Shopsmith Forums

bainin wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 2:17 pm I don't know why, and the answer may be I'm developing a new anxiety of my tool...but whenever i do this kind of rip cut on my saw, it feels ackward/unsafe.

Specifically , the part that bothers me is that my paddles/push sticks either don't fit in the gap between the fence+blade, or it doesn't feel like
I am able to apply downward/inward toward fence force during the movement. This may all just be in my head

The -over the fence slide push stick- that is shown (red) from shopsmith feels the most right, but it bothers me that the contact to the wood is that thin strip of plastic that runs right next to the fence, leaving a good 2+" of wood unsupported as you go from the fence to the blade.



thanks

Okay, I went back and re-read your original post and I have some additional thoughts. Whenever I have done narrow rips in the past with the Shopsmith fence straddler I have felt reasonably safe doing so. It seems like you are saying of the choices available to you, that you find the Shopsmith fence straddler to be the safest solution, but you are wondering is there a way to make it safer? Is that correct? The fence straddler is designed to purposely put your hand off to the right side of the fence to keep you safe. You are worried about having enough downward force while pushing the stock through the blade. I am wondering if perhaps using the right hand to hold the fence straddler while simultaneously using the Shopsmith push stick with your left hand to keep forward movement and downward pressure would help in this instance? You would need to be careful that you stay in sync so you don't allow the stock to move left creating a kickback scenario, but this could work, or might be worth a try. Another thought that I had is the fence straddler should really be larger. IF you use it a lot, I think the thin left side should be replaced. I could imagine getting some sheets of acrylic, lexan, etc. and laminating them to at least 1" thick or more to replace that left side of the straddler. Then make the slot in the side so that it can be attached to the fence straddler. In short, I would replace that left side of the fence straddler with something a bit more substantial. I believe this would give more confidence for this kind of operation and be even more stable. You could use whatever you want, but suggesting something like acrylic here because it has a low coefficient of friction and could slide nicely against the fence, while also being lightweight. Wood could be used instead and waxed for sliding against the fence. Alternatively you could make your own fence straddler entirely out of wood to replace the Shopsmith fence straddler, then you could fix the deficiencies with that left side, i.e. replacing all of it with your own home grown solution.

Can you rip first from longer stock then cut to length?

HopefulSSer wrote: Tue Aug 05, 2025 12:27 pm Can you rip first from longer stock then cut to length?

But isn't short length stock what the fence straddler was designed for and what it excels at? I haven't used it all the time, but when needed it, I have found it more than adequate for operations similar to this.

By the way, lots of jig designs out there for thin rips. Scott showed a good one, but I like this one even better, but I would use a push stick in my left hand with it to keep fingers away from blade.

I still recommend bandsawing this. If you insist on doing this on a table saw, I'd make a sled to clamp the work piece to. It's too short to try to control it along the regular rip fence.

algale wrote: Tue Aug 05, 2025 8:18 pm I still recommend bandsawing this. If you insist on doing this on a table saw, I'd make a sled to clamp the work piece to. It's too short to try to control it along the regular rip fence.

Yeah, but this is why the jig I shared on my last post helps because it has a long section that rides against the fence while the cutoff is the rest of the board being cut. Much safer to do it this way on a tablesaw I believe. What about bandsaw drift? Even resawing on the bandsaw requires a trip through the planer or thickness sander afterwards to get it to a uniform dimension. With such a thin strip, I think getting the desired result and doing it safely can be just as problematic on a bandsaw because of this. Am I missing something here?

YMMV but I know I could rip that easily on my Shopsmith bandsaw with a sharp 5/8 blade and proper tension and probably not even have to sand them. I ripped huge long boards into 1/4" strips for my cedar strip canoe on my bandsaw with no drift (or more accurately I had set the fence to correct for the drift). That little piece of wood would be a piece of cake on a bandsaw!

If I had no bandsaw, I'd put something as short as what the OP is cutting into an existing sled with a couple of hold downs. Or if I had no sled I'd mount some holds downs to a piece of scrap plywood 8-12 inches wide and run the plywood on the fence with lots of distance between the blade and my hands.

No disrespect, RF Guy but I'm not a fan of those shoe style thin rip jigs (or Scott's). Too complicated to build, and still puts your hands too close to the blade (and on both side of the blade, too boot) for my preference. I'm sure they work. I just think there are better ways.

I appreciate everyones input here,


Oh i like that thing strip jig video...gives me some new avenues to think along.

Algale-I agree, bandsaw is easiest/safest for such things...though at least my current blades would require planing/sanding post cutting.

My current tablesaw blades leave a much better resulting surface at the moment.

I do keep the bandsaw as a backup if I don't find an acceptable table-saw solution.

b

Alan,

I appreciate your opinion and I trust you. I haven't needed to make that many thin rips in my projects so I was just trying to brainstorm on this thread. IF it can be done well on the bandsaw, and is safer, then by all means that should be the method chosen. IF/when I need to make many thin rips, I will certainly give the bandsaw consideration for this. Thanks for your advice.

algale wrote: Tue Aug 05, 2025 9:46 pm YMMV but I know I could rip that easily on my Shopsmith bandsaw with a sharp 5/8 blade and proper tension and probably not even have to sand them. I ripped huge long boards into 1/4" strips for my cedar strip canoe on my bandsaw with no drift (or more accurately I had set the fence to correct for the drift). That little piece of wood would be a piece of cake on a bandsaw!

Al, what brand/type of 5/8" bandsaw blade do you use? Whatever it is, I need to try one, as my blades leave a fairly rough finish.