Notes on "Ripstrate" used with Ryobi BT3000
Charlie Oppenheimer (charlio1@pacbell.net)
Feb, 2001
The Ripstrate is a nice tablesaw add-on (www.trend-lines.com, part # RS1, $39.95). It does three things: Holds the work down, pulls the work towards straight towards the rip fence and provides modest anti- kickback protection. I had previously used “Board Buddies”, but have since abandoned their use in favor of this solution. Below are notes and pictures on my installation.
Ripstrate installed on auxiliary fence and being used to secure a piece of 1” thick UHMW that is being ripped (actually, this was taken right after I finished the rip...I just placed the pieces back together.)
- Spring provides downward and rightward tension
- Wheels hold work
- Anti-kickback “brake” keeps wheels from turning backward
- Work thickness adjustment (keeps wheels from slamming down when work passes completely by device). This is just a hex bolt that forms a “stop” to keep the arms from descending to the table.
Note that wheels and device are angled slightly towards the right (by virtue of holes in fence being drilled slightly out of parallel alignment). This causes the work to always be pulled towards the rip fence.
I’ve made a 2” thick aux fence out of some Oak scrap. The aux fence bears most of the support burden for the device.
- The device is supported by the aux fence and a clamping bolt (wingnut) on the right side of the fence.
- In addition, I have added a clamp down bolt/plate to keep the device stable and horizontal.
Parts:
- The device comes with the wheels, spring and mount. Additions:
- Auxiliary fence with 5/8” holes drilled to support mounting studs (note instructions say 1⁄2”, but I found that the studs were thicker than that.
- “Wedge” piece goes between wing-nut clamping bolt and fence. I decided to make a wedge to keep the device angled to the right as it’s supposed to be.
- Aluminum plate sized to drop into top of mount. I use a know with stud and tee-nut in fence channel to keep device stable and horizontal.
Original PDF Document:
Ripstrate.pdf