I finished building my router cabinet a few months back, thought I’d share. I upgraded from the 2hp bosch to the 3 1/4hp Porter Cable. Big difference all around. Bigger more stable surface and bigger motor. I had been using the basic Rockler router table on a movable stand.
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Wow. I would be proud to use your router table in my dining room as a sideboard. That is gorgeous!!! Keep posting photos of your work.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Very handsome! Just so more people could appreciate them (hello, dial-up folks), and because today's a lazy Sunday, I resized the pics, cropped one, and got the file size down to below 50 kb.
Did you make the handles??
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks, Forestgirl. I wanted to suggest he resize, but I did not want to "rain on his parade" That is a very nice cabinet.
BTY, without going to satellite, which I do not want to do, the best speed I can get now is about 28.4kbps.
"...the best speed I can get now is about 28.4kbps" Awwwww, jeeeeeeezzzz, that SUCKS!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
If I had known that's all you had to say, I would not have waited 30 minutes to download it. LOL
I have been on this dial-up for 7 years!! There is help on the way. A new company say's they will relay off water towers with some low wattage technology. Man will I be giddy when that happens.
"Man will I be giddy when that happens." I still remember the elation when we ponied up for DSL. We'll have to peel you off the ceiling I'll bet!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
"ponied up for DSL." Telephone company provided DSL is not an option. It is not available. I have been relentless in my persuit, but "phone company" simply will not yield.
Have a good day in the shop!!
forestgirl and Mel, thanks for the compliment. The handles i bought from Lee Valley. The drawer fronts i had actually intended for a Door chest that i'm building for my sister, but i made a few little minor mistakes (too many for my liking) so they bacame relegated to the router cabinet.
Nice job. I always wondered why people buy router tables- seems like making one is a perfect shop project.
Doug
Your router table looks great! Would mind telling us the dimensions? Also kind of looks like you tweaked Norm's deluxe router table plans. What is the heigh of the cabinet before it's raised off the floor by the casters. I'm curious because I've been looking at making an router table/cabinet with an expanded top as well.
Loggerhead,The cabinet is 32" high x 40"w x 22" deep. The top is 48" x 25". Yes, I did base the design off Norm's, as well as others i found online. Here are some things you might want to think about when designing your own station. I'm sure much of which you may already be familiar with but I'll give my personal take 1) The height. If you have a small work area, it's nice to have tops all at the same height so you can put equipment right next to each other without impeding the work space for one machine or the other. The other thing to consider is back strain from bending over. I like the height of mine because of this.2) Positioning of router lift in top. Most of the tops i have found have the router positioned more toward the front. I chose to put mine more toward the back of the cabinet, to allow for more space to rest wide stock or panels on. I'm glad I did. Leaning over the top to push the stock through the machine is not an issue, does not hurt my back or feel uncomfortable, and I'm vertically challenged to begin with. 3) Dimensions of the top. Mine is 4' wide, and it is much nicer to work on then the shorter top i had been using. Again more space to support material. Also, make sure you employ some means of keeping the top stiff and flat. 4) Drawers. Ones you plan to use for router bits, make sure they're high enough to accomodate tall bits. 5) Dust collection. I have hoses connected to top and to the bay where the rounter is. A little tip, I used some HVAC fittings to help with the dust collection. Specifically, I made the hole in the back of the cabinet to accomodate a hot air duct that i picked up at HD. 6) On/off switch. I like using an external switch. Play around with location to figure what is best for you. Other then that, as i alluded to before, big motor, sturdy cabinet, and big, flat surface and you're good to go. Hope this helps
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