Shopsmith Forums

Posted: **Sat Mar 13, 2021 12:14 pm**

rogersk wrote: ↑Sat Mar 13, 2021 10:16 am As far as "buying an old, rusted out Rip-Strate from eBay", a little Evapo-rust could make the one in the link you're referring to look new in a short period of time.

Don't get me wrong, anything can be cleaned up and reused. I guess my point was more along the lines of this is a SAFETY device, NOT just some TOOL. For this reason, I can't understand why anyone would want to buy an old, beat-up, rusted out Rip-Strate from eBay over brand new Jessem CLEAR-CUT TS™ STOCK GUIDES. I am less inclined to trust an older safety tool with heavy wear. Just seems like money wasted to me, but just my opinion... I would prefer to have a new safety device, in good condition and with company support.

Below is a loooong video on the Little Proteus versus competing power feeders and hold down solutions for anyone that is really bored:

Posted: **Sat Mar 13, 2021 12:42 pm**

RFGuy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 13, 2021 12:14 pm
Don't get me wrong, anything can be cleaned up and reused. I guess my point was more along the lines of this is a SAFETY device, NOT just some TOOL. For this reason, I can't understand why anyone would want to buy an old, beat-up, rusted out Rip-Strate from eBay over brand new Jessem CLEAR-CUT TS™ STOCK GUIDES. I am less inclined to trust an older safety tool with heavy wear. Just seems like money wasted to me, but just my opinion... I would prefer to have a new safety device, in good condition and with company support.

I wouldn't buy an old Rip-Strate sight unseen. Probably wouldn't buy something like that if it's so old unless it's for my old tools collection. I was just curious what happened to those things. If I need something now the Jessem guides look like a reasonable choice.

Posted: **Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:54 am**

OK guys, Al Ladd, who makes the Proteus Power Feeder, saw this thread and tried to join and respond, but he has been unable to do, due to some kind of registration error (I have no idea).

He asked me to post this to the thread, as a FYI... so here goes...

"Great to see my power feeder being discussed here! I think Shopsmiths could be a fantastic use for my power feeder, and they fall into the category of machines too small and light to use a conventional feeder on, probably even the Comatic "baby feeder". I think my feeder would mount onto a 510 or 520 fence with no alteration of the Shopsmith, and it would also clamp into the t slot miter gauge slot with an easily made plywood holder. See attached photos.
I want to address a couple of the comments people have had. As the attached photo shows, my feeder is about as bulky as a "baby feeder". It weighs about 13 pounds without the drill attached, which adds 3-4 pounds. The Baby feeder weighs 27 pounds, an extra 3 with the steel plate shown in the photo which helps in mounting. Visual access to the saw blade is not something one usually gets when using any stock feeder. Best practice is to to set up with the stock feeder not yet in place, and then attach the feeder. So fast installation and removal is important. This is a big advantage for my feeder, which removes and installs as fast as Jessem guides.
Speaking of which,--I love Jessem guides! And my feeder plays well with them. It can mount in the same track as they do, and on a full sized table saw, and maybe with a Shopsmith, you can put a Jessem guide in front of the feeder, and both power feeder rolls behind the blade, and the stock will be handled very safely all the way through the cut, perhaps even leaving the riving knife in place. If the riving knife needs to be removed, I recommend an insert with a splitter.
All this said, I think the best use of my feeder for most woodworkers is in resawing on the band saw, and the second best is a router table. But of course Shopsmith owners are special, and I think my feeder can be a great addition to safely working in several modes on a Shopsmith.
I'm willing to sell any kit at half price to a Shopsmith owner who will report back here, and refund the balance if they post a video of their installation to Youtube. Contact me at al@alladd.com."

Posted: **Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:11 am**

tucsonguy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 10:54 am OK guys, Al Ladd, who makes the Proteus Power Feeder, saw this thread and tried to join and respond, but he has been unable to do, due to some kind of registration error (I have no idea).

He asked me to post this to the thread, as a FYI... so here goes...

