Replies

1. 
   hjherbenson | Apr 01, 2006 06:14am | #1

   Take a look at woodpeck.com while your at it.

1. 
   miller | Apr 01, 2006 07:33am | #2

   Thank you.  I cheked it out,  and it appeared to have quality at a good price.

1. 
   John_D | Apr 01, 2006 09:42am | #3

   I have a Bosch 2 1/4 HP router, and the associated Woodpecker QuickLift.  I love it, it's solid and fast and very easy to use.  Reasonably priced IMHO (I bought the aluminum version).My goal is for my work to outlast me.  Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.

2. 
   forestgirl | Apr 01, 2006 07:26pm | #4

   I have the Veritas table top from Lee Valley, and love it.  I bought it used from a Knots member.  Have not bought the fence yet, but have it on my list for sure, as a friend from a couple of years ago used it and the sled quite a bit and said it performed admirