Hi everybody
I am thinking of making a small router table. I have never used one but I can see how useful one would be.
Can anybody give me any tips on getting going with a simple one with a decent fence. Also can you tell me which parts i would have to buy or could I get away with making a plate for the router to be bolted to ?
Many thanks
Kind regards Phil.
Replies
Phil,
I just got finished building a router table, the one featured on New Yankee Workshop. Over the last couple of years I've looked at many table top models/plans and the good news is there are lots of plans out there. You can spend a lot or a little on your router table.
On the new table the fense is nothing more than 3/4" MDF screwed together at to form a 90 degrees angle and two 3" squares dadoed into both pieces to keep them square.
The top could be anything from solid wood to melamine, etc....don't have to have a drop in plastic insert...could be hardboard....or rout out the underside of the hard wood top and leave 3/8" thickness.
Its nice to have tracks for attachments...but clamps work just as well with homemade featherboards....etc.
The point is the options are yours. I had my old table top model for 30 years...it did hold me back a bit....but you don't need fancy..
good luck
Hi everybody
Thanks for all your input I keep coming back and reading all your tips and suggestions. I have a few jobs to do before I get stuck into the router table but you have given me something to ponder on in the meantime.
Would appreciate any pics no matter how badly you think they are made. Would like to see all different types just to get a good idea of what I want and what I need.
Thanks again
Kind regards Phil.
Some pix and text here.
Thanks very much for your post very informative, lovely table.
Will sift through all the text also.
Kind regards Phil.
A couple of photos of mine. The top is about 7/8th in thick and is clamped to an old stand which has a large central hole. Note the carefully hand-hacked opening in the centre of the aluminum sub-fence (to allow for larger bits) and the large hole in the (3/8th thick) insert plate. I later bought the little round inserts to close that up - false economy, I should have bought the insert plate complete. Come to think of it, I did - but the one I bought was not flat so I sent it back and improvised.
Graeme
Phil, theres a number of ways to go about making a router table. I'll tell you how i made mine . I took a cutout from a sinktop ( I got it for no cost from installations I did) then sealed the bottom and any exposed edges with several coats of varnish. This will keep the top from cupping. I routed a square 2" larger in diameter than router base. The depth will depend on the insert thickness that you use. Cut out hole for router bits. Remove plastic base from router and use as a template for boring holes in top. Attach router thru these holes, you probably will need longer screws than came with your router. Cut a square of lexan , masonite or whatever you like for insert. I cut several for different diameter cutters. I have a cousin that made one similar to mine , he cut the mortice a 1/16" deeper than the insert. He then put thin layer of silicone caulk all the way around the mortice. After it was completely dry he screwed the insert down. The silicone worked like a gasket, it compressed with screw pressure, it works very well. No problem getting insert completly flush with top.
My fence is a 3" wide piece of 3/4" plywood with a piece 4" x 3/4" of plywood vertical glued and screwed to the horizontal piece. I cut triangular blocks to stiffen the L shape, they are glued to the back side of the fence. I cut a 2 1/2" square out of the fence where the bit comes thru, cut from the bottom up. This is also for dust collection. I bought a PVC rain gutter adapter ( adapts rectangular downspout to 4" pipe) I screwed the adapter to the fence and connected dust collector hose to the other end. The fence simply is screwed down on one end and clamped down on the other. The screwed end is a pivot point for the end of the fence, you will not have to unscrew when adjusting , just bump the clamp end and reclamp. I would not bother with a slot for a miter guage, a jig that slides along the fence is more versatile.
Good luck with your router table
Mike
Check out woodhaven.com, I purchased one of their phenolic insert plates, and am very happy with it. I built my fence from an article in American Woodworker, a couple of years back, made from MDF, works well and very inexpensive to make. I use a Bosch 2 HP variable speed router. This router has easy height adjustment even in a table, so for my amount of use could not justify a router lift mechanism.
Robert
You might also want to look at a similar thread in this forum, titled "Router in Table Saw Extension" (I think that was it anyway.)
I am on my second router table-third modification. I always seem to find new features which solve problems encountered since the last modification. I don't think you will ever have exactly what you want. I started with a very simple design from Woodsmith or Shopsmith. I ended up building my own fence. It meets my needs. I would suggest looking at several plans then deciding what features you like and incorporating them into your table. I have often thought there could be merit in considering a router mounted in a table saw extension. You would be able to use one fence in both applications.
Phil,
for very little you can buy a new shaper.. $89.95 for a Grizzley mini.. it will do what a router and lift table will. or for $225 you can buy a bigger unit like mine and do much more with it..
spend your time making stuff not making the tools to make stuff..
The simplest router table I've seen was a square of plywood with a hole cut in it, set on top of a garbage can. No kidding! Router was simply screwed to the plywood. You can make anything from there on up to real fancy ones with the insert plates and such. A straight 2x4ish piece of wood for a fence, or a fantastically engineered do-everything fence.
Go to the 4th picture on this page, and you'll see a partial image of the fence I made last summer, very simple, but with adjustable split subfences. Two oak boards joined with glue at 90*s _| with 45* blocks in the back, slots cut for the subfence bolts to slide in, small hole cut for dust collection. Outfeed fence can be shimmed for jointing if desired.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I used a slab of counter-top material (actually, surplus office furniture :-), and a piece of 1/4in acrylic for the insert. The fence is a length of 2x2 aluminium angle 1/8th thick, with a split fence made from offcuts of the counter top. The fence has T-trak front (for attaching holddowns, stops etc.) and back (for adjusting the gap around the bit). I can also slide a shim under the outfeed fence and use it as a small jointer.
I put T-trak in the table for attaching the fence. If I was building it again I wouldn't do that: a bolt at one end and clamp at the other would work just as well and be less fiddly. Next time I would also buy a plate to mount the router onto. The one I made is OK, but is not totally flush with the table.
I did put in a miter slot and built a sled that runs in the slot, for doing dovetails.
HTH
Graeme
Phil,
I ummed and Ahhhhd for months, read all I could, and asked on the Forum.
Should I buy?
or Should I make one?
In the end I decided to buy. I reckoned that everyone has a different perspective of what they want out of a router Table, and A BUDGET. I purchase a basic table set up and now after using it for six months or so have designed what I now know suits my needs in a router table and have started making my own. ( larger table, taller and better fence etc etc)
And the old table will go in the NEARLY NEW pages of the local paper when it's complete.
Mike
Thanks everybody for your 2cts, as usual very informative and loads of ideas to get me going.
Kind regards Phil.
Phil,
Here's my version of the NYW table. I put the Woodpeckers lift in with a PC7518 motor. I also have the Woodpecker oscillating spindle sander plate which drops in the same hole. It was a great project to build and has sevrved me very well so far.
TDF
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