I just recently bought a Porter Cable 694VS router and would like to build a router table. Does anyone know of a good design. I have seen several through rockler and New Yankee Workshop, but the cost to buy the mounting plate is very expensive. Are there any ideas to get one which would not be so expensive. Can I make one out of wood, mdf. I thought about getting a steel plate and drilling holes for mounting. Would this work?
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Steve
Replies
get ya some 1/4'' or 3/8'' LEXAN..make a plate about 7x 12" and rabbit a hunk of kitchen sink cutout scrap from you local whatever/whoever installs counter tops..seal the bejeezeus outta the cut out, and hang the router fom that, fab a table or floor base to your fancy..
I have made a zillion that are still going strong, my favorite has been a corian sink cut out, it does need some strips hot Glued to the bottom, to keep it from dishing, but man, what a nice top it has been.
be very acuurate in the depth of the recess for the lexan plate, and use masking tape for a shim if ya mess it up a bit, and a few # 4 screws can anhor it down if ya get rel scared of the thing jumping outta the rabbet, but I have not had to do that witha well clamped fence.
BTW, LExan is less likely to shatter, than plexiglass, which is cast acrylic vs. poly carbonate extrusion..but both can work.
I often make sub-bases from alum. hiway signs as well, tempered aluminum, that are discared after the kids grow outta having them hang on the dorm walls...good stuff, and thinner /stronger than any plastic that I can afford.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
hey sphere, all...
gotta question... what are the advantages of using the acrylic plates, rather than a full table made of mdf/etc..?
just wondering... cause i dont know..
thanks
oak
makes changing the bit a ton easier.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
There are a number of options for an insert plate. A couple are:
1/4" Plexiglass
3/4" MDF with the underside rabbeted to thin it down for the router base.
Woodpecker has a phenolic plate for $29: http://www.woodpeck.com/690890plate.html
Amazon has Bench Dog acrylic plates for $20: http://tinyurl.com/4hatz
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
If you are really wanting to save a couple of dollars by making your own mounting plate, go to Woodcraft and you can buy a clear acrylic plate for 10.99. An alternative would be to check with the big box stores or a local glass company to see if they have any material thick enough for your use.
If you plan on using bushings in the plate you may have to make 2 plates, one for use with bushings and the other for use with large bits.
Roger
Get yourself a 1" thick piece of MDF cut a 1.5" diameter hole in the middle and drill holes for the mounting screws on the base plate of your router. Finish the MDF with several coats of satin polyurethane and then give it a good waxing. Its strong flat and stable.
I used the extra MDF to build my fence and have sevearl pieces made up for sacrficial sliding fences.
That's how I made mine and I love it. I found that MDF in the scrap pile at HD and got a 4'x4' piece for $2.50. More than enough for the job.
"Get yourself a 1" thick piece of MDF cut a 1.5" diameter hole in the middle and drill holes for the mounting screws on the base plate of your router. Finish the MDF with several coats of satin polyurethane and then give it a good waxing. Its strong flat and stable."
Wow! MDF 1" thick? Don't you have trouble with height adjustment on some of your bits? Do you use a bit extender?
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
No, My PorterCable 690 is mounted in its fixed base and slides all the way up so that the nut on the bit clamp is flush with the top surface of the table, if it would raise any more I would be able to change bits without dropping the motor out from under the table.
When I bought the MDF I was worried that might be a problem, but it works great, I have not bit height issues on either end of the spectrum.
I mounted a PC 690 router into a the right-hand wing of my TS. I made the top out of a nice piece of 3/4" birch ply and wrapped the edges with some hardwood. I then laminated the top with some formica and trimmed the edges with a 45 deg. chamber bit. I purchased an acrylic router mounting plate that was pre-drilled for PC (and a starting pin) and accepts rousseau inserts at Woodcraft for about $20. I traced the outline of the plate onto the table surface and routed the surface to accept the plate. I have no complaints with this setup. The plate was made by a company called Jasper, and was pre-drilled for several router brands.
You can probably make the plate yourself; a nice piece of 3/8" aluminum would prabably be easy enough to mark, cut, drill and de-burr. You will need longer screws to mount the router base to the bottom of the plate. The trickiest part will probably be accurrately cutting a circular opening for the bit to pass through. Whatever you decide to use, just make sure the weight of the router doesn't cause the material to sag over time.
Steve...
I'd urge you to consider a proper insert plate such as this one :-
http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_details.cfm?&offerings_id=2009&objectgroup_id=442&catid=7&filter=router%20table%20insert%20plates
it's dead easy to install, the stepped rings cover just about every side of bit you'll ever want to use, reasonably inexpencive, and most importantly, they won't consume too much plunge to compensate for the material thickness.
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
When I built mine I put a box underneath that had a 4" hole on the back for hooking up the dust collector.
Also, I cut a 2" hole in the box centered in the bottom. Around that I glued a piece of 2" thick closed cell foam. When the router is in the table, the top of the router depresses into the foam. When the dust collector is on, it caused air to be pulled up through the hole and through the router windings. It keeps dust out of the insides and help cool the motor. I sometimes have my router running for an hour at a time. Router is a 10 year old Porter Cable and the brushes still look like new.
The plate is 1/4" thick aluminum and is circular in shape. The center hole in the plate is only 1-3/4" cause that is all I needed for the bits to clear.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
I might suggest you check out the Lee Valley router table top. I just purchased one (at the suggestion of another forum member) and am extremely pleased with it. It is 3/16" steel plate 16"x24" , allows any router to be attached, and the manual has plans for a stand or a support option for a vice. It was $160 , which may be more expensive than you are looking for but I find it is an excellent value (not cheap but well worth the money).
I recently made a router table in the extension off my table saw. I was having difficulty locating the proper material for the insert and mounting plate, without paying an arm and a let. So, I went to Lowes and found a couple of cutting boards of various sizes on sale for $.99 each. I used thicker ones for the plate and thinner, clear ones for the insert around the bit. I used my router to make everything fit nicely. I just flipped my table saw fence around and can use it for the router table, with some MDF plates screwed to it. It may not be quite as fancy as a Rockler or Bench Dog but, it seems to work about as good and I only spend a few bucks. I'd be happy to take some pics if anyone's interested.
Ernie
Steve,
The collet on your router extends a full inch past the base, allowing you to use a full 3/4 inch thick shop made insert or, better yet, no insert at all, you can just bolt the router to the bottom of the table with a two inch hole and you are done. An added advantage is that you will never have problems with overall flatness or the insert and filler rings not being quite flush with each other.
John W.
F4FDoctor
My frugal 2 cents:
I made my router table using an already assembled surplus bathroom vanity ($25 damaged at HD) with a range cutout ($3) from local kitchen shop for the top. The cutout is better than MDF because the surface is flatter, harder and slicker but still works with regular tools easily. I got a pre-cut piece of 8x10 acyrlic ($12) from local plastic supplier, and routed out a rabbetted hole to fit in in the top. With T-tracks, a homemade fence, hinges for the top and some modifications to the cabinet to make it heavier and stronger, I am in business for a lot less than a pre-made table. It's not nearly as pretty as the NYW table, but it works, and I didn't burn up all those shop-hours. The fence was the hardest part.
I've since used other cheap vanities for bases for other tools, as well as storage.
A one-inch thick top with the router mounted directly severely limits your usable bit length, without any advantage I can see.
Most people don't realize that the P-C router collet sticks out so far past the tool's base that you can still use the full length of a bit even if the top or the insert is an inch thick.
P-C routers are unique in having such an extended collet, all other brands need a thinner top to prevent having part of the bit still below table height when the router is in its highest position.
I especially like the P-C routers because of this feature, it allows you to use much sturdier insert plates made out of plywood or MDF rather than having to use a metal or plastic plate. It also allows you to simply bolt the router to the bottom of a full thickness table and skip the need for an insert completely.
John W.
Well said john.
If your guys are going to be using your router and table a lot, then I highly suggest you go back and read my bit about pulling clean air up through the windings! Suckin in dust is a good way to gunk up the brushes in a hurry. Once they start to go, then the windings will start overheating. Sort of a cascading effect.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
There are many ways to make a table. I had been out of woodworking for years and decided to build one with Norms plans to get back in the swing of things. I figured if I made mistakes who cares its only a router table. I bought woodpeckers precision router lift to fit my 7518. I went to woodpeckers and they have an aluminum plate for $79.00, or a Phenolic plate for 24.95. I included a link. My PRL has the aluminum plate and it is stout. I made my top out of two 3/4 pieces of MDF with HP laminate on top all wrapped in oak. If you are interested in Norms plans I am interested in letting it go cheap I have the video as well. I also have the mdf template for woodpecker's plates. Take care and good luck.
http://www.woodpeck.com/blankphenolicinsert.html
I suggest you check out Pat Warner's web site for excellent information about router tables as well as just about anything to do with high quality routing. Not as simple as many think to get great resultw when routing. However, it is pretty easy to get up and running with s simple cabinet and top made of MDF. He will get you started. His take on routers mounted in a table extension is that at last for him, the height is too low for comfortable routing. You can make a cabinet any height you wish.
Here is the link for the cabinet/table: http://patwarner.com/router_table.html
http://patwarner.com will give you the whole site. A wealth of information.
Good luck
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