So I start with a hand saw that has been sitting in my shop for a while just collecting dust, so I wanted to find a new home for it and I’ve had this idea bouncing around in my head for a bit.

I disassemble it by pulling the handle off of the sawblade and this handle is going to be the handle to my push stick.

I use the saw blade to help me sketch out the shape of the blade of the push stick.

A little more sketching and some measuring until I’m happy with the shape and size.

I transfer these measurements over to the computer, initially using Sketchup. There is a long shoe on the top and bottom and a small pusher on the front of the push stick.

I pull this general form into Easel and refine the design a little bit adding my name and, of coarse, some aerodynamic holes. This is to program my CNC, although it could be done on a bandsaw and drill press so I’ve made both template available for free on my website

The rough shape is made from 3/8″ plywood and this is clamped onto the table to be cut by the CNC.

Action shot!

I do the full cut on one side and then flip it over and cut my name on the other side.

While the CNC is cutting, I work on modifying the handle to fit the 3/8″ plywood. I use a couple of shims under a pencil to draw a line that’s 3/16″ out from the center on each side. The pencil stays put while I move the handle around it.

I use the bandsaw to cut this wider slot.

At this point I’m taking the cut super slow. When you have no material under the piece that you are cutting it can get sketchy so you have to have a good feel for what you’re doing.

I clean up this cut with a chisel to clear out any extra material in the slot.

Test fit. It works!

I line up the handle and drill out for the mounting holes. Once I drill one side, I pull the handle off, flip the blade over and drill out the other side too.

Too add a bit of contrast to it, I add some black paint inside the holes and the crevices. The tape keeps paint off the surface that is in contact with the work pieces.

Once the paint is dry I sand off the excess.

Then it’s just a matter of assembly and it’s ready to go.

Tested and approved. After this I made the front nose slightly larger to be able to grab onto the pieces easier, but other than that it’s been perfect for me.