"Great to see my power feeder being discussed here! I think Shopsmiths could be a fantastic use for my power feeder, and they fall into the category of machines too small and light to use a conventional feeder on, probably even the Comatic "baby feeder". I think my feeder would mount onto a 510 or 520 fence with no alteration of the Shopsmith, and it would also clamp into the t slot miter gauge slot with an easily made plywood holder. See attached photos.
I want to address a couple of the comments people have had. As the attached photo shows, my feeder is about as bulky as a "baby feeder". It weighs about 13 pounds without the drill attached, which adds 3-4 pounds. The Baby feeder weighs 27 pounds, an extra 3 with the steel plate shown in the photo which helps in mounting. Visual access to the saw blade is not something one usually gets when using any stock feeder. Best practice is to to set up with the stock feeder not yet in place, and then attach the feeder. So fast installation and removal is important. This is a big advantage for my feeder, which removes and installs as fast as Jessem guides.
Speaking of which,--I love Jessem guides! And my feeder plays well with them. It can mount in the same track as they do, and on a full sized table saw, and maybe with a Shopsmith, you can put a Jessem guide in front of the feeder, and both power feeder rolls behind the blade, and the stock will be handled very safely all the way through the cut, perhaps even leaving the riving knife in place. If the riving knife needs to be removed, I recommend an insert with a splitter.
All this said, I think the best use of my feeder for most woodworkers is in resawing on the band saw, and the second best is a router table. But of course Shopsmith owners are special, and I think my feeder can be a great addition to safely working in several modes on a Shopsmith.
I'm willing to sell any kit at half price to a Shopsmith owner who will report back here, and refund the balance if they post a video of their installation to Youtube. Contact me at al@alladd.com."

Keep in mind that the OP of this thread posted about the Little Proteus asking about using it "for safety reasons". For production work, I could see the Little Proteus as an advantage but I still have concerns about whether the mounting for it is sturdy enough to protect the woodworker in the event of a major kickback event. Having said this, I do see it as a good low cost alternative to commercial power feeders. Since safety was the primary concern on this thread, I still recommend Jessem or other hold down products for us hobbyists who don't really need a power feeder. Just my opinion though...

Posted: **Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:31 pm**

Well that was nice of Al to respond here. Thanks for the added information and the offer on Little Proteus !

b

Posted: **Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:37 pm**

bainin wrote: ↑Mon Mar 15, 2021 6:31 pm Well that was nice of Al to respond here. Thanks for the added information and the offer on Little Proteus !

b

Yeah, I agree though it would be nice if he could reply directly on the forum. Are new forum members able to get in and post, or is something preventing them from doing so? I only ask because there have been some posts, I think, in the last year with forum members complaining about being able to get on the first time...or they get on and continually complain about posting pictures, etc. I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the spam free posts we have now, but just wondering is it really that hard to apply to be a Shopsmith member now?

Posted: **Mon Mar 15, 2021 8:13 pm**

"...saw this thread and tried to join and respond, but he has been unable to do, due to some kind of registration error (I have no idea)."

Seems like there is a new user delay or issue of some sort.

Posted: **Mon Mar 15, 2021 8:52 pm**

I agree and have sent a message to admin. Nothing new since Feb 11.

Ed

Posted: **Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:50 pm**

Fans of the movie Repo Man may remember this line:
“A lot o' people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch o' unconnected incidents 'n things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice o' coincidence that lays on top o' everything. Give you an example; show you what I mean: suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.”

I bring it up because this morning I looked at the tool section on Craig's List and the very first entry was this ad for a Rip-Strate:

: pic1.jpg (55.44 KiB) Viewed 1788 times

So I was thinking about a Rip-Strate, and then there was the ad. So I went and got it. It looks even better than the picture in the ad, very clean, and only 20 bucks. Couldn't beat a deal like that. Maybe I'll use it someday.

I am kind of interested in finding out more about the Proteus Power Feed for a bandsaw too, that looks very useful for re-sawing.

Posted: **Tue Mar 16, 2021 4:29 pm**

Ed,

Below is a manual just in case you need it. The RipStrate was initially made by Fisher Hill Industries then later sold to Trend-lines Woodworking Tools & Supplies. Both companies, I believe, are out of business now. From the manual it looks like the rollers are supposed to be set to provide a slight angle to push the workpiece into the fence. If so, it is similar to the Jessem product in operation. The Jessem product however won't allow the wheels to roll backwards which further helps to prevent kickback. It appears that the RipStrate is supposed to have a similar function, but I don't fully understand how it is supposed to work. In the diagram from the manual there is a U channel labeled as an anti-kickback pawl so I presume this is supposed to somehow fall in between the wheels to stop them?

By the way, it isn't so much cosmic unconciousness as it is that you searched recently on Google (or another search engine) for RipStrate and as a result you got an ad showing a RipStrate for sale. Not a coincidence. Big brother is watching...always watching.

RipStrate Owner's Manual.pdf: (2.83 MiB) Downloaded 443 times

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