Alf
Established Member
Ahh, the 'Rat. I could to thee a tale tell t'would freeze the very marrow of your bones... But instead I'll try and pick out the salient points in these unrantish rants 
There's a theory that using a Woodrat is actually easier for a beginner. No preconceptions about how something has always been done you see? think there may be something in that. However, you have to be a beginner with the right kind of brain. Adam, with the whole milling machine/engineering background is exactly the right sort. I'm not. If you can't think "outside the box" as they say, then maybe look elsewhere. Having said which, with the massive improvement in the manual and the video to help, it's much easier to understand than it was. What's more there are more 'Ratters out there thinking up new ideas and ways of using it; again, an improvement over my formative years with the rodent. Anybody thinking of getting one is well advised to haunt the Woodrat forum for a while, download the manual and ask for the CD rom. Despite having all the wrong brain, no video and the manual from hell, nevertheless I did come to grips with it, and all without going on a course either. And if I can... One of the 'Rat's troubles is it's just too innovative for its own good; too many people fail to "get it".
Now the whole dovetail jig thing annoys me. The 'Rat is not a dovetail jig. It's not a jig at all. It's a means of controlling a router. How you use that control is where the fun begins. One of the aspects that appeals to me as a hand tool user is that it allows me to cut with the router just by lining the cutter up with a pencil mark on the work; just like I would with a saw or chisel (only noisier). Where I've found I use it heaps more than I expected is for sliding dovetails. What is otherwise regarded as the tricky option has now become the easy, preferred one. This is a good SWMBO point earner btw, 'cos even the non-woodies understand about dovetails, and will ooo and ahh over sliding ones. I also defy anyone to name a dovetail jig that'll cut a sliding dovetail on the turned column of a shaker candle stand like the 'Rat can. I also find it excellent for tenons, housings (dados to you Normites), dovetails (obviously) and comb/box/finger joints. And those are just the ones I've actually done. Oh, and raised panels with any old ordinary straight bit. That's a clever one.
One of the clinchers for getting one for me, apart from the cost of all the equivilent Leigh jigs, panel raising bits, materials for making my own jigs etc etc, was the small amount of space it takes up for what it does. In the square footage to capability stakes, the 'Rat beats all-comers. In the small size workshops of Britain this is a major plus point.
So, you maybe asking, why hasn't the Woodrat taken over the routing world if it's so great? The comment about the demonstrating is a clue. The one thing holding it back is, I'm afraid, its illustrious inventor and his son. Not their fault, they're just so wrapped up in the thing they can't understand why nobody else "gets it" straight away. Add to that a laughable approach to accessories, manufacturing and stock control, and suddenly 'Rat ownership becomes a vocation more than a pleasure. Not that they aren't always terribly apologetic if there's a problem, and will sort it out as soon as they can, but it does seem to come down to stuff such as "if you could just file it a bit bigger, would it fit then?". Not exactly a professional approach, but perhaps a very British one (circa. 1950!). It's a shame, 'cos it's blooming clever, and British to boot, but unless someone fresh comes in and sorts them out then I couldn't honestly recommend Woodrat ownership as a happy experience. On the other hand, you won't find me getting rid of mine even if I do find the holy grail of hand dovetailing. :wink:
And here endeth the lesson.
Cheers, Alf
There's a theory that using a Woodrat is actually easier for a beginner. No preconceptions about how something has always been done you see? think there may be something in that. However, you have to be a beginner with the right kind of brain. Adam, with the whole milling machine/engineering background is exactly the right sort. I'm not.
If you can't think "outside the box" as they say, then maybe look elsewhere. Having said which, with the massive improvement in the manual and the video to help, it's much easier to understand than it was. What's more there are more 'Ratters out there thinking up new ideas and ways of using it; again, an improvement over my formative years with the rodent. Anybody thinking of getting one is well advised to haunt the Woodrat forum for a while, download the manual and ask for the CD rom. Despite having all the wrong brain, no video and the manual from hell, nevertheless I did come to grips with it, and all without going on a course either. And if I can... One of the 'Rat's troubles is it's just too innovative for its own good; too many people fail to "get it".Now the whole dovetail jig thing annoys me. The 'Rat is not a dovetail jig. It's not a jig at all. It's a means of controlling a router. How you use that control is where the fun begins. One of the aspects that appeals to me as a hand tool user is that it allows me to cut with the router just by lining the cutter up with a pencil mark on the work; just like I would with a saw or chisel (only noisier). Where I've found I use it heaps more than I expected is for sliding dovetails. What is otherwise regarded as the tricky option has now become the easy, preferred one. This is a good SWMBO point earner btw, 'cos even the non-woodies understand about dovetails, and will ooo and ahh over sliding ones. I also defy anyone to name a dovetail jig that'll cut a sliding dovetail on the turned column of a shaker candle stand like the 'Rat can. I also find it excellent for tenons, housings (dados to you Normites), dovetails (obviously) and comb/box/finger joints. And those are just the ones I've actually done. Oh, and raised panels with any old ordinary straight bit. That's a clever one.
One of the clinchers for getting one for me, apart from the cost of all the equivilent Leigh jigs, panel raising bits, materials for making my own jigs etc etc, was the small amount of space it takes up for what it does. In the square footage to capability stakes, the 'Rat beats all-comers. In the small size workshops of Britain this is a major plus point.
So, you maybe asking, why hasn't the Woodrat taken over the routing world if it's so great? The comment about the demonstrating is a clue. The one thing holding it back is, I'm afraid, its illustrious inventor and his son. Not their fault, they're just so wrapped up in the thing they can't understand why nobody else "gets it" straight away. Add to that a laughable approach to accessories, manufacturing and stock control, and suddenly 'Rat ownership becomes a vocation more than a pleasure. Not that they aren't always terribly apologetic if there's a problem, and will sort it out as soon as they can, but it does seem to come down to stuff such as "if you could just file it a bit bigger, would it fit then?". Not exactly a professional approach, but perhaps a very British one (circa. 1950!). It's a shame, 'cos it's blooming clever, and British to boot, but unless someone fresh comes in and sorts them out then I couldn't honestly recommend Woodrat ownership as a happy experience. On the other hand, you won't find me getting rid of mine even if I do find the holy grail of hand dovetailing. :wink:
And here endeth the lesson.
Cheers, Alf
