John,
Yes, the Dubby adds 1/2" height and this will cause problems if the wood is not supported while cutting. I also have a left-side Dubby and often have that in place when I cut segments from the right side of the blade. However, this leaves the new cutoff next to the blade and I really want it to be taken from the blade and placed aside in the order it was cut with the pieces I have already cut. And so here is what I do, but this is NOT a recommendation that anyone else should do it this way: If the strips I'm cutting from a board are 1-1/2" or more, I hold the edge of the board with my left hand as I'm cutting it. As I make the cut, I keep holding the strip in this position as I complete the cut and this is, in essence, how the strip is supported during the cut and the 'nub' is removed at the trailing end. The beauty of this is that I know that my fingers are more than 1" away from the blade and I now have the strip in my hand and ready to be placed aside. This saves me from having to retrieve the cutoff using a hook tool, a piece of wood or fingers and greatly speeds up the process.
I've watched Jerry Cole, the owner of
In-Line Industries, maker of the Dubby, use this technique for twenty years at the Woodworking Shows and I remember first thinking that this seemed dangerous. But since it guarantees that my fingers are 1" from the blade, I found no reason not to do this and I continue to play my banjo three-finger style with two additional fingers at the ready.
Lloyd
