I Did Some Woodworking!

Dave Richards

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It's been a long time but I actually made something. I've been so busy teaching SketchUp to woodworkers and doing drawings for others that I 've had little time to work in the shop.

In preparation for the arrival of my new Router Boss*, I've built a wall mount for it. Got it put up this evening. Now, where's that guy in the brown truck?

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*semi stealth gloat;)
 
Dave
Just curious. Does it not mount the same way that the Woodrat does? I'm just wondering why your existing Rat mount couldn't be used? Cant wait to see you put the Boss thru it's paces and report back.
 
Doug, I think it could mount on the old mount but my arms wouldn't be long enough to reach it if I did. The old mount is now near Milwaukee with the Rat which I gave to my brother.

I'm looking forward to getting the Boss and putting it through its paces, too. I've drawn every single part of the thing so I feel like I already know it inside and out. I guess it is being shipped tomorrow morning.
 
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

Um, I thought that was what the wood rat was for? ;)

Anyway, I was looking at one of them there router bosses, but it's out of my league. Congrats on the get! :thumb: What's your first project? ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
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Bill, you're right. ;)

Out of your league? Nah, I don't think so. I think you'd find it incredibly useful.

Art, sometimes this place seems like that bad place that isn't supposed to freeze over and it's bloody cold out there now. :D

I think this will be the first project. And then a cheese straightener. that's what Ian wants to make for his grandmother. I'm still trying to find plans for that. :huh:

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Your guess is as good as mine. When I suggested we make a cutting board for grandma, he told me she already has a "lemon cutter" but she needs a "cheese straightener."

The kid is only 4 1/2. What am I going to do when he's 8 or 12 or 16?:dunno::rolleyes::D:D
 
...The kid is only 4 1/2. What am I going to do when he's 8 or 12 or 16?:dunno::rolleyes::D:D

Have a whole other vocabulary, I'd suspect. ;)

Good to see you got a chance to play in the sawdust a bit, Dave. Great SketchUp work, too. Looking forward to seeing pics of the new toy when you get it set up.
 
dave once again you have shown yur stuff,, in your sketchup capibilties:thumb: and a glaot as well..heres test for ya,, you go thte machnes and furniture down in your program try drawing a portariat of a human.. bet you can do that too:thumb: say mona lisa :D
 
Vaughn, he's already using vocabulary I don't know. :rolleyes:

Larry, don't hold your breath but we'll see.

Aaron, the Router Boss and WoodRat will do pretty much the same stuff but the Boss has, as an option, more sliding bar travel and the ability to handle wider or longer stock. It is designed so there is less slop in the sliding bar and a way to adjust for it. The base plate can be set at an angle of up to 20° and with the angled guides you can move the router at up to 30° from perpendicular. (It could have been set up for more but the opening for the dust collection port would have had to be wider which would have reduced its effectiveness.) You could cut mortises for louvers with it.

There are the optional digital scales including a digital scale for the full left to right travel of the sliding bar. Laser cross hairs in the router plate which is clear so you can see through it. the base plate is aluminum and much more rigid than the phenolic one on the Rat.

The box beam has been milled square which is not done on the Rat. The fix for the Rat's lack of square is to shim the base plate. My Rat was actually pretty good that way but some weren't and the WoodRat folks said it would add too much to the cost of the machine to make it worthwhile.

There are a lot of options for work holding, and on and on.

As far as dovetails on the Rat go, it does an excellent job and I would choose it any day over any dovetail jig on the market. For one thing, it isn't limited to a specific bit angle. You can use any dovetail router bit on the market. The WoodRat and the Router Boss are the only two machines out there that allow this. You can also use the high speed steel dovetail bits sold by both WoodRat and The Craftsman Gallery. I think the high speed steel bits make much nicer dovetails than carbide cutters because they can be more slender. After seeing dovetails cut with the HSS cutters, dovetails cut with carbide look fat and dumpy to me. (I've never been a fan of the dovetails cut with the finger templates like the Proter Cable unit because they look like zipper teeth. Folks cutting dovetails by hand don't cut them that way.)

Anyway,with the Rat, before you start cutting dovetails, you have to check for and add in a correction factor for setting the pivot. You don't have to that on the Boss. the Boss is also set up so that the router tracks in the same line when running straight or at the angles for the dovetails so there's no problem with mis-aligned corners. the mis-aligned corners can be dealt with on the Rat but it's just another one of those things.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trashing the WoodRat. I think it is a great machine. I think that the Router Boss has improved on the Rat and dealt with shortcomings.

I'll report on the Router Boss when I have it in my hands or rather on my wall.
 
Bill, you're right. ;)

Out of your league? Nah, I don't think so. I think you'd find it incredibly useful.

Art, sometimes this place seems like that bad place that isn't supposed to freeze over and it's bloody cold out there now. :D

I think this will be the first project. And then a cheese straightener. that's what Ian wants to make for his grandmother. I'm still trying to find plans for that. :huh:
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Plans for what? the cheese straightener or for the brain teaser?, I have a book full of wood brain teasers plans. Just send me a PM
 
Hi Toni,

Thanks. I have the plan for the brain teaser. Do you have a plan for a cheese straightener? :D

To be honest Dave, I have no idea of what a cheese straightener is, maybe I know it under a different name...:dunno:

I guess it is some sort of device to shape the freshly made cheese, isn't it?
 
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