Gripper Clones

[John Miliunas]

Well Steve, if nothing else, you've certainly got me thinking about alternative materials for use on push blocks! The "standard" ones, IMHO, are junk!!! Thanks for the suggestions!

[Victor cardona]

would there you maybe be able to post some plans to follow ? i would love to have a pair of rippers but cant afford them but i can most def afford to make them

[Andrew Howe]

I would suggest using the antis ip mat for rugs and cabinets

[michael case]

Safety first. great idea

[Floyd Mah]

Great idea. Same one that I had more than 15 years ago. Back then, I didn't have much to spend on gadgets, so when I saw how useful the Gripper was, I made one, pretty much with the same stuff as you did. I was too embarrassed to admit that I had copied such a good idea and was too cheap to spend the $55. It still works, it's still a good idea, and I still have my $55. And, I'll admit, I'm still cheap.

[Jim Heffner]

Steve, I like your design and ideas for a copy (clone) of the Grippers. If you don't mind, I may use your design to make my own set of them as well. Thanks. Jim Heffner

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Nice job! I really like my "real" Grippers. They already saved my fingers from a pretty nasty router kick back..... Anything to do that will save you from an injury is well worth it.

[Mitch Barker]

Speaking of mouse pads. My company was tossing out boxes of mouse pads that had outdated logos. I grabbed a bunch and glued pairs back to back using spray adhesive. So now I had a double thick mouse pad with the high friction surface on both sides. I use one or more of these to support work while routing, sanding etc. You can cut them up and use them like the "bench cookies" sold by rockler.

[Chris Padilla]

Folks, do note that the original thread is about 4 years old!

[Bill McMullen]

This is my first attempt at comment and hope I get it right. The article on grippers by Steve Sawyer is very good but I am wondering why there are no photo's for me to view?

[Matt Day]

Welcome Bill!

Some photos were hosted by Photobucket which stopped allowing photos to be hosted on forums and the like. The OP’s phots may have been linked elsewhere then moved or deleted over the years - Which is why it’s recommended to upload directly to SMC.

Note that this is a 10 year old thread.

[Steve Sawyer]

Bill - I was probably posting pics on flickr at the time, and I have no idea if I even have an active account over there anymore. In any case, I'm posting the pics I could find of those Gripper clones. I have moved so far from using these, I'm surprised that I still have the pics!! Hopefully these will make the description easier to follow. Let me know if you have any questions.

Edit to add that I should explain myself. I was using these with a contractor's saw that had a horrible blade guard, so I never used it. For that situation, these kinds of push-blocks are the bees knees. However, I have since moved up to a cabinet saw with a riving knife, and at least the third incarnation of the blade guard. I no longer use a saw without using the blade-guard, except on those rare occasions when it's impossible (like when cutting tenons or using a crosscut sled). I passed these push-blocks on to another member of our local woodworking club that does not use a blade guard.