Bespoke wooden planes of the finest quality.
Foreword
I have owned my Woodrat since I took early retirement in early April 1998. In that time it has had a great deal of use and the only thing that I have had to replace were the white plastic guide rails. (My fault, I tightened the screws too hard). Please note that rails are now supplied made out of alloy.
I either have owned or tried most of the available dovetail jigs (not yet Trend) and found them all reasonable at what they were designed to do with the exception of the Leigh Jig. The Leigh for me is the ultimate and if its just dovetails and finger (box) joints that you want to make, and if you can afford it, then in my experience there is no substitute.
The Woodrat, however, is the most versatile and with practice and using WoodRat's cutters can produce dovetails that closely resemble hand cut ones. I have yet to find any other commercially made jig that can do that. I have gone through the learning curve with the Leigh Jig and so generally prefer to use that for dovetails. *** I do use the 'Rat for just about everything else: its superb at mortise and tenon joints and with a few simple jigs and aids, limited only by your imagination. Although, in my opinion, not a replacement for single purpose dedicated machinery, more and more people are discovering that this machine is a very versatile and useful addition to any workshop. After seven years of constant use, my recommendation is to purchase the full size Woodrat, I promise you, you will not regret it!
WoodRat suggest a 2 HP router but I still occasionally use an old 900w Elu MOF96E with plunge-bar and found it to be perfectly adequate. I have the use of a router table for heavier jobs.
I do wish to emphasise that the 'out of the box' Woodrat is fine as it is and does not require modification or additions to work. As you read through this site you will discover that some owners have developed some simple additions for the 'Rat that considerably extend its capabilities or alternative methods of working. You will also see that some astounding work has been produced with the basic machine.
The new version 9 of the WoodRat manual is excellent. Please read and familiarise yourself with the practices described there before following any alternative work methods described on this website.
The inventor, Martin Godfrey, encourages you to make up extra clamps etc. and many people, (including me) enjoy creating their own jigs and employing their own techniques with the machine.
***I am using my WoodRat much more for dovetails now using the method outlined on the Through dovetails page!***
Please note that I have no experience of the Little Rat.
Prospective buyers, I recommend you include a look at the Woodshop Demos link.
|
Example Using the Woodrat and with the aid of my centre finder I made this small foot stool from scrap mahogany (all mortise and tenon joints) in just under an hour. (excluding glue up) I used a 1/4" spiral up cut router bit to make the joints. |
Call
Me
Evening and weekend telephone calls have now become much cheaper i.e. with BT it costs 5p for an hour. With some companies it is free! You are most welcome to call me for a chat; email me and I will email you my phone number back. If you are not in the UK please allow for any time difference. My wife gets upset with Rat Chat at 2.0 in the morning! Email me here |
Please Donate
Photos Taken with an Olympus c8080z digital camera using macro and super macro focus. Edited using Paint Shop Pro v8.0. Site built using MS FrontPage 2003.
Apologies:- This site is written in (mostly!) British English. I am not familiar with every variant and I am fully aware that "American" is very different. If I offend or confuse you by using British terminology then I am sorry, but please no more emails regarding terms or spelling!
Disclaimer!!!
Woodworking is an inherently dangerous hobby/profession and using or following any modifications, suggestions, hints, tips or links found in this site are done at entirely your own risk.
This site is not affiliated to any manufacturer and all trademarks are recognized. Modifications to machinery may void your warranty so please check first. All material on this site can be assumed to be copyright of the respective owner unless stated otherwise. Please contact before reproducing.
This page was last updated 11/06/2008 18:55
