Hey all,
I am in the process of making a major upgrade on my router and its accessories. I am about to start construction on a commissioned gothic church altar and will be doing a lot of ornamental work, besides case work. I am also getting calls for more decorative work, like picture frame moldings, that would be better suited to a shaper, but don’t have space for one.
I would be interested to hear what people have to say regarding the serious router system they find best; router, regular and plunge, table, fence, and lift. I want something that will last and that will work well and I am willing to pay for it. Multiple manufacturers are fine with me.
So, if you have a set-up you really love, please let me know what it is.
TIA,
Michael
Replies
Get the JessEm Router Table and ALL the bells and whistles..
Cost about a grand without a router...
NO I DO NOT have one... but have considered it.. WHy do I not have it?? I can't afford it!
All my router tables are shop made except for my BenchDog ProMax..
If ya really serious about this get a SHAPER! and just make yourself a router table...
Hi Will...thanks for the advice....will consider all the above.
Michael
I use a Veritas table with a PC 7518. The 7518 is beefy, has variable speed (for panel bits) and a soft start. For freehanding, I have a Festool 1400, that I really like.
As for the table, I think it is a best bet. It is 0.125" coined steel, so it will never sag, even with a heavy router like the 7518 mounted on it. I learned WWing at an art school/college where most of the tables had started to sag and bow because of the weight of the router. Needless to say this made cutting panels more challenging than I would have liked. Lee Valley makes a lot of accessories for their table system, some pretty useful, some less so. The hold down is pretty good, as is the fence. I think as far as cost is concerned, the table system is probably in the pack, although I have not recently priced BenchDog or others.
I guess I was looking for a stable and configurable system partly to enhance my skills, but mostly I wanted something I felt safe using.
Anyway- just my 2p,
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Hello Glaucon,
This is all great and helpful advice. I will track down the numbers and have a look.
Thanks!
Michael
Would you not consider an Onsrud inverted pin router? Not much more expensive than some of these fancy router table set-ups and a lot more useable - however, not portable!
Boy, you opened up a can of worms with this one. I think there are several good ones out there. The Jessum is nice. I personally built norm's table and bought the Precision router lift with the PC7518 after doing a lot of comparisons. I preferred the chain drive and metal plate. Bench Dog also makes a system that gets good reviews. For the fence system I have the Incra twin linear. I think it's a nice set up. Here's a couple of pics of mine.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=26294.7
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