dm65":1e728hnt said:
custard":1e728hnt said:
Reading this thread has got me thinking about buying another Woodrat.
I had a Woodrat, but sold it as I thought I was getting out of practise at hand cutting dovetails. So I moved to a Leigh Jig for big dovetailing jobs, and hand cutting for special projects. But the truth is dovetails from the Leigh just aren't a patch on the Woodrat versions, so even though a Woodrat is slower than the Leigh I'm sorely tempted to move back!
That's very interesting as I am trying to decide between the two
The Leigh looks very easy to use (seen used by Norm on NYW) but the Woodrat looks so flexible in comparison because of the different types of joints it can do
The Leigh is pretty easy...the second time you use it! There's still a fair bit of set up and learning, and for really consistent and tight fitting dovetails you do need to calibrate each individual cutter, not a big job but an important one. The main differences I found between the Leigh and the Woodrat were,
1. Woodrat dovetails are much, much finer. If you're picky, or if your customers are picky, then it's the best choice. Honestly, it's the only dovetailing jig that comes anywhere close to producing a hand cut look.
2. Once you've got the hang of it the Leigh is quite a bit faster to operate, although you need to keep your hand in with both to use them efficiently.
3. The Leigh can be packed away and stored, where as the Woodrat really needs a metre or so of dedicated wall space.
4. The Woodrat is less prone to spelching because it's easier to climb cut. With practise you can do some climb cutting on the Leigh, but it's not as easy, thorough, or risk free.
5. The Woodrat is obviously much more versatile, although I used it for dovetailing about 80% of the time. I did occasionally use the Woodrat as a giant flexible jig for some jobs, such as angled tenons on chairs, but it's never as straightforward as you'd hope! The Woodrat is more versatile than the Leigh even for dovetailing, handling secret mitred dovetails and mitred corner dovetails (albeit with some fiddly set up), although the Leigh has been pretty good for angled/slplayed corner dovetailing.
6. I found the Leigh better for really long runs of dovetailing, say 18"-24" for blanket boxes or other carcass work.
7. The Woodrat suffers as a tenoning jig because like most tenoning jigs, it can only handle a component that reaches as far as the floor, so no good for long table aprons for example. I still prefer the Festool Domino for speed or traditional mortice and tenons for flexibility. The Woodrat's only real M&T advantage is for angled components like you frequently find with chairs.
8. Like any jig, you'll find both the Woodrat and the Leigh are only as accurate as the wood you use. I've known a few people who were unhappy with the results, but the real problem was that they didn't have the skills or equipment to reliably produce absolutely flat and dead square components.
