Advise on a Router table please

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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 :p

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. :D

Cheers, Alf
 
LOL I've started something here. I've seen the LittleRat in "The Router" magazine where John Bailey appraises it by getting his wife to do every joint under the sun with it. It looks impressive but been new to woodwork but coming from a engineering back ground I should be ok with it. I maybe wrong here? but, is it just a jointing machine surely it can't do somethings the table can do? maybe my best bet is to go for the Incra Twin linear system which is a Router table fence and a jointing machine in 1 ? All I have to make is the table and away we go (maybe) :roll: I'm hoping to pop round to Wizards house in the near future maybe he can show me The Way Of The Rat :lol:
 
Yep Stevie C, you opened a right can of worms. The "ratters" vs the "tables". Again (as in another thread about dado-cutters), you could make a nice website about all the pro's and con's.

Back to the 'rat though - I got one as a "beginner" and have been fine, but I think it's very difficult to know unless you have had a go on one. The easiest way to settle it is to have ask if someone will show you one in action. You'll be £££ saved if you don't like it and £££ down but ready to make a masterpiece if you do!

And here we were having managed to avoid Dado-cutters AND woodrats for months, and they both come along at once.

Phew.

Adam
 
>but, is it just a jointing machine surely it can't do somethings the table can do?

It's a jointing machine, AND a vertical router table if you want to think about it in those terms.

With a neutral hat on, I'm scanning down the darkest pits of memory and trying to think of something the table does better..

Nope. Can't think of anything. - Actually one comes to mind, the table can drag your fingers in whilst climb-cutting and that, I can, assure, is not a good thing :shock:

One of the nicest feature of the 'rat, (thinking of it as a vertical router table) is the ability to cut "the wrong way" with the cutter, which minimises tear-out and is only possible becuase the wood is securly clamped. This would be very dangerous with a table and can cause nasty accident. It is called "climb-cutting" and actually pulls the wood and your fingers towards the spinning blade on a table, but on a woodrat, is a safe tecnique and improves the cuts as the blade no longer causes tearout.

If you want more details search on google for something link "router climb cut" or similar.

A
 
The thing with the router table, is it easier to feed the wood along a flat bed than to fiddle about underneath a WoodRat?, on your knees clamping your stock say for panel raising?

1 question though :

Is there a big difference between the Little Rat and the WoodRat?
 
Hi Stevie

Adam makes a lot of salient points about the Rat. I agree wholeheartedly that the biggest problem they have is the father and son demonstrating the product.

If only they produced a really good overview of the product and then produced, say, ten training dvd's they would have a product that was understood a lot more and could be much more profitable for them.

I looked at the Rat before I had bought any tools and as I said I was put off the product by the incompetence of the demonstration. So, I have gone down a different path.

Let's now consider the other side of the story. The Rat plus course, travel and overnight accomodation will set you back about eight or nine hundred pounds. In a recent review, IIRC in FWW, the reviewer also said that he would retain the Leigh jig to give him some speed when making drawers. So you've now made it say, eleven hundred.

Put that against a heavy duty table (200), the Leigh jig (300) and the the Trend M & T jig (120).

You can use the Leigh "out of the box" and it comes with the MOYD Manual of Your Dreams (Sorry Alf :oops: :wink: ).

The Trend works in a similar way. So, you then make jigs for other things. There are lots of very clever jigs around on the 'net and they only cost you some time and some offcuts of wood.

You've now spent six hundred and you will be assured of perfect dovetails and pretty good M&T's. For a "newbie" it will get you going quickly and it will produce repeatable results.

I am now going into hiding as soon as I can find my steel helmet. :wink: Ah, there it is in the Anderson shelter. :roll:

Cheers
Neil
 
>Rat plus course, travel and overnight accomodation will set you back about eight or nine hundred pounds


I'd only recommend the course if you are moving to wanting to use it in an advanced form - out-the-box, I was doing some pretty cools finger joints in less than half and hour.

As for a Leigh Jig, I'm sure if you've got one, you would keep it!!!

