Just ordered this from Lee Valley (along with a F1 template for the
D4....;-)

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...12&cat=1,43000

and was wondering what owners think of it after using it for a period of
time.
Has it worn out (rubber pads), or have parts broken easily? Any "gotcha's"
that make it not worthy of the space it takes up? I've been making some
small
parts recently and after nearly trimming a finger nail, I thought it best to
find a
better way. This looks good but is it really or is there something better
out there
that I should look at. Bought the bucket of common sense since mine ran a
tad
low while making a sewing box....

Is the DVD (optional extra) worth getting?

Thanks,

Bob S.

"BobS" wrote in message
...
Just ordered this from Lee Valley (along with a F1 template for the
D4....;-)

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...12&cat=1,43000

snip

Don't know how I got along without mine. Wasn't paying proper attention one
time and cut a kerf right through the rubber and plastic ( not near my
fingers ). No problem, altho I don't recommend the action. It gives really
good control on cuts on narrow pieces where I would not have made the cut
because of the proximity of the sawblade. This makes those a snap.
Definitely MUCH more than a push stick. I am going to order a second one.

Just MHO,

Vic

I've had one for a while; it's the kind of thing I don't use much, but
am very glad I have when I need to make narrow cuts or cuts in small
pieces. It works very well. I too have cut through it, and the
replacement part was expensive, but I still think the tool is worth
having.

I found the DVD to have a lot of good information on it, and am glad
I ordered one. It has some especially good material on veneering and
marketry
using the GRR-Ripper.

-- Tom



"BobS" wrote in message
...
Just ordered this from Lee Valley (along with a F1 template for the
D4....;-)

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...12&cat=1,43000

and was wondering what owners think of it after using it for a period of
time.
Has it worn out (rubber pads), or have parts broken easily? Any
"gotcha's"
that make it not worthy of the space it takes up? I've been making some
small
parts recently and after nearly trimming a finger nail, I thought it best
to find a
better way. This looks good but is it really or is there something better
out there
that I should look at. Bought the bucket of common sense since mine ran a
tad
low while making a sewing box....

Is the DVD (optional extra) worth getting?

Thanks,

Bob S.

" wrote in message
I've had one for a while; it's the kind of thing I don't use much, but
am very glad I have when I need to make narrow cuts or cuts in small
pieces. It works very well. I too have cut through it, and the
replacement part was expensive, but I still think the tool is worth
having.

I have not one, but two ... "they" can say all they want about 'rolling your
own', I now would not want to do without either of them.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 9/17/05

"BobS" wrote in message
...
better way. This looks good but is it really or is there something better
out there

You can make your own push blocks that will get the job done. The ones I've
seen rely on sacrificial principal.

Now having said that, I own two GRRRippers, a couple of the optional kits, a
complete GripTite system with steel fence and a couple of homemade sleds. I
use them all and would buy them all again. I think of GRRRippers as useful
for for pieces shorter than 18". I use the Griptites for all my longer
ripping. I also use the GRRRippers instead of push blocks when I am ripping
modest sizes of sheet goods.

Problems? Until I got the hang of how to set them up, I cut up a couple of
the pieces by accident. No problem with rubber parts wearing out. You have
to clean them every once in while with denatured alcohol. They are very
"sticky" when clean. I also use them on my router table.

I did not buy the DVD so cannot comment on how good it is.

Bob

Is the DVD (optional extra) worth getting?


I think it is. It shows you correct use of the GRR-Ripper and highlights
some features and uses you may not know about.
You have made a good purchase in my opinion. I love my two GRR-Rippers
GRR-Ripper Review http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com/reviews/grr-ripper.htm

Regards,
Dean Bielanowski
Editor,
Online Tool Reviews
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com
------------------------------------------------------------
Latest 6 Reviews:
- Veritas Medium Shoulder Plane
- Sherwood FM-150 Dust Extractor
- Ryobi BT3100K Table Saw System
- Senco 41XP Finish Nailer (Review Update)
- "Orbiter" Drill Accessory
- "Vertiacc" Vertical Drill Press Accessory
------------------------------------------------------------

Looks like the GRR-Ripper is a winner. I ordered the "system" from Lee
Valley but from a couple of the posts, it sounds like there's more to this
than what LV has on their site (highly unusual...). I'll do some more
research and also order the DVD since it sounds worthwhile.

