Replies

1. 
   jmc | Nov 28, 2004 07:29pm | #1

   Ragman- The WoodRat does have a dust collection port. Its in the bottom directly behind the bit. Like any dust collector it works OK as long as the chips are where they can be sucked into it. I lose a lot of chips when the area is blocked by the material I'm cutting.

   The WoodRat is amazingly ingenious but dovetails are not intutive. Until you cut a few you don't really understand how it could possibly work. (But it does work well) Cutting other joints is very straight forward. Mortise and tenons come out very accurate. Hope this helps.

   John

1. 
   ragman | Nov 29, 2004 12:53am | #2

   thanks for the tip. Do you have a wood rat? I am thinking of getting it or the router lift and fence etc etc but it seems to be easier to use then a router table and better for sliding dovetail but the dust and noise really bother me. I plan to sound proof the router table and hope that it'll last for some time before heat build up kills the motor. Many thanks

1. 
   jmc | Nov 29, 2004 03:56am | #3

   I have a WoodRat and a router table. If I had to make a choice of one or the other I would get the router table. I use the router table twice as much as the WoodRat. The router table is much better for everthing except dovetails, M&T, and routing small parts.  Many of the things the WoodRat can do can also be done on the router table. (Except variable spaced dovetails)

   John

1. 
   vern | Nov 29, 2004 07:46am | #4

   hi ragman in '96 I was walking by a booth at the IWF show in Atlanta and stopped to watch this guy ( Martin Godfrey, the designer and maker from UK) demostrate this funny looking machine-- because it looked like it would be useful in many different ways-- he showed me a whole cabin that was made with just the woodrat- that was kind of hard to believe but when he was through telling me what all the woodrat could do --I half way believed him-- so I bought it and a few weeks later I was the proud owner of something I had no idea how to use-- the manual was in English and I mean English English -- I had to first convert it to our English then figure what it meant--to make a long story longer --an outfit in Odessa FL wanted to reprint it and so their whole staff and I worked with the late Patrick Spielman and Mr Tucker of Frame Works in N C to produce a new instruction book-- I use mine quite frequently - m&t's ,rail dovetails as well as thru doves -helped a friend dovetail the sides and top of a mule chest that was 6o" long and 42"; hi-- we had to put the woodrat up on my stroke sander on blocking to get enough clearence but we did it -- it is quite a machine -- it is one that you probably want to jump in with both feet, make a lot of notes for reference and read the book throughly. I hope there has been a modified instruction book printed since '95-- I will be glad to help you as much as I can do long distance your best bet is to find someone close to you . there is a chip colector but after using it for a while, you can devise a hood that would have to be between you and the router--this would not be practicable because you would not be able to see your work-- I would think some kind of flexable tub that wpuld stay where you aimed it would work--I just plan on cleaning up afterwardsmaking sawdustEdited 11/28/2004 11:51 pm ET by vernEdited 11/28/2004 11:59 pm ET by vern

   Edited 11/29/2004 1:17 am ET by vern

2. 
   stephengaal | Nov 29, 2004 08:19pm | #5

   I have a woodrat and a router table.  I would give up the router table before the wood rat.  You can easily make a shop built router tyable.  You cannot make a shop built woodrat. It is somewhat counter-intutive at first but it is an incerdible tool for dovetails and mortise and tenons.Stephen J. Gaal

    

    

1. 
   ragman | Dec 01, 2004 01:39am | #6

   I guess i better stick to my router table for now. Maybe buy a incra fence for it rather then buy a woodrat get chip all over the place and probably can't understand the thing.

   Many Thanks all

2. 
   RonT | Jun 20, 2006 04:37pm | #7

   I have looked at the demo of this machine and it would appear to me that there are lots of opportunity for tearout.

   Reviewing comments from the forum, it would appear that preference for the woodrat or the router table can be compared to weather your a Chevy or a Ford person.

   I also went to the woodrat site and I must say, looking at the price, they are proud of their machine.

   I would expect with a sound router table and the addition of a Jessem mite-r-slide and fence and creative gigs you could accomplish most of what the rat does at a fraction of the cost.

1. 
   Lataxe | Jun 20, 2006 05:07pm | #8

   Ron,

   Imagination is a wonderful thing but isn't a substitute for experience.  For instance, the opportunities you see in a woodrat for tearout might be compared to my experience that a woodrat allows climb cutting in most situations and actually prevents the tearout you will get on a router table or with a freehand router.

   You might imagine a router table with jigs could do what a woodrat can.  That's a guess, based on...... not your experience, anyway.

   I apologise if this sounds a little sharp.  But it seems unfair for the poster to be put off the rat in this way; rather like being told not to go into the woods in case a bogeyman comes.

   The router table and a woodrat are complementary.  The woodrat is easy to use for basic joints like dovetail, finger, M&T.  It's easy to use for other complex joints but does require some mental gymnastics to understand the manual's instructions. (It's the manual that is difficult rather than the rat).

   A router table is better for long or curved edges that are to be molded but otherwise a rat can do everything a table can.  (Even the long moldings, but it's awkward as gravity works against you then).

   Woodrat dust collection works best if you arrange to cut most things from the machine side rather than the user side.  Most cuts can be so-arranged. The dust is thrown into the chute, where it can be collected by a vacuum hose shoved into the back channel of the rat, with its end just an inch or two from the cutter.  It also helps if the back channel is blocked so air can only get into the vacuum via the chute.

   Lataxe

2. 
   RonT | Jun 20, 2006 06:19pm | #9

   What nerve did I touch..............?           Maybe I should have prefaced "IMO" but, I thought this was an open forum.  If someone wants to buy the Rat, go for it. My comments haven't taken anything away from the machine. But, based on the aggrevations you just described and my Website observations, my money will be better spent using an alternative approach.

3. 
   PeteBradley | Jun 20, 2006 10:29pm | #10

   I deleted my earlier response, as I though Lataxe made the point. I don't think you touched a nerve, but you commented extensively on something without speaking from experience. We've all done it, it's a natural human tendency. Still, FWW would be a stronger forum if there was a higher percentage of content that was based on hands on instead of speculation and/or hearsay. I've hit the Cancel button more than once because I realized the post I was writing was the latter, and I encourage others to do the same.Pete

4. 
   RonT | Jun 21, 2006 04:20am | #12

   I've apparently hooked on to some diehard Woodrat fans. I am not trying to offend anyone and I am not proposing to impose my experience or lack thereof on anyone. I am sure the rat will do all that it says it will do but, it is not exclusive and other machines can perform the same tasks. I simply commented that for ME the Rat does not seem to offer that much of an advantage for the money.

   For somone with a fat pocket book, the more power to you. I'd love to drive a Beamer cross country but, hey, my truck will get me there too.

5. 
   jhounshell | Jun 22, 2006 05:20am | #13

   Hey Ron,I bought my 'Rat used, and got it pretty cheap. Still use the router table in certain situations. I've said this before on this board, and I'll say it again. It is very rare that I step into my shop and I don't use the 'Rat. I cannot say that for any other piece of machinery I own, and I've got quite a collection. I'd suggest finding some way to play with a 'Rat to get a better understanding of all the different things this machine is capable of. Once you get a taste of it, you'll find yourself quickly falling in love with the idea of having one mounted on your shop wall. That is a promise.Have fun, and be safe out there.

6. 
   Lataxe | Jun 21, 2006 01:00am | #11

   Ron,

   Apologies again for the nervy response.  I should have been less sarky.  And of course you should be free to express an opinion.  Sorry.

   Lataxe the contrite.