Adam
 
>The thing with the router table, is it easier to feed the wood along a flat bed than to fiddle about underneath a WoodRat?, on your knees clamping your stock say for panel raising?

You need to mount it quite high up, and once, you start the joint, you simply stand upright, and use the horizontal movement winder. You shouldnt need to look underneath at all. It's like looking down at your workpiece in a milling machine. As it's clamped, there is "nothing" to look underneath at, you simply keep winding the wood through.




>1 question though :

Is there a big difference between the Little Rat and the WoodRat?

The things I am aware of, the woodrat has a larger capability in terms of horizontal width, and can use dovetails cutters with any angle. The littlerat can only used 1 in 7 angle ? cutters. (you'd have to check that yourself)
 
Adam
You should offer Woodrat your services. Although don't assume many people are familiar with milling machines - I'm not!
Stevie - I bet it's all so much clearer now.
OK can't resist - I don't like rounded mortice and tenons! Call me a traditionalist. I could really start something here - but as the width of the tenon decreases the strength of one of these also reduces (limit being a single dowel joint) with little rotational strength. A square tenon I would argue would therefore be inherently stronger. OK - it's a quiet morning :D.
Cheers
Gidon
 
Well, remember the woodrat can cuts square shoulders on tenons, not rounded so you can either A) use it in a rounded mortice, or square the mortice up. Like, you, that's my preference also.

As we seem to be down to the petty details now, for a 1 x 3cm tenon = 3cm (squared) vs a 1 x 3cm rounded tenon which is done on a Trend (note Trend) has just 7% less structure. The woodrat cannot make rounded tenons.

Adam
 
Surely, like the woodrat, it can only produce rounded mortices though?
 
ok, ok what I was trying to say, but it didn't really come across, is the Trend, seems "designed" to do rounded M/T, or it is if you are at full speed, wheras the rat, has to use square M/T unless you get very creative with rounding the tenons off!
 
Hi Adam

I understand what you're asking now and I'll need to have a look at the jig because I can't remember as I haven't used it for squares. I know it can do them, as I've seen it demonstrated and in the manual.

Once you have set up your first M&T, which might take four or five minutes, it then takes you about three minutes to cut the subsequent M&T's. There is no more measuring to do.

I cheat and use two routers, one set up for the mortice and the other set for the tenon. :wink: :wink:

Cheers
Neil
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong here just looking at the prices for the WoodRat & the LittleRat :

Current price
WoodRat = £475
LittleRat = £350

I'm sure just before xmas they were :
WoodRat = £350
LittleRat = £250

How can they justify such a BIG price hike? seems a rip off to me. (if its true that is)
 
Sounds about right - although I think the woodrat was 395 before xmas.
They put it down to the fact they haven't had any price increases for x (10?) years.
That's why I was tempted to go for the Littlerat at the tool2003 show - I felt if I didn't get on with it I could sell it ebay for may than I paid for it. But they told me the littlerat was rubbish - I'm serious! They couldn't tell me why though. It's seemed to be an in joke.
Cheers
Gidon
 
Hi Stevie

Yes, there was a big price rise which caused a few people to buy before it went up. But, for all that it can do the price isn't bad. Prior to that, it hadn't increased in price for about ten years.

The other item that I believe, sometimes, causes dismay is the cost of their dovetail cutters.

Cheers
Neil
 
May have to look for a second-hand 1 if I decide to go that way usually price hikes happen after modifications or improvements not paying the extra just because theres been no raise for 10 years. To my knowledge only the LittleRat as had a small modification.
 
I guess one problem for us office jockeys that fly a desk and have NO engineering experience at all, is that a milling machine is an unknown. With my Sky subscription I have seen router tables in use many times and for the price of an insert, a fine height adjuster, some plywood and screws/glue I can make a simple one myself. It would really help those of us in the dark if we could see one being used by someone as easy to understand as Norm, especially as I don't have time to get to shows to see any (duff by the sounds of it) manufacturer demo's.
 

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