Well, if Charley is going in to bat for the Leigh, it looks like I shall have to promote the 'Rat. But first the mandatory slagging off of the enemy. :wink:
The Leigh won't do mortice and tenons.
The Leigh needs an additional template to do finger joints, at a cost of over 250 quid.
The Leigh has to have special cutters.
The Leigh will take up bench space when you use it.
The Leigh isn't capable of doing mitred dovetails.
Or moulding edges.
Or raising panels.
Or pin routing.
Or... well, the list goes on and on doesn't it? (Why
did you buy it, Chaz?!
Finally, if you're feeling patriotic, the Leigh isn't British.
The Woodrat will do all those joints that the Leigh can't.
You can use
any router cutter you like.
It hangs on the wall ready to use, but out of the way.
It's a British invention.
The only real downside is a tricky learning curve. But you're online, so you're laughing. There is a group of happy 'Ratters ready to give support at #cough#
The UK Woodworking Group#cough# and a less active group dedicated to 'Rat Owners
here. In the UK Woodworking site you will find the "Should I buy a Woodrat" thread, in which I tell you all the things that went wrong, but despite all that I
still like it. If you only need smaller capacity, the Little Rat would do you just as well, for less money. Go to
Woodrat and ask for a copy of the CD Rom, and also take a look at
Wood Shop Demos where the two 'Rat siblings are reviewed. There's a current review of the Akeda jig, which appears to be identical to the new Trend one too. John Lucas seems to be having a little difficulty with it. (Tee Hee).
Hope this will help, and how are you finding the Triton? It's getting rave reviews, isn't it?
Cheers, Jester