Thank you all - appreciate the time you spent making your comments.

Bob S.

Also took the advice of getting a 2nd one. Seemed a waste to pay $6 shipping
just for a CD soooo...........

Thanks,

Bob S.

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:45:19 GMT, "BobS" wrote:


and was wondering what owners think of it after using it for a period of
time.

Is the DVD (optional extra) worth getting?



It works very well when cutting small pieces. "tunnel" over the blade
feels safe. If you cut into it, not a big deal as th blade likes it as
well as wood. Engineered by someone who used it - those little O rings
to keep the various fasteners in place are an example I wish others
would follow. In fact, I've added O ring keepers to several of my home
built jigs!

The DVD (mine was free) is fun to watch. Those guys use a TS like I
wouldn't. I'm a fraidy cat!

Long rips, wide boards, nope. The 2 hand technique doesn't work in my
brain, so I avoid it. I do not like kickback, so if it's long and
narrow, I re-engineer.

Regards.

Thanks Tom,

As I said, I've been making some small pieces lately and I think I have
spent more time making jigs or feather boards to help hold and guide the
wood than I have spent making the entire project. Saw this GRR_Ripper on
the Lee Valley site and it looked good and as I've read here tonight -
others certainly agree. Just placed the order for the 2nd unit a short
while ago.

You evidently had a problem with kickback at one time and now won't make a
long rip on a wide board now. Try a 7' long 42" wide glued-up table top
that needed to have the sides ripped down - that can get your attention.
Actually, it was a very safe operation but I practiced pushing the top thru
(blade down) several times until I felt comfortable doing it and I knew what
the top was going to do at all points along the path - start to finish.
With an outfeed table attached to the rear of the saw, a good solid fence
and a well tuned tablesaw - it was very easy to do without any one else
helping - after I practiced doing it.

Did you ever find out what caused the kickback? If you know the cause -
then the cure is to avoid doing it again and following safe practices.
Making long rips can be every bit as safe as any other operation on a
tablesaw once you know the proper technique and are comfortable with the
technique. Practice doing it as I did, with the blade down and do it in slow
motion so you can think about your body position, where your hands are and
get used to the hand-over-hand feeding technique.

Doing it live with a blade spinning and saw dust flying can be very
intimidating so make the dry runs first - power off, blade down. If your
equipment isn't up to the task, fix what is needed. I really doubt that
you're a fraidy cat as you said - just need someone to show or talk you thru
it once or twice until you see the whole process. Practice, practice,
practice.....still doesn't make a perfect project... but you'll feel
better........;-)

Bob S.



"Tom Banes" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:45:19 GMT, "BobS" wrote:


It works very well when cutting small pieces. "tunnel" over the blade
feels safe. If you cut into it, not a big deal as th blade likes it as
well as wood. Engineered by someone who used it - those little O rings
to keep the various fasteners in place are an example I wish others
would follow. In fact, I've added O ring keepers to several of my home
built jigs!

The DVD (mine was free) is fun to watch. Those guys use a TS like I
wouldn't. I'm a fraidy cat!

Long rips, wide boards, nope. The 2 hand technique doesn't work in my
brain, so I avoid it. I do not like kickback, so if it's long and
narrow, I re-engineer.

Regards.

You can make them and I did for a long time. To have one that will do as
much as the Gripper, you either have to make a lot of them in various
configurations or put an unreasonable amount of time into building something
adjustable. Worth the money. Works well, versatile and cheap if you rather
make furniture than tooling.

