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Welcome Tracy. She and I
will learn the LittleRat together these next few weeks. There are a lot of great joints to
learn.
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It is so tempting to skip
right to the pages on dovetails, but the Manual is laid out in a specific fashion that
makes a lot of sense. It leads you through different types of operations and joints
so that when you get to the dovetails, you pretty much have a good understanding of how
the LittleRat works.
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Following the installation
pages there is a very important section on "Safety." Even though I have a
pretty good understanding of how to rout safely, it will be good to go through all the
basics for Tracy's sake. It won't hurt me either.
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Tracy and I read over the
general safety rules. We will not go over each and everyone here. When you get your
LittleRat, be sure to read these pages very carefully.
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The next section
covers how to use the LittleRat. It covers some of the terms relative to workpiece
orientation.
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Tracy tries her hand at
"somersaulting" a board. It is their term for turning it over as one might do a
somersault. She understands that easily. I barely remember doing a somersault.
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They also describe
"cartwheeling"and "turning." These are terms that we will have to know
when it comes time to make certain joints. These arrows do not really show the direction
of the move — thankfully, the illustrations in the manual work better.
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I show Tracy how to
position a block of wood in the cam lock. I learned when I was using the WoodRat that
there is a way that is easiest and locks the piece best. The manual shows it well.
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She learns quickly. It is a
great clamp. I wish that I could find it on more tools and jigs.
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The next area that the
LittleRat manual covers is depthing. As with any operation, being able to set and repeat
an exact depth setting is very important.
I show Tracy how the Hitachi M12V depthing system works. Basically, there is
one knob (arrow) that controls the depth setting. Pulled out, it can set the gauge at
zero. Pushed back in, you can set the plunge depth by the scale. The two set screws lock
the plunge rod, once set.
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