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Hmm, I agree, never seen that site before. Lots of interesting stuff - and a link back here, so he must have good taste!

Adam
 
I was particularly interested by the home made honing wheel. I might try that out.
 
Hi All,

Neil intresting link thank you.

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?

I already own a Leigh and i think that it is a excellent product but everytime i go to visit my relations in Ireland they try and convince me to buy a Woodrat, and i must admit they have made some wonderful projects with theres. But is it really as good as owners make out?

Regards

Mike.C
 
Hi all

This is my first post on this forum.
Thanks for all the positive posts regarding my woodrat site.
Some time ago I had a request to contruct a number of boxes with "different" corner joints. This was just the excuse I needed to buy the Leigh with a 'bears ears' template. These joints are certainly different and unique as well as attractive. Once I had gone through the learning curve I found I much preferred the Leigh for dovetails and finger joints.
I found that I used the 'Rat less and less for dovetailing but more and more for all sorts of other joints, box lids etc. After six years with it I am still finding more uses for it. I actual enjoy trying to think up new methods and jigs for it. Sad or what? I have yet to find a person who has regretted buying one. I have a tablesaw, radial arm, chopsaw, band saws router table etc but still find the Woodrat an invaluable addition to the workshop.
Give it some serious consideration, but go for the full one as opposed the the littl'un.

Regards, Aldel http://www.aldel.co.uk :D
 
Hi Aldel

Welcome to the forum.

I thought your site would be of interest to the ratters amongst us. :wink:

Glad to have you on board.

Cheers
Neil
 
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
 
Welcome, Aldel. :D I must say I'm in awe of your inventiveness with regards to the 'Rat. :shock:

I agree with Adam's points, so there's little point in repeating them! Funny thing is I always enjoy doing dovetails on the 'Rat; there's so many ways you can customise the joint to what you want, and the 'Rat cutters are so much finer than the TCT ones. I did come close to selling mine a few years back, but trouble is I'd miss it. :roll:

Cheers, Alf
 
Alf":1570drk0 said:
I did come close to selling mine a few years back, but trouble is I'd miss it. :roll:

Cheers, Alf

Sell it to me (I want a seondhand one as new is too expensive) and you could buy even more planes with the money :wink:
 
Alf":3sc2b43y said:
. I did come close to selling mine a few years back, but trouble is I'd miss it. :roll: Cheers, Alf

Shame on you. :twisted:

Adam
 
Tony":1zjyz8au said:
Sell it to me (I want a seondhand one as new is too expensive) and you could buy even more planes with the money :wink:
Ah, Mr Bond, I was expecting you... <strokes L-N smoother in slightly evil and deranged way> :roll:

No, no. I've only just unearthed the thing again so I can actually use it. What was it buried under? Planes. More planes I do not need... :shock: Anyway I realised just how much I couldn't manage without it when I watched a NYW episode kindly video taped and sent to me. I spent the whole time muttering at the screen, "Norm, you need a Woodrat to do that job. Why not use the 'Rat, Norm?" etc etc. Hah! He's got a well-equipped workshop? Without a 'Rat?! Don't make me laugh... :wink:

Cheers, Alf
 
Adam wrote:

I've seen many Leighs for sale second hand, and have often wondered why

I think you're close to hitting the nail on the head there, Adam. I have a Leigh D4. Now I sometimes think "Christ, why did I spend all that money". Don't read me wrong, it's a fantastic tool for dovetails but therein is the crux of it - it only does dovetails unlike the Woodrat. So for example, me thinking I would be saving loadsa time, money and effort having one, it has proved to be not very useful for 99% of the time. I have been comtemplating selling it to invest in a couple of good planes and some chisels, but I am just sooo loath to part with it. It is a lovely bit of kit when I do (rarely) use it!.

I really should get my act together and relearn the art of handcutting dovetails. It's unlikely however that I will ever be able to master the skill since my eyesight is not exactly 20/20 anymore. Even with the bins on, one has to cope with the optical distortion (is that square or not...hmmm) - I'm sorry, I'm starting to ramble....

Ike
 
Just a quick reply to Ike

The basic Leigh dovetail template also allows you to make finger joints!!
Leigh do a dedicated finger joints template which is excellent.
With the WoodRat you can make any spaced finger joints any size and in batches but lining up is done by eye so very minor errors can creep in --- unless of course you make and use your own template as shown on my
site!!

Warning!! If you use a DeWalt router and a guide bush, double check that
the bush and router bit are concentric before using the Leigh

Cheers, Aldel
 
Hi All,

Adam, i did not mean that i was going to get rid of my Leigh, because when it comes to my workshop, £1 for £1 i think that it is one of the best investments i have made.

No what i was trying to find out is: Do owners on this forum come down on one side or the other?
The reason i ask is, if you read posts on other forums it seems to be the "Them and Us" sort of attitude. But they never touch on the question is there really room for them both?
For instance you can do dovetails on the Rat, so could a Rat owner justify buying a Leigh?

Also if you already own a Leigh, a router table, and a morticing machine, would the fact that the Rat can do a bit more then this be justification enough to buy one?

As i said my cousins are always trying to convince me to get one. In fact when i think about it, they are a bit fanatical about their Rats.

Regards

Mike.C
 
HI Mike

I second your question

I am looking for a second hand rat for jobs other than dovetails as from what I have seen there is no doubt that my Leigh D4 is better for these.
 
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