I have only one router, and I wanted to use it as both a table-mounted and hand-held tool. However, I found conventional router tables were too bulky, and frequently mounting and removing the router was too cumbersome. So I created a router base, as shown, with a wing that extends 3-1/2 in. past the tool’s base. I made this wing from 1/2-in.-thick clear-plastic Lexan, and screwed the wing to the router as a substitute for the manufacturer’s stock baseplate. With the wing on the router, I can create an instant router table by running drywall screws through holes in the extension wing to fasten the inverted router to any suitable surface, such as a bench, windowsill, dock edge, toolbox or sawhorse.

As an added bonus, when I want to use the router as a hand-held tool, the extension wing makes it easier to follow guides and keep the router level on narrow work and end cuts.

Gordon Elliott, Friday Harbor, Wash.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, December 1

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