"Swingman" wrote in message
...
I have not one, but two ... "they" can say all they want about 'rolling
your
own', I now would not want to do without either of them.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 9/17/05

"BobS" wrote in message
...

technique. Practice doing it as I did, with the blade down and do it in
slow
motion so you can think about your body position, where your hands are and
get used to the hand-over-hand feeding technique.

That's some of the best advise I've read in a long time.

Bob

And thanks to your post, I'll soon be a bit safer with the GRR-Ripper's
keeping my fingers out of way.

Thanks,

Bob S.


"BillyBob" wrote in message
ink.net...

"BobS" wrote in message
...

technique. Practice doing it as I did, with the blade down and do it in
slow
motion so you can think about your body position, where your hands are
and
get used to the hand-over-hand feeding technique.

That's some of the best advise I've read in a long time.

Bob

In article ,
says...
Just ordered this from Lee Valley (along with a F1 template for the
D4....;-)

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...12&cat=1,43000

and was wondering what owners think of it after using it for a period of
time.
Has it worn out (rubber pads), or have parts broken easily? Any "gotcha's"
that make it not worthy of the space it takes up? I've been making some
small
parts recently and after nearly trimming a finger nail, I thought it best to
find a
better way. This looks good but is it really or is there something better
out there
that I should look at. Bought the bucket of common sense since mine ran a
tad
low while making a sewing box....

Is the DVD (optional extra) worth getting?

Thanks,

Bob S.




Mine's still in great shape after over a year of (unfortunately) light
use. Just be sure to double check that the blade is set to go through
the channel between the runners. I've almost run the blade down the
center of them a couple of times.

On 27/09/2005 8:16 PM, BobS wrote:
Looks like the GRR-Ripper is a winner. I ordered the "system" from Lee
Valley but from a couple of the posts, it sounds like there's more to this
than what LV has on their site (highly unusual...). I'll do some more
research and also order the DVD since it sounds worthwhile.

http://www.microjig.com/GRR-Ripper.htm

On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 02:02:20 GMT, "BobS" wrote:



You evidently had a problem with kickback at one time and now won't make a
long rip on a wide board now.

SNIP

Bob:

Appreciate the advice and time you took to post it.

Yep, I had a nasty kick back this past weekend ripping 4" off a 24X48
hunk of 3/4 ply. Luckily I recognized the symptoms as I was running
the cut and got the heck out of the way. Only harm was a lovely
semi-circular gash through the leading end of the board where the top
of the blade caught it. I was almost across the room by then (little
guys learn early how to run real fast).

Yes, I know what caused it. Long story cut short. I had dismounted the
UHDP side panels on the fence (it's a Jet Xacta) to smooth them up a
couple of weeks ago. When I remounted them I put the panel that's
normally on the right side (not normally used side) of the fence onto
the left, or normal board guiding side. I had not tuned the saw with
it on that side. Lo and behold, when I checked it after the excitement
the dial indicator showed that the side panel pinched in at the far
(out-feed) end by almost .035. The correct panel slants a tiny bit out
(~.004) at the out feed - tuned it that way on purpose. Second mistake
was that I had failed to snap the splitter back in (after market Bies)
before making the cut - don't ask me why. So 2 goofs gave me a gotcha.

Your practice the cut idea is "spot on". Had I done so, I would have
immediately noticed the lack of a splitter. I might not have noticed
the pinch-in, but with the splitter the odds of a bad kick back would
have been less.

So fraidy cat or no, I'll learn, hopefully more from listening to you
guys than from my own dumb-ass mistakes.

Regards.

BTW - the "bad" panel went through the planer, was remounted and
checked out OK. Also both panels are now permanently engraved with
their "Left" "Right" titles in bright red on the top edge.

"Tom Banes" wrote

Also both panels are now permanently engraved with
their "Left" "Right" titles in bright red on the top edge.

Reminds me of the medical practice of clearly indicating on the body where
the surgery is to be performed.

