New Product - "WoodRat - Makes All Sorts of Joints"  - Installing and Setting Up

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   The WoodRat has a dust chute system that directs the sawdust down and into a dust collection port. I route an opening in the wall plate so that the dust can continue into a dust pickup. I will install that part later.

  

  Having marked the general area, I used the plunge router and a ¾" mortising bit to make the cuts by eye. I may have to come back and deepen this cut. I will wait and see how well the dust collector (DC) works.

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    I have screwed the wall plate with 7" ¼ diameter lag screws into the studs at three places. This installation isn't going to move.

  

          I lower the WoodRat channel onto the wood wall plate. The rabbet was just right. It is a very secure setup.

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     I check the installation for square. If it hangs slightly, you can shim it until it is level.

   I am back at the "parts table". The instructions have good descriptions, but I found that it helped to refer back to the master illustration.

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    There are a lot of strange parts, but it doesn't take long to figure them all out. I have installed the two aluminum vertical brackets and am trying out one of the two cam locks.

   The instructions say to use a square to align the two aluminum brackets.

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     The company recommends sandpaper be added to both vertical bars to hold the workpiece more firmly. I have sprayed the sandpaper with rubber cement and will clamp a block of wood in the vise until the adhesive has had a chance to dry.

   There is a little trick to using these cam locks. You push the blue end and move the assembly against the wood and with your other hand use the cam to lock the piece. Once you get a feel for this action, it is a real nifty little device.

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   I am now back at the table and am cutting a piece of aluminum. This is a furnished part that has a printed outline for cutting and bending.

     Once shaped, it is inserted in the center hole of the channel and is the dust chute.

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    It has two "ears" that can be pushed into the front channel that secures it in place. It is very clever in its simplicity.

    It feels like I am getting near the end of the set-up. I am now putting the base and router plates in position.

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   There are four screws to fix this assembly and a choice of three positions. As recommended, I am locating the unit in the 2nd position. The different positions vary with the thickness of the wood that will be worked.

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