Mike.C":133fy8vy said:
If you had the money to buy either a Leigh Dovetail Jig or a Woodrat, which one would you buy?
If you already owned a Leigh would you sell it and buy a Woodrat?
Could you really make use of both?
From what I've heard from people who have both, I'd say that yes, you can justify both (if you are rich! at least)
I don't reckon selling a Leigh to buy a Woodrat would be a good idea, as you are A) fully up-to-speed with Leigh and B) it doesn't really make sense to sell a machine at a loss, to buy another equally expensive machine to do the same task.
These days, I think of my woodrat as an alternative to a router table, as much as I think of it as a machine for different joints.
I also, have never met a dissatisfied woodrat owner, but if you were, their does seem to be demand for them - I've only ever seen one or two S/H and they were snapped up. Interestingly, I've seen many Leighs for sale second hand, and have often wondered why - it seems to be a high quality tool, only bought after serious consideration and outlay. I wondered if people bought it as a "miracle cure" to overcome their lack of ability at making dovetails, wheras in fact they don't have enough general skills to really make good use of it?
i.e. you are struggling with dovetails, but to make nice furtniture you need good stock, either bought in, or P/T yourself, a TS, perhaps veneering skills, finishing skills etc, the dovetails are only a small part of any project.
Hmm perhaps I'm going off on one...
Adam
