight to fence at all times.

Some posters questioned if you would be able to make repeatible cuts with this jig- I would be curious why not. Seems like it would work exactly the same as using a stop-block attached to the beginning of the fence for repeated crosscuts. Personally, think I'd rather use this method and keep my blade guard, splitter, & kickback claws on the saw than the gripper unless the stock I was cutting from was less than 1" wide already. That's last point is probably just me- I learned with the blade guard on and feel kinda naked working without it there.

[Mike Robbins]

Is there anything wrong with setting a standard fence to 1/4" and ripping? (assuming you use a push stick and splitter)

Nope, but only if you do it like Kevin and Jason describe to ensure piece between blade and fence is under positive control at all times.

[Dave Lehnert]

FYI I use the Rockler Jig and it works well. If you rip small strips without the jig, just by setting the fence like described above ,the blade guard will prevent you from moving the fence close enough to the blade to make the thin strip.

Glad I made the original post. A good safety discussion going on.

http://images.rockler.com/rockler/images/36833-01-500.jpg

[Chris Padilla]

Blade guard? What's that?!

;)

:D

[Jason Beam]

Blade guard? What's that?!

It's that thing they removed "for clarity"

That's like my motorcyclist friends who buy socks and say it's "for visibility" on the road. ;)

[Tom Adger]

Go back and read Jason's post. After you have done that, go back and read it again. It may save you some fingers some day.

[Myk Rian]

I don't see how it could be called a measuring device. It has no numbers.
That video is just plain wrong, along with the guy in it.

[Chris Padilla]

Well, story sticks are a good example of a measurment with no numbers involved. Sometimes avoiding numbers can be a good thing.

[Jason White]

The "wife" is Lili (Rockler) Jackson. Her family owns Rockler Woodworking & Hardware.

She also does the narration in that video.

JW


Ok,
I just fell out of my chair in laughter:D

Look for these fine points in chronological sequence before you watch:

1) Kick back scene... read his lips when the board kicks back. I think it was ouch f-----

2)Wife comes to the rescue in a flash armed with Rockler products

3) Adult film soundtrack kickin' in the background!!!

4) Listen for the words. "Made of the same tough material" and look for the hidden product they are selling...hmmmm, Well I guess it does sell

Man there may be more I have to watch again!!!