Kreg Multi-Purpose Push Stick (KMA1000) Review

Push sticks are the one safety accessory almost everyone already owns a homemade version of, which makes any bought one a hard sell. The honest question is what the KMA1000 does that a piece of scrap does not.

Two things. The first is the full-length non-slip pad. A plywood push stick contacts the work at the heel, so all the downward force is at one point and a board can pivot around it. A pad running the length of the stick holds the work flat along the cut, which matters most on the last few inches of a rip where the board is unsupported behind the blade.

The second is that the heel is replaceable. A push stick that is used properly ends up passing over the blade and getting nibbled. On a shop-made one that means making another. Here it means a spare part.

The shape works on a router table and a jointer as well as a table saw, and it is low enough to pass under most blade guards without lifting them.

Where it does not help

A push stick pushes one piece. It has no effect on the offcut, which on a narrow rip is the part most likely to be thrown. For thin strips, a pushblock that grips both sides of the cut is the right tool and this is not a substitute.

The body also flexes more than you would like when you lean on it over wide stock. Push, do not bear down.

The honest verdict on price

If you have a working push stick and no budget worries, this is a small, real improvement. If you are choosing between this and a gripping pushblock, buy the pushblock: it addresses the cut that actually hurts people.