No Products in Your Cart
Bench Hooks and Push Sticks[8/4 · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 2 bench hooks, 3 push sticks and a push block
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 · 2ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 2' Lengths / 4-6"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A workshop safety set you will use every day. Two bench hooks hold small parts steady for hand-sawing and chiselling, three chunky push sticks keep your fingers away from the table-saw blade, and a grippy push block guides boards over a jointer or router table. One 8/4 pack makes the lot, with two spare cleats for when the fences get chewed up.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S4S size | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bench hook base halves | 4 | Boards 1–4, one each | 12" × 4" × 1¾" | 12" × 3½" × 1¾" |
| Push stick blanks | 3 | Boards 1–3, rest of board | 10¾" × 4" × 1¾" | 10¾" × 3½" × 1¾" |
| Push block pieces | 2 | Board 4, rest of board | 5¼" × 4" × 1¾" | 5¼" × 3½" × 1¾" |
| Cleats (4 + 2 spares) | 6 | Board 5, ripped in half | 7" × 1 15/16" × 1¾" | 6" × 1 11/16" × 1¾" |
Hook bases: two 12" pieces edge-glued, long grain to long grain.
Cleats: 1¾" × 1 15/16" (S4S) strips, 1" shorter than the base is wide. They cross the base grain, so only the middle 2" is glued; 2 × #8 × 3" screws per cleat, 1½" from the ends.
Push block: two pieces face-glued with the grain matching, top shaped to a hump, rubber or sandpaper grip on the sole.
Finished size: Bench hooks S4S 12" × 8" × 5¼" tall, S2S 12" × 7" · push sticks 10¾" × 4" (S2S 3½") × 1¾" · push block 5¼" × 4" (S2S 3½") × 3½" tall.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 · 2ft (S4S or S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 8 × #8 × 3" flat-head wood screws
- A scrap of rubber shelf liner or 120-grit sandpaper
- Contact cement
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: one coat of oil or paste wax
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square) — with a stop block
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide), push stick and splitter
- Bandsaw or jigsaw (push stick and hump profiles)
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits
- Rasp or file
- 4 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Tape measure, combination square, pencil
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
S4S or S2S? S4S boards arrive flat and square on all four sides — cut and build. S2S boards have rough edges you straighten first. No jointer? Choose S4S.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · S4S boards 1¾" × 4", ¼" to square an end · S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (3½" clean); we plan S2S at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S4S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 4 sides — no jointing
- 1 Crosscut boards 1–4. Square one end of each board. Cut a 12" hook base piece from each one. From the rest of boards 1–3, cut a 10¾" push stick blank. From the rest of board 4, cut two 5¼" push block pieces.
- 2 Rip the cleats. Rip board 5 down the middle into two strips about 1 15/16" wide. Use a push stick and a splitter. Crosscut three 7" cleats from each strip — four for the hooks and two spares.
- 3 Glue up the hook bases. Edge-glue the four base pieces in pairs, long grain to long grain, into two bases 12" × 8". Clamp, scrape the squeeze-out once it turns rubbery, and leave overnight. Sand the seams flat.
- 4 Fit the cleats. Each hook gets a fence on top at the back and a hook cleat underneath at the front, flush with the ends and the left edge. That leaves a 1" gap on the right for the saw. The cleats cross the base grain, so put glue on the middle 2" only. Clamp them square.
- 5 Screw the cleats. Drill two countersunk clearance holes through the base for each cleat, 1½" in from each end, so the saw never reaches a screw. Drill pilot holes into the cleat and drive #8 × 3" screws: down into the hook cleat, up into the fence. Turn a left-handed hook the other way round.
- 6 Shape the push sticks. Trace a push stick on each 10¾" blank: a flat sole along one edge, a ½" deep heel notch at the back to hook the end of the board, and a handle rising at the back. Saw it out on the bandsaw or with a jigsaw. Round the handle with a rasp and sandpaper.
- 7 Make the push block. Face-glue the two 5¼" pieces with the grain running the same way. When dry, mark a gentle hump on the top piece, about ¾" down at each end, and bandsaw it. Round every top edge so it sits nicely in your palm.
- 8 Add grip. Glue a piece of rubber shelf liner or 120-grit sandpaper to the bottom of the push block with contact cement. It grips the board so you can push it over a jointer or a router table with your hand well above the cutter.
