"Chip Buchholtz" wrote in message
...

Instead of an adjustable "leg", I figured I'd just take a block of
wood that was thicker than my blade's maximum height, maybe put a
handle on top, and glue an old mouse pad to the bottom.

I've been using GRRRippers for a couple of years and I am convinced that
homemade "equivalents" simply cannot approach the commercial product in
performance. The designer of the GRRRipper paid a lot of attention to choice
of materials for the gripping surface, both in firmness and friction
coefficient. There is no way a mouse pad works as well. This was brought
home to me when I was recently trying to use the commercial padded push
handles that came with my powermatic jointer and I had great difficulty
pushing a 6" wide board through, no matter how thin I set the cut. I had an
"aha" moment and reached for my GRRRipper blocks. They grabbed the wood and
allowed me to push the wood through the jointer with authority and safety.
I threw away the commercial push blocks that came with the jointer. I
decided it was a safety hazard.

Its possible to emulate the GRRRipper with homemade pieces but I have yet to
see a homemade version that is adjustable and flexible for so many
situations. Its very nice to adjust a few screws and reposition parts so I
can create a very safe cut on what seemlingly was an impossible situation
for odd shaped small parts. I think these are worth every penny I paid for
them (I own two with several of the add-ons). I had to do a lot of
rationalization when I bought them. As I have learned more about them and
used them more, the rationalization is no longer necessary.

Bob