On Jan 21, 6:44 pm, "Leon" wrote:

I NEVER use a push stick, they scare me to death. I always apply downward
pressure, typically I use a Gripper or a home made hold down devise with a
hook on the rear.

I was using "push stick" as a generic term for anything in between
your hand and the work. And I don't care how fancy it is, it can't
stop the wood from bowing after it's cut. You may be able to keep it
down to prevent the kickback with the gripper or whatever, but I
decided it's just not worth it.


The biggest mistake I see people make is to just fixate on what is
happening at the cut and ignore what is happening at the fence. Get
your hands out of the path of the cut and the blade will do its job
just fine without you staring at it, as long as you do your job of
feeding the stock properly.

Yeah I used to think that way, I always keep my eye on the blade when it is
spinning. My lesson 20 years ago taught me that any thing can happen when
you are not paying attention to the blade.

I didn't say ignore the blade, I said not to be fixated on it. You
can even be staring at the damn blade and watch your hand go right
into it before you realize what you just did. It's not enough to be
looking, you have to have your brain turned on too.

-Kevin