Apparently there were some mistakes made before. And they don't want to
repeat those mistakes in the future.

Same idea as what you did.

I think we have a few things in common: short, Jet Xacta, Beis splitter,
quick reflexes (duck), learn the hard way.....;-)

Maybe it was one of my posts that you read on how to tune that Xacta fence.
Have you added the extra screws? If not - then you obviously have not read
my post.

It sounds as though you are *now* well aware of what the hell went wrong and
how to correct it next time. You'll remember that one for awhile and
hopefully, you'll get in the habit of making a dry run before applying
power. Knowing where the stock will be when it exits the blade is as
important as knowing where your hands will be at all times.

Bob S.


"Tom Banes" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 02:02:20 GMT, "BobS" wrote:



You evidently had a problem with kickback at one time and now won't make a
long rip on a wide board now.

SNIP

Bob:

Appreciate the advice and time you took to post it.

Yep, I had a nasty kick back this past weekend ripping 4" off a 24X48
hunk of 3/4 ply. Luckily I recognized the symptoms as I was running
the cut and got the heck out of the way. Only harm was a lovely
semi-circular gash through the leading end of the board where the top
of the blade caught it. I was almost across the room by then (little
guys learn early how to run real fast).

Yes, I know what caused it. Long story cut short. I had dismounted the
UHDP side panels on the fence (it's a Jet Xacta) to smooth them up a
couple of weeks ago. When I remounted them I put the panel that's
normally on the right side (not normally used side) of the fence onto
the left, or normal board guiding side. I had not tuned the saw with
it on that side. Lo and behold, when I checked it after the excitement
the dial indicator showed that the side panel pinched in at the far
(out-feed) end by almost .035. The correct panel slants a tiny bit out
(~.004) at the out feed - tuned it that way on purpose. Second mistake
was that I had failed to snap the splitter back in (after market Bies)
before making the cut - don't ask me why. So 2 goofs gave me a gotcha.

Your practice the cut idea is "spot on". Had I done so, I would have
immediately noticed the lack of a splitter. I might not have noticed
the pinch-in, but with the splitter the odds of a bad kick back would
have been less.

So fraidy cat or no, I'll learn, hopefully more from listening to you
guys than from my own dumb-ass mistakes.

Regards.

BTW - the "bad" panel went through the planer, was remounted and
checked out OK. Also both panels are now permanently engraved with
their "Left" "Right" titles in bright red on the top edge.

"Tom Banes" wrote in message
...

(out-feed) end by almost .035. The correct panel slants a tiny bit out
(~.004) at the out feed - tuned it that way on purpose. Second mistake
was that I had failed to snap the splitter back in (after market Bies)
before making the cut - don't ask me why. So 2 goofs gave me a gotcha.

I've been subconciously aware for a few months that use of my table saw
seems easier and safer. Yeah, that's a weird statement. I bet everyone who
uses a tablesaw can relate to the idea that you gain a kind of feel or sense
for how cut is going through experience.

Well, sifting through possibilities and ruling out that I'm getting soft in
the head, I realize what's changed. I used a little splitter device from
Mesa (Grip-tite) folks for about a year. Then I switched to the microjig
splitter (GRRRipper folks). I thought it was way overpriced. But what you
really pay for is all the design and testing time that went into the final
product. I read somewhere that Henry Wang went through several hundred
iterations in designing the GRRRipper. He also tried to have it
manufactured overseas but could not get the quality he wanted in the
production model so has it built in the USA (that may have changed - I don't
know).

Anyway back to the original point - I haven't had anything close to a pucker
factor cut on my table saw since I started using the MJ splitter. I must be
getting really good. :-)

Bob

On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 23:51:55 GMT, "BobS" wrote:


Maybe it was one of my posts that you read on how to tune that Xacta fence.
Have you added the extra screws? If not - then you obviously have not read
my post.
SNIP

Bob, haven't read it, or don't think I have. Got a title I can google?

