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Laser Guide continued
Illuminated from above. Not Illuminated.
Without the laser switched on, I repeatedly plunged the router to leave the slightest of marks and adjusted the east/west and north/south position tracking until I was satisfied that the bit was falling spot onto the centre of the cross.
Switch the laser on and set up the mounting. You will need to slide it left or right in its mount, adjust the angle, slide it in or out of the alloy mounting holder to set a sharp focus (about 5") and twist it to get the image horizontal and vertical. Sounds complicated but in reality only takes a few seconds to do. When finally positioned move one of the nylon "marker" bolts and set it against the mounting bracket to mark as a returnable reference position. Don't forget that if afterwards your work is held lower down then some re-adjustment of the laser angle and positioning will be needed. From the photos you will note that the fine and larger projected lines make for easy set up, all very clever stuff. The central cross image is very bright and the lines are approximately 1/32inches wide when the laser is focussed. You can either work to the centre of the cross as Lewis suggests or work to the sharp edge of the line as I have opted to do as shown above.
When not illuminated from above a faint pixellated square grid surrounding the central cross is just apparent but I did not find it obtrusive. The image is very bright though.
With a light shining down from above as I normally do anyway, that grid disappears and you are left with a clear sharp image.
I do not propose in this review to wade through actual joint making as the principles are well explained in the WoodRat Manual. What can be seen from the article so far is that it is very easy to set the laser for router bit centre, right of the bit or left of the bit. If your work is marked with pencil lines, it is simplicity itself to track the carriage until the laser is correctly positioned, plunge and cut away! Its marvellous for cutting an accurate mortise.
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The Craftsman Gallery market the laser primarily to be router mounted but it is much more versatile than that. You don't have to own a DeWalt 625 to take advantage of it. As usual experimentation quickly gripped me and in no time at all another method came into being.
I cut two elongated slots into the centre of an alloy rule on the 'Rat and fixed onto a 8 inch block of wood as shown above. Two dome headed screws allow the ruler to be slid E/W to set a zero position. The laser assembly is simply fixed using a small clamp onto the channel top. Alternatively, fix the ruler and adjust the laser bracket. I used a wood block measuring 8"x 4"x2" thick which gives a good distance for a sharp laser image.
For example to cut a box or finger joint. Start with the right hand cutting edge of the router bit just touching the left edge of the work under the router and slide the rule to any preferred line to set as your zero or reference start line. The very fine laser line is just perfect for this as shown above. If using an 8mm bit, track the carriage 16mm to the left and make the first cut. repeat this to make the next cut and so on. For the mating side, zero again and make the first cut 8mm followed by 16mm. Well I am sure you understand the principle now.
My WoodRat 8mm cutter actually cuts a groove 8.02mm which in my opinion is a very good manufacturer's tolerance. Look!! The very fine laser line allowed me to cut a matching tongue 8.02mm to fit. Luck? Well maybe but more than accurate enough for me.
I rotated the block onto its edges and clamped a tail board to it. Yes it was possible to get the fine laser line right into the corner so very useful for cutting the pins to match.
I made up this little jig in just over 20 minutes and I am sure that I am only just scratching at the possibilities.
So in conclusion, what can I say? I have managed very well without a laser guide but have now seen the benefits it can bring especially with my eyesight. I particularly like the double cross image as the fine line makes extreme accuracy easy. It is more versatile than The Craftsman Gallery advertise and can be made full use of even if you don't own a DeWalt 625. It can be adapted to fit other routers with a bit of thought if you wish but at $118 it isn't cheap. Quality gear rarely is. Even more expensive in the UK by the time Customs add import duty and VAT.
If you have some spare money burning a hole in your pocket and are in the market for a quality add-on for your WoodRat then you won't go far wrong with one of these.
This is page available as Laser_Guide.pdf
For more information on The Craftsman Gallery products visit their web site www.chipsfly.com
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