small workshop ideas #24: Rant about Gripper and Baby Bot and Sanding pads ....

I love my Gripper and have never cleaned the pads….they work great.

I also like my baby bot . yes, it clogs up but so do all glue bottles. The smaller the glue bottle, the faster you get clogs.

Well, if you can invent a synthetic coating that does not start to slip when it get dusty, you can make a fortune. MicroJig sells an inexpensive Gravity Heel Kit that works beautifully to eliminate slipping. You should look into it.

-- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner

I usually make my own push blocks and stuff like that. May not be OSHA approved but saves my fingers. As for the glue I just buy the 16 Oz bottled of Titebond, don’t worry about clogs just close the cap.

-- Eric, building the dream. the "Loft"

I’d like to implore you not to give up on the Gripper! It really is a remarkable shop tool. Next to my Sawstop I consider it to be the 2nd safest tool in my shop. Like Redoak I have never had to clean mine. I will rub the green stuff on my shirt from time to time if see it has dust on it but that’s it. You can safely rip stock as narrow as 1/4” (1/8” if you buy that leg). You push both the piece you’re cutting and the offcut through the blade. Lots of benefits both safety-wise and in general. Seriously consider giving it more time.

-- On the eighth day God was back in His woodworking shop! Lenny, East Providence, RI

hey there again Hal

I would have to agree using glue effectively is one of the annoying aspects of woodworking.
I too never throw away my tomato sauce or honey bottles

flocking puffers, ... Glue distributors, ... Talc distributors when working with cable and conduit, and sugar dispensers in the kitchen, ... keeps the ants out well and truly.

Try not to get to dissapointed wth the quality of products these days When I was a kid I had a Boomerroo Tractor in my sand pit that toy was bullet proof I thing it even got run over one day, ...didnt miss a beat.

And if it did break my Dad just welded it back together with his PTO driven Lincon welder!

I doubt if you can even buy them these days, ... and if you can I but you cannot electric arc weld them!

So hang in there, ... solid metal dash boards have been replaced with Air bags.

The only thing that has increased in size is the cost. every thing else like quality has shrunk.

-- Regards Rob

I couldn’t agree more. I bought the gripper and used it once. Then I put it in its permanent storage location. The municipal dump. I much prefer regular push sticks. I can make on in about 5 minutes, for free, it lasts about a year. I also had a glue bot. I don’t remember what happened to it. So it must have not impressed me all that much.

I have 2 Grrippers. They are probably the most used items in my shop. Both of them have the adjustable tab on the back that hooks the end of the board. One is at least 5 years old, the other one I bought last winter when I had something go wrong on a board I was ripping (IIRC – a knot) and the resulting forces cracked the Grripper I was using. I don’t rip anything on my table saw without using them.

-- Earl "I'm a pessamist - generally that increases the chance that things will turn out better than expected"