- 9 Finish. Ease every edge. Wipe on one coat of oil or paste wax. Skip film finishes on the bench hooks — they get sawn into. Leave the push block sole bare under the grip pad.
S2S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance). S2S boards finish 1¾" thick, so screws and some sizes change — use the sizes in this column.
- 2 Crosscut boards 1–4. Square one end of each board. Cut a 12" hook base piece from each one. From the rest of boards 1–3, cut a 10¾" push stick blank. From the rest of board 4, cut two 5¼" push block pieces.
- 3 Rip the cleats. Rip board 5 down the middle into two strips about 1 11/16" wide. Use a push stick and a splitter. Crosscut three 6" cleats from each strip — four for the hooks and two spares.
- 4 Glue up the hook bases. Edge-glue the four base pieces in pairs, long grain to long grain, into two bases 12" × 7". Clamp, scrape the squeeze-out once it turns rubbery, and leave overnight. Sand the seams flat.
- 5 Fit the cleats. Each hook gets a fence on top at the back and a hook cleat underneath at the front, flush with the ends and the left edge. That leaves a 1" gap on the right for the saw. The cleats cross the base grain, so put glue on the middle 2" only. Clamp them square.
- 6 Screw the cleats. Drill two countersunk clearance holes through the base for each cleat, 1½" in from each end, so the saw never reaches a screw. Drill pilot holes into the cleat and drive #8 × 3" screws: down into the hook cleat, up into the fence. Turn a left-handed hook the other way round.
- 7 Shape the push sticks. Trace a push stick on each 10¾" blank: a flat sole along one edge, a ½" deep heel notch at the back to hook the end of the board, and a handle rising at the back. Saw it out on the bandsaw or with a jigsaw. Round the handle with a rasp and sandpaper.
- 8 Make the push block. Face-glue the two 5¼" pieces with the grain running the same way. When dry, mark a gentle hump on the top piece, about ¾" down at each end, and bandsaw it. Round every top edge so it sits nicely in your palm.
- 9 Add grip. Glue a piece of rubber shelf liner or 120-grit sandpaper to the bottom of the push block with contact cement. It grips the board so you can push it over a jointer or a router table with your hand well above the cutter.
- 10 Finish. Ease every edge. Wipe on one coat of oil or paste wax. Skip film finishes on the bench hooks — they get sawn into. Leave the push block sole bare under the grip pad.
Why only glue the middle of the cleats? The cleats run across the base grain. The base grows and shrinks across its width with the seasons; the cleats don't. A full-length glue line would crack. Glue in the middle and screws near the ends hold the cleat tight and let the base move.
Why stop the cleats 1" short? The gap on the right lets your saw cut right through the part and into the base instead of the fence. If you saw left-handed, mount the cleats flush with the right edge instead.
Why make push sticks from hardwood? If the blade nicks a push stick, it chews the wood and stops. A thick hardwood stick holds its shape and gives you something solid to push with. When one gets too chewed, make a new one from the spare cleats or an offcut.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Shooting board: make one hook base longer and screw a fence square to it for trimming end grain with a hand plane.
- Thin push stick: resaw one push stick blank in half on the bandsaw for a thin stick that fits narrow rips.
- Hang them up: drill a ⅝" hole in each handle and hang the set on pegs beside the saw.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Use a push stick or push block for every rip under 4" wide and every pass over a jointer. Never reach over or behind a spinning blade.
- Cut the small push block pieces with a stop block on the mitre saw. Shape the push sticks on the bandsaw, never on the table saw.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for S4S boards — they arrive flat and square on all four sides. S2S boards need their edges straightened: a jointer, a table saw with a straight-line jig, or a hand plane all work. No jointer? Choose the S4S pack.
Hook the front cleat over the edge of your bench, then press the part you are cutting against the fence. Push forward while you saw and the hook can't slide. It is ideal for cutting small parts, dowels and tenons by hand.
8/4 stock makes a stiff, solid stick that won't flex when you push hard. For rips narrower than about 2", resaw a blank in half for a thinner stick (see Make It Yours) — never let your hand get closer to the blade.
It is made for jointers and router tables, where the board lies flat. On the table saw, use the push sticks so your hand stays above and behind the blade.
Planned offcuts only: the end trim, about ⅜" (S4S) at the end of boards 1–4, and the end of each cleat strip. The two spare cleats are part of the plan — swap them in when the fences get worn. All 5 boards go into the set.
Yes. A 4ft pack makes two full sets: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan twice.
