Push Stick with Tote

Clearly, I'm a woman with too much time on her hands.

In trying to come up with a safe way to rip thin boards on the table saw, I built this push stick that, with a handle on the front and a handle on the back* (and both mortised into the body), maintains uniform pressure along the length of the stock and keeps my fingers safely away from the blade. The blade guard and splitter have been removed for clarity. (I do NOT condone removing the safety features on a table saw. Removing the blade guard and splitter is dangerous!) The push stick works even better with a feather board putting pressure along the side of the board, which in turn, keeps it tight against the fence.

Last night, at the women's woodworking club meeting, where we were making cutting boards and ripping skinny stock, I used my suped up push stick. One woman suggested that I patent and sell the design to other woodworkers.

Nah...who the heck has time to build one of these?

*Someone way more wise than me pointed out that it's safer to put your hand on top of the tote (the handle in the back), rather than curl your fingers around the handle like you would a handsaw. The reason for this is, in case the spinning blade grabs the push stick for some reason, you can easily pull your hand back and away from the blade.