Regards.

BTW I'm not exactly short (6'1") but skinny (125#). "Little" just
sounds better than skinny. But I can press (not bench press, press) my
weight plus about 20%.

On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 10:09:44 GMT, "BillyBob"
wrote:

SNIP


Anyway back to the original point - I haven't had anything close to a pucker
factor cut on my table saw since I started using the MJ splitter. I must be
getting really good. :-)

Bob

Bob:

I started with an MJ splitter (as soon as I yanked the worthless
factory BG off), but never got it lined up right - hence the Bies. A
lot more expensive but easy to adjust.

Regards.

Tom,

Can't find it myself but if I do, I'll make a new post. But here's the gist
of it:

This is for the commercial Xacta fence (right-tilt cabinet saw) which has
the recessed screws showing on the side-panels (UHMW) and these are
abbreviated, not complete procedures:

1. Add more screws (one between each existing screw) so it will pull the
side panels flat.
2. You need to elongate "all" the holes on the side panels (on the UHMW) so
the side panels will lay flat when screws are tightened.
3. Screw holes on the fence tube (steel tube) need to be filed / ground /
hammered down flat -or- use a small forstner bit to recess the back side of
the screw holes on the UHMW panel so it does not ride on the high spot where
the screw hole is on the steel fence. Be careful, the screw holes are
already recessed on the front so don't go deeper than a couple of
thousandths. See explanation below.
4. After drilling, recessing the screws and elongating the screw holes,
attach the panels and start snugging up the screws - center ones first and
work to the ends.
5. After doing that, check with your dial gauge. Low spots between screws
can be shimmed if needed using a piece of paper. If you need more than a
single folded piece of paper to shim out - you missed a high spot.
6. Align fence as per instructions and be sure it's perpendicular to the
table.

Explanation on screw holes. The screw holes on the steel tube are made
using self threading screws. These tend to raise the material around the
screw hole so the fence side panels cannot lay flat. We're only talking a
few thou and it's enough to give you hills and valleys all along the fence.
The holes in the UHMW are tight fitting around the screws and need to be
elongated so the panel can move laterally as needed. The factory installed
screws are not inserted perpendicular to the tube and when screwed down,
they push or pull the UHMW side panels making them "bunch-up" (high spot)
between the screws. By either making those flat by filing or by making a
recess on the back side of the panel and elongating the holes, the panel
will now lay flat.

You can also do the other side of the fence but remember - 99.99% of the
time, only one side panel of the fence will probably ever be adjusted
perpendicular to the table. The sides of the steel tube would have to be
parallel for that to happen. Considering that's just a piece of stock tubing
they cut to length, weld other parts on then paint - it's not a precision
made fence. So align the left side perpendicular and call it a day
(assuming you use your fence on the right side of the blade).

You've already flattened your side panels and know how to align the fence so
I didn't include any of those steps. If your fence panels are the type
which have the key-hole slots on the backside and slide on to standoffs on
the steel tube - these instructions will not work. I do recall someone else
making a post about how they were able to get theirs flat but had to replace
the (insert name of the widget here) items that hold the panels to the fence
tube.

Bob S.



"Tom Banes" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 23:51:55 GMT, "BobS" wrote:


Maybe it was one of my posts that you read on how to tune that Xacta
fence.
Have you added the extra screws? If not - then you obviously have not
read
my post.
SNIP

Bob, haven't read it, or don't think I have. Got a title I can google?

Regards.

BTW I'm not exactly short (6'1") but skinny (125#). "Little" just
sounds better than skinny. But I can press (not bench press, press) my
weight plus about 20%.

"Tom Banes" wrote in message
...

I started with an MJ splitter (as soon as I yanked the worthless
factory BG off), but never got it lined up right - hence the Bies. A
lot more expensive but easy to adjust.

Well, I think the Bies is probably a fine piece of gear. Unfortunately it
only fits a few elite saws which leaves many of us out.

Bob