The program’s goal is to supply all 2,714 public high schools in America with a pair of Microjig’s revolutionary GRR-RIPPER® pushblocks — widely considered to be a safer alternative to traditional push sticks.

“We’ve had the idea (for the ‘Safety for Every Shop Program’) floating around for about 5 years, and maybe even longer,” says Bruce Wang, Microjig’s CEO.

He says the final decision to commit the company to the plan didn’t come about until he read a 2017 Consumer Product Safety Commission table saw injury report that indicates that OEM blade guards and standard safety devices aren’t materially reducing the incidences and severity of table saw accidents in the USA.

“Considering that there’s still over 50,000 medically treated table saw injuries every year, and standard safety systems have been deemed ineffective at reducing injuries, we believe woodworkers have been given bad advice all these years,” Wang says. “Using exposed hands and flimsy push sticks is a broken way to operate the most powerful and dangerous power tool in the shop.”

In contrast to most conventional or shop-made push sticks, which require users to hold the device in range of the blade and without a shielding form of protection from it, GRR-RIPPERs provide a “bridge” over the blade that serves as a barrier to prevent hand contact. A closed-ended handle on top provides better control, and the device can be quickly and easily configured to help users make either wide or narrow rip cuts, depending on the task at hand. GRR-RIPPERs also help to reduce the risk of kickbacks, because both the workpiece and the offcut remain in the operator’s control until the rip cut is completed.

The terms of Microjig’s “Safety for Every Shop Program” are simple: any public high school in America that has a Career Technical Education (CTE) program offering woodworking and construction courses is eligible to receive two GRR-RIPPER 3D Pushblocks (model GR-100) at no cost by filling out an online application form on Microjig’s website: microjig.com/schools. The form was added on Aug. 22, 2018, when the “Safety for Every Shop Program” officially launched at IWF. There is no deadline for schools to apply.

On hand at the show to receive the first two GRR-RIPPER donations from Wang were teachers from two Atlanta-area schools: Alonzo A. Crim Open Campus High School and Benjamin E. Mays High School.

Since IWF, Wang reports that around 80 high schools have applied for free GRR-RIPPERs. As an added safety incentive, the program also makes participating high schools eligible for a 50 percent discount on Microjig’s six other woodworking product lines. Those include a tapering jig, table saw splitter, a dovetail-style hand-clamp, arbor shim system, adjustable miter bars for jigs and a pushblock for router table, band saw or jointer operations.

Microjig reports that each GRR-RIPPER retails for around $59; if every eligible public high school participates, the company aims to donate more than $325,000 in total to table saw safety.

While some public middle schools also offer woodworking courses, Wang says the company doesn’t have much data about how many middle schools could benefit from a similar donation. “Based on our experiences,” he adds, “most middle schools will not allow the students to operate the table saw. This is not to say we won’t include them in the program later on, but high school education is where we want to start.”

Wang says the company doesn’t have plans to expand the program to technical and community colleges, but he does see an opportunity to extend its reach internationally to countries with similar high school trade education programs.

In order to help realize the goal of eliminating table saw injuries by 2020, Wang says that it’s going to take “bold moves” across the table saw industry as a whole. He hopes Microjig’s GRR-RIPPER donation program will help lead the way and prompt other companies to follow suit.

“We’re thrilled we can share our tried-and-proven technology and the number one table saw pushblock in the world with students at the beginning of their career so they can develop safer and more productive habits,” Wang says. “We’re excited for the opportunity to create a future where new craftsmen and women will never know finger amputation or kickback on a table saw. We’re on a mission to help people build their dreams … in a safer and smarter way.”

Learn more about Microjig and its products by clicking here.

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The “American Hardwoods Species Guide” app not only includes information about the 20 most abundant American hardwood species — availability, physical and working characteristics, strength and mechanical properties, and typical applications of each — but it also gives users the ability to compare two species at a time.

Additionally, a stain simulator displays each species in clear, light, medium and dark finishes to help visualize stain combinations for flooring, cabinetry, molding and furniture coexisting in a single design space. The species profiles include images featuring the wood in finished applications.

If you don’t have an Apple mobile device, you can visit www.HardwoodInfo.com to browse a “Species Guide” online, or download it for printing. It contains most of the same information as the mobile app but without the ability to compare two species side by side.

The American Hardwood Information Center is the authoritative resource for consumers and professionals seeking information about American hardwoods. With the goal of promoting the use of American hardwood products ranging from flooring, cabinetry and furniture, to millwork and building materials in both residential and commercial applications, the Center offers advice from industry experts on design trends, care and maintenance, installation, finishing and professional specifying.

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The kit includes a glass-filled nylon handle with a 1-1/2-in. O.D. port that fits smaller shop vacuum hoses. A 24-in. length of flexible tubing inserts into this handle to accept the barbed ends of the two miniature vacuuming tools. The chisel-tip tool measures 7/8 in. wide at its widest point and 3-1/4 in. long without the barbed stem. The round-tipped tool is 7/16 in. x 5 in. long.

The Dust Right Detail Vacuum Kit (item 54299; $19.99) is available now and is compatible with Rockler’s Heavy-Duty Shop Vacuum Hoses (items 58350, 58904 and 50669, sold separately).

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Tim Inman: Successfully drying thick lumber takes a lot of time and attention. Trying to enhance natural drying on a board this thick is not something a home workshop can do. If it is important, take this lumber to an experienced sawyer who has his or her own drying kilns. They can do it, where you cannot. Why? They have enhanced digital monitoring equipment and enclosed steam chambers that are computer controlled. They also “have done this before, kid,” as my dad would have said.

Chris Marshall: Jerry, that’s a sizable slab of lumber you’ve got there, and I can see why you wouldn’t want it to be lost to the negative effects of improper drying. Air-drying a chunk of wood that large for furniture applications is going to take many years unless you get it kiln-dried. I’d start searching local kiln sourcing, as Tim suggests. You could also run a Craigslist want ad in your area to see if that turns up any options. In the meantime, I’d coat the ends of the slab with a thick latex paint or glycol/wax emulsion, like Rockler’s Green Wood End Sealer, to slow down water loss through the end grain. Put stickers underneath the slab so that air can circulate all around it, and store it on a flat surface in a cool, dry place with good ventilation.

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