It may be because it's just overkill, but I wonder why I've never seen THIN rabbets used to do this!

Not really a "favourite tool", but we are experimenting with QA Touch (for test cases etc.) and Playwright (for the actual automated tests), while other teams are pretty happy with Rainforest.
I'd suggest documenting test cases ASAP to keep the debt low, using unit tests as a springboard.

Lovely manufact and finish!

I'm imagining a wood lathe with a similar power delivery system 🤔