Push Sticks

I’ve got a pair of GRR-rippers that I love but sometimes I need a really thin push stick to get in between tight spaces. Case in point, when I use my Thin Strip Ripping Jig and I’m getting closer and closer to the jig, the GRR-ripper gets in the way (actually it kind of gets in the way of the jig all the time). At that point I can switch to one of these push sticks that will allow me to push through on the right side of the blade while the down to under 3/4” (some of these are 3/4”, some are 5/8” wide).

I basically made a template out of some scraps and then batched these out. The first picture shows all the different shapes I made. I got the templates for the shapes from Craftsmanspace and drew them out on large sheets of drawing paper by hand (since I don’t have a plotter or anything larger to print the larger scale ones on). I then stuck the cutouts to the scraps, used the table saw for the straight cuts and band saw for the curves, and cleaned them up on my ridgid OSS where they curved. On to the router table to duplicate them and voila.

I added the carpet pad underneath in hopes of getting a good grip on the stock. The other thing you will notice I added for the straight-backed ones is a little piece of hardboard. I drilled two holes to fit some small screws (Kreg 1” screws), made a 1/8” slot about 3/4” long and attached it to the back. What this allows me to do is have a flat push stick while it sits on top of the stock (picture 4) but when i need it to, the hardboard stop will fall down once not depressed on the stock and aid in pushing the stock as seen in picture 5. Of course the hardboard is easily replaceable which makes for a very useful push stick.

I hope you like it and thanks for looking.

-- Matt, Arizona, http://www.reintroducing.com