Mike: Photos 5, 6 & 7 are trying to show a safe way to cut small stock - around 1/16" thick clearance between the blade and the ripping fence. The notched piece of pine is keeping the stock pushed up against the fence and also down on the table top.... It should be placed over stock, and kept right where the cutting starts, so for longer pieces, the pine block is being held in the same position, the stock you are cutting is sliding under it.....The Oak pusher behind it is used to get it through the cutting blade, so it can be pulled out from the exit side.
So as pictured, with the fence to the right of the blade, it's right hand on the oak block, left hand on the notched pine block. The pine block should never go past the blade until you are almost done cutting and the oak block is pushing both the stock you are cutting and the pine "holding" block. In the piece shown, I took some 3/4 inch stock and first ripped off 1/4 inch x 3/4 inch stock, then laid the 1/4 inch stock flat on the table top and ripped it again in 1/16" x 1/4 " pieces, approx 3" x 12" in O scale.... I find it better to use oak for the pusher blocks, if you use 3/4 or 1" white pine the small 1/16" thick piece won't last very long which is what is going between the blade and the fence to push your work through.... So you can use pine, but you will want to have a few pieces available as once it breaks off, you need a new pusher block. You can also keep rotating it and use all 4 corners before you have to cut off all the rough broken edges.
