WoodRat: Precision Joinery Machines

30/05/2026

A bit of WoodRat history for the weekend. 📰 Some of you may remember this one Eric’s veneered hi-fi cabinet, featured in The Woodworker back in 2000. He used his WoodRat for the dovetailed carcase base and the sliding dovetail shelves. A proper labour of love. We love seeing the ambitious projects people have taken on with the WoodRat over the years. Have any of you built something you’re especially proud of with yours? We’d love to see it.

30/05/2026

Some WoodRat history worth sharing. 🪵 Back in 2000, a home woodworker called Eric built this beautiful veneered hi-fi cabinet and he used his WoodRat for the dovetailed base and the sliding dovetail shelves. It was such a fine piece it ended up featured in The Woodworker magazine. Twenty-five years on, it’s a perfect example of what the machine was built for: giving people the precision to make furniture they’re genuinely proud of. That’s the heart of what Martin created.

28/05/2026

Meet Jacob. He bought his WoodRat back in 2022 on the advice of his late father, who also owned one. Life got busy with family, but recently Jacob found time in the workshop to make his first two boxes for his twin nephews. Look at those dovetail joints. 🪵 The WoodRat and HSS bits made precision joinery and safety accessible even as a novice. That's exactly what Martin designed this machine for - to put professional-level craftsmanship within reach of anyone serious about the work.

25/05/2026

Beautiful work shared by long-time WoodRat owner Chris Webster from New Zealand.

These round tables were made using a WR900, featuring curved drawer fronts, variable spaced dovetails and fine mortise & tenon joints in sycamore and recycled jarrah.

A great example of how versatile router-based joinery systems can be in skilled hands.

Always brilliant to see what people create with these machines after many years of ownership.

25/05/2026

Another fantastic example of what can be achieved with the WoodRat system.

Chris Webster from Wellington, New Zealand, kindly sent these photos of round tables he made several years ago using his WR900. The timbers are sycamore and recycled jarrah, with curved drawer fronts, variable spaced dovetails and fine mortise & tenon joints all produced using the WoodRat.

What I really like about projects such as this is they perfectly demonstrate Martin’s original vision for the WoodRat. It was never just about one joint or one technique it was about giving woodworkers the freedom to experiment, create and push ideas further.

Thank you to Chris for sharing these brilliant photos and continuing to support WoodRat all the way from New Zealand 🇳🇿

24/05/2026

Another fantastic customer project sent in after the latest WoodRat newsletter.

Simon built this stunning engineer’s-style tool chest on the WoodRat for storing woodworking layout and hand tools.

Beautiful attention to detail throughout dovetails, inlays, contrasting timbers and precision drawer work.

This is exactly what WoodRat has always been about: giving woodworkers the flexibility to create projects completely their own.

Thanks for sharing Simon 👍

22/05/2026

A big thank you to Paul Kitchener for putting this blog together about WoodRat.

It’s great to see the interest and support around WoodRat as we bring the business back to life under new ownership.

WoodRat has always had a loyal following, and hearing from people who have used, understood and appreciated the system over the years really helps keep that story alive.

I’m still rebuilding stock, support and manufacturing step by step, but the response so far has been brilliant.

Have a read here:

https://paulkirchnerstudios.blogspot.com/2026/05/good-and-great-news.html?m=1

Thanks again Paul really appreciated🙏

WoodRat is back.

17/05/2026

One of Martin Godfrey’s original demonstration pieces from many years ago.

A brilliant example of what made the WoodRat different from large structural dovetails right down to tiny precision drawer joints, all produced on the same machine.

Long before CNC became common in small workshops, Martin was demonstrating repeatable precision joinery like this with the WoodRat system.

Over 30 years later, these little demo pieces still stop people in their tracks.

Who still has their original WoodRat, demo joints or early projects? I’d genuinely love to see them in the comments.

14/05/2026

🤩A real moment for the WoodRat workshop this week, our first international press feature since taking over the business in March.

🪵Woodshop News, one of America’s leading trade publications for professional woodworkers, has published a piece on WoodRat’s return under new ownership, the handover from Martin Godfrey, and what’s next for one of England’s most distinctive joinery machines.

🙏Thank you to everyone who’s been in touch since the transition. The support from the WoodRat community has been genuinely overwhelming, and it’s the reason this business has a future.
Designed and built in England, shipping worldwide, and just getting started.

👇 Read the full article here 👇

https://www.woodshopnews.com/woodrat-returns-under-new-ownership

The WoodRat, a precision joinery system developed in England, has returned to production under new ownership following the retirement of its creator, Martin Godfrey.