I guess it’s time that I give you some feedback on the
Grr-Rippers that I have been using for a couple of
months now. Because I have been woodworking for 30
years, I feel comfortable performing many operations on my tools that a novice
might not even consider. Obviously, until recently,
I’ve always had to rely on devices of my own design and manufacture to
accomplish many jobs. Therefore, I must mention right
up front that I am always skeptical when a new gadget enters the market
proclaiming to be “the best thing since…”.
The first task I performed using the Grr-Rippers (GR’s after this) was
to rip (30) 1/8” thick by ¼” wide by 16” long poplar strips for use in my daughter’s
dollhouse. The GR did a great job and allowed me to
maximize my material usage and do it at a comfort level that I probably could
not have achieved with my conventional push sticks. The
only improvement that I can conceive is a thinner version of the ¼” fence. Mine measured exactly .250” when I started this job. Let’s just say it is slightly less than that now.
The second job I performed was to prepare stock for
some off-center turned Queen Anne table legs. These
were 2-1/2” square x 30” long blanks which required a ¼” stopped rip on two
sides (it’s a long story). I needed to have the ripped
faces as smooth as possible. I used a brand-new
Forrest blade and a ganged GR set-up. Normally, I would have used a couple of feather boards,
turned off the saw before removing the blank, and probably still have a fair
amount of sanding to do to the 6” long pommel section of the blank. With the GR set-up, I was able to do the rips without any
other appliances and I was able to lift the blank up off of the rotating blade
(not recommended for amateurs). This saved a lot of
time and also gave me virtually perfect cheeks on my pommels.
The third job was to bead some table aprons on the
router table and the GR gang set-up worked well.
Last night I had to rip (slice) some 1/16” veneer from
some curly maple stock on my band saw. I was working
with some 5/4” material that was 4” wide x 10” long. A
single GR laid on its side did a really great job, and again, I achieved
maximum yield from my material.
All in all, I have to say that the Grr-Ripper
is a pretty slick product. I don’t think it will
replace all of my push sticks, but it is a real problem solver in a lot of
tricky situations. I would definitely recommend this
product to anyone that works wood with machinery.
Thanks for turning me on to this product. I can’t wait to see the taper jig. Please
keep me tuned in.
Regards,
Craig Bentzley
Craig Bentzley gave seminar at Woodworks 2002 in
CRAIG BENTZLEY, a woodworker
for over 30 years, resides in southeastern