we're considering adding a (new) dovetailer to the shop. we're looking at the Omec 650A, and the Dodds SE1-AFA. we don't do a lot of production work - we make "dozens" of drawers a year, not hundreds, and it's a small two-man shop... so, with that in mind, two questions:
1) between the two models listed above, is there a clear choice? both are similarly priced.
2) given that we are low production, can we get away with a manual machine instead of an automatic? the Omec 650M is ~$10k less than the A, and we're just wondering if relying on manual control leads to lower quality cuts, or any other factors we should consider.
we're not opposed to buying the automatic, but if manual provides comparable quality, given our volume, we could potentially save a lot of money.
thanks for any advice and guidance.
-- dz