A lot of woodworkers make their own push blocks for use at the table saw. They often include a “heel” to help push the stock past the blade. The problem is, over time the heel can get chewed up requiring a new push block. My design gets around this problem by incorporating an adjustable, replaceable heel. The heel is made from hardboard. The body of the push block has a slot for the heel and a studded knob to hold the heel in place. The knob also allows you to adjust the amount the heel projects beyond the bottom face.
The body of the push block is glued up from two layers of plywood. This way, you can cut the slot for the heel in the rough blanks before gluing them together. I used a piece of waxed hardboard to align the pieces during glueup. After the glue is dry, you can cut the push block to shape and round over the top edges and handle at the router table. The last steps include drilling for and installing the threaded insert. Finally, after sliding the heel into the slot, thread in the knob to hold the heel in position.
