MICROJIG GRR-RIPPER GR-100 Review
A pushblock that grips the offcut, the keeper and the fence face at once. Awkward to set up, and the reason narrow rips stop being frightening.
Disclosure:As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This costs you nothing and never changes which tools we recommend. Read more.
Kickback on a table saw usually starts with the offcut. The keeper is held against the fence and stays put; the narrow strip on the blade side has nothing holding it, so it lifts, twists into the back of the blade and is thrown back at the operator at speed. A conventional push stick does nothing about this because it is only pushing one piece.
The GRR-RIPPER’s whole design follows from that. Adjustable legs drop either side of the blade and grip the keeper, the offcut and the fence face simultaneously, so the cut stays closed and neither half can move. A handle bridge spans the blade, letting you apply pressure directly above the cut rather than from one side.
It works on a router table, a band saw and a jointer as well, with the same logic: downward and forward pressure applied over the cutter, with the work gripped rather than nudged.
What it costs you
Time. Every change of cut width means resetting the legs, and often the bridge and the deflector too. On a batch of identical rips that is one setup. On a session of one-off cuts it is a real interruption, and this is the honest reason many owners reach for a push stick for a quick cut and the GRR-RIPPER for the narrow ones.
The legs are meant to be cut into — that is how they straddle the blade — so they wear. Replacements are inexpensive and available, but plan on buying some.
Who should skip it
If your table saw work is sheet goods broken down on a track saw and the odd wide rip, a good push stick and a properly set riving knife cover you. The GRR-RIPPER earns its money on narrow stock, small parts and repetitive rips: the work where your hands would otherwise be close to the blade and the offcut is small enough to become a projectile.
What works
- It holds the offcut as well as the keeper, so the thin strip beside the blade cannot lift or twist into the teeth — the exact moment most kickback happens
- Adjustable legs straddle the blade, letting you push directly over the cut instead of off to one side where the workpiece can rock
- It moves between the table saw, router table, band saw and jointer, so one accessory covers the four machines that take fingers
What doesn't
- Setup is genuinely fiddly — legs, handle bridge and deflector all reposition for each cut width, and the first few sessions are slow
- The plastic legs are sacrificial and get chewed by the blade over time; replacements are cheap but are another order
- At three to four times the price of a shop-made pushblock, it is a hard sell until you have had one near miss