I just bought an Incra router plate (https://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuideProduct.aspx?id=33768), but darned if I know where the opening in the table top ought to be.
Incra’s table tops are either centered or offset. The track for the miter gauge goes between you and the router bit, and the fence is farthest away. That lets you slide the stock-plus-miter-gauge from right to left.
What I don’t get is the layout of the offset table. There’s a huge amount of space behind the router bit. Why would you need that much depth for the fence, when the stock is on the other side of the bit?Janet
Replies
plate/lift location
Positioning of the plate depends, I think, on where you see the trade-offs between the style of fence being used and how much work-piece support you need. The high-end Incra fence, for example, takes up a lot of "real estate," requiring more room behind the fence. A simpler fence requires less space - only enough to slide back and clear the plate or lift. Taht gives you more space for work-piece support. Alternatively, you can go with a larger table area to fit your needs.
On the table (top-only) that I just finished, I used a simple (but sturdy) fence design. That allowed me to favor the side in front of the fence. My fence foundation is 3/8" x 3" aluminum angle, with 3/4" MDF (split) face plates. The table surface is two 3/4" x 24" x 30" pieces of phenolic BB ply, laminated with contact cement. There's an additional piece of smaller aluminum angle attached to the bottom side of the top, which provides a clamping surface for the large WorkMate it sits on, as well as additional structural (anti-sag) support.
I'm using a BenchDog Pro lift with a PC 7518 router, so the combination is fairly heavy. I also used a combo miter/t-track strip, which adds some flexibility in terms of feather boards or miter-track based jigs.
I like the fence. What is the purpose of the groove in the face?
Janet
groovy
The T-slot grooves in the face of the fence are for holding accessories, such as feather boards, stop blocks, etc.
Can you tell me how you assembled and cut the plywood? For example, the slots for the fence.
Janet
fence slots
Phenolic has a bad habit of chipping along cut lines, so you have to be a little careful with it.
Prior to glue-up, I marked the position of the fence-slot holes on the top piece. Then, I clamped the two sheets together, making sure the edged were precisely aligned. After that, I drilled the large hole toward the rear with a Forstner bit through both sheets. The large hole gives plenty of room for the head of the T-bolt to be inserted, and allows router dust to fall through. The Forstner bit produces nice, clean edges, but the phenolic layer forms a little disk in the bit, so it has to be cleaned from the bit before drilling farther. Then, I drilled the small hole toward the front, through the top sheet only, with a sharp brad point bit. The edges of the slot were scribed with a knife, as a precaution against chipping, then the slots were routed through the top sheet only (plunge router, carbide spiral bit). The top sheet was then flipped upside down, and the back side of the slot was routed to allow for the narrow width of the T-bolt head, plus a little slop.
The only glue that will stick to phenolic is contact cement. So, I rolled on contact cement on both pieces, using a small trim paint roller with short knap., and let the glue dry in the usual manner. The large holes were the same size as a " dowel, so I could use two short pieces to help with the alignment when I was ready to put the two sheets together . . . very carefully. I clamped it up over night, just for kicks.
The T-bolt slots in the fence fascia were cut with an Eagle America picture-hanging/keyhole bit, which allows either T-bolts or 1/4" machine bolts to be used.
http://www.eagleamerica.com/product/v142-0602/picture_framing
I thought I might need to rout a dado for the bolt shaft first, but testing indicated the bit could handle cutting the entire slot without a problem in MDF.
The T-bolts are available from both Rockler (nickle-plated) and Woodcraft (brass-plated). Although both work with standard T-track strips, I prefer the brass-plated bolts from Woodcraft, since they look better (my opinion only) and the heads are slightly thinner. Similarly, the threaded "star" knobs are available from either source. I keep a supply of both bolts and knobs on hand (1/4" and 5/16") for various jigs that I might want to build.
Ralph, your pictures aren't accessible anymore. Can you send them to me? Thanks--Janet
Did you seal the edges?
edges
The edge strips are 1x2 Poplar, glued to the edge of the phoenolic ply.
Chipping
Ralph,
You scored the t-slots with a knife before cutting with a spiral bit, but how did you prevent chipping on the rabbet for the plate? I scored the outline of the rabbet, but haven't found a bearing-guided spiral bit in the right size (3/4" cutting diameter, 1/2" shank).
I was thinking of clamping scrap wood to the phenolic face, then cutting them together.
Janet
3/4" ?
The 3/4" diameter sounds large to me, but if that's what matches the corners of your plate, OK.
If you have a plastic circle template (drafting template), you might try drawing the corners in pencil, and then free-handing the scribe.
The approach depends on how you are routing the outside edge. I used an outside template along with a guide bushing to establish the outside edge, and then worked in from there to widen the rabbet to the width I wanted.
3/4" ?
Good point--I should call Incra and get the measurement from them.
For the rabbet, I'm following Peter Schlebecker's instructions in "Rock-Solid Router Table."
template = backer board
The approach in the article makes the template the same size as the plate itself. Thus, the template itself functions as an edge backer, as well, except in the round corners. That approach also requires a short bit to make the rabet at just the right depth to keep the plate flush to the surface of the table. You might consider one of the following to accomplish that:
http://www.eagleamerica.com/product/v102-0802b/ea_-_straight_bits
I'd try the first cut just grazing the surface of the phenolic, and then take the depth down in small increments from there.
I'd also wait until you actually have your plate in hand, so you can verify actual manufactured dimensions, corner radius, etc.
Under the table
Ralph, I've got to ask: What is underneath the table top? I can see "Black and Decker Workmate," but it looks a lot more than that.
Janet
Aside from the lift and the router, the area under the table is just routing-related storage. That's where I keep the PC 4200 dovetail jig, the case for the smaller PC routers, and so forth. I cut a piece of Masonite to cover the router table with the fence pushed back, so it can be used as a work surface for other tasks.
When I moved here five years ago, I squeezed my old three-car garage shop into a two-car space. Then, when my father died, I added the stuff from his shop. So, my shop is what I like to call an "engineered space". Or, put more plainly, it's just crowded.
Phenolic + regular plywood?
"The top surface of a shopmade router table is a good place to use phenolic."--Stuart Lipp, "The Ultimate Shop Plywood," FWW May/June 2008.
Does this mean that my table can be one layer of phenolic plywood glued to a layer of regular plywood?
I bought 3/4" phenolic plywood from Woodcraft. The sheet is flat and smooth, although the surface is not perfectly even. I can see and feel the pattern of wood grain. Please don't tell me that it needs sanding!--I'm pretty sure that some of Stuart Lipp's phenolic shows wood grain, too.
Janet
no sanding (or batteries) required
Combining phenolic and regular ply should be fine.
Why 17"?
Why are fence tracks always 17" apart (center to center)?
Janet
Why 17"?
Why are fence tracks always 17" apart (center to center)?
Janet
Always?
I've not measured a wide variety of fences, so I don't know. I simply planned mine so the knobs didn't interfere with each other.
its all choice
I built my router table from Norm Abrhams plans with a modification to the width of the table top and added wheels. I had to widen the top because I wanted to use an Incra LS120 fence which is fantastic but requires some table space to acomodate it. In the pictures you show, I think thats the main reason. Tale a look at Incra's fences and you will understand why. My router lift is a Woodpecker lift and you might go there if you want to look at prefab tables they have good ones as well. I have found a nice wide space only helps for when you have to put something big up there. I made my top two pices of 3/4 mdf with formica on top and edged in oak. It's had a lot of use and stayed flat for over 6 years. The groove is for the miter gauge as someone pointed out and there will be an ocasional need for that. The picture below is my finished table prior to putting the miter gauge track in the table top.
the glass, the glass
Still love the PC 7518 in the stained glass, Bones. IIRC, your wife made that for you?
The glass is nice
The wife indeed put that together for me. a long time ago. The design, came from a fellow from here that his wife made and he was gracious enough to share the pattern with me.
That is a beautiful table. A shame to keep it in the garage...
Wishin I still had that garage
Thanks. Its in a basement now in PA. That home was two states ago. Still wish I had never had to leave good old Roanoke VA, but the the paycheck and the need to put food on the table took me elsewhere. I'll make it back someday.
Off set or no
The main use of an offset router table plate is that it makes it much easier to use something like the Incra LS positioner, a fancy "miter gauge" for making really fancy inlays, dove tails, box joints. The LS positioner has a monsterous learning curve. It is also very helpfull if you are doing a lot of very large pattern work and need the extra table area to support the stock.
I built my router table X-large 3' X 4' and set the router plate in the normal position so that makes the back side an automatic offset.
Counter top.
Pix 1 & 3 are of my third home made router table. I needed a large one. In the past I carefully laminated the tops and cut miter grooves and built a fancy fence. You can see my first one in pix 2. I now use it for a stoop free planner stand.
I found that for very little money you can go to HD and buy a counter top, rip off the backsplash, put on legs and rout the hole for the plate. I add some scrap underneath to give it more mass. Clamp on an Incra Fence and rout from front to back. Back off the fence, stick on a bearing bit and rout freehand. Simple and cheap, except for the fence.
Hi Janet,
You have quite a few very good recommendations regarding router table design. If you combine those by ralph,bones ,swenson and others with: http://www.crestonwood.com/router.htm I think you'll end up with a design that will allow you to grow with your experience and, if you have the resources and space, a durable place to work for less cost than purchasing a manufactured unit. Make sure to scroll all the way to the end of this web site for detailed design and cut lists and material sources.
Regis
That's a good link.
That's a good link--thanks. I been nervous about how to go about this, and the more pictures, the better. The plywood was delivered today, so it's time to get started. :)
Janet
"My . . .
. . . what big
teethcorners you have, Grandma." (in your best Little Red Ridinghood voice) ;-)The typical approach is to create the template in a sheet of MDF tracing the edge of the plate with a bit in a guide bushing, making a "hole" larger than the plate. Then, when using the template, increase the offset by using a larger guide bushing, or a collar, to put the edge of the bit back to where the edge of the plate would be. The suggested template material is usually 1/4" or 3/8" MDF, so as not to lose too much bit depth.
If you anticipate doing more template routing, you may find these useful:
http://woodworker.com/five-piece-brass-inlay-bushing-set-mssu-959-596.asp?search=inlay&searchmode=2
Perfect, thanks!
Router table
A lot of great advice on the topic of router tables, my addition is consider using the extension table on the table saw as the base for your router table. I have mine router set into this area and it is rarely in the way of a table saw operation. When it is I drop the router and then reset to the original height from the router adjustment. The size of the incra jig is less of an issue when you use the table saw as the platform as the saw is already large and by combining the two machines you save floor space and foot steps.
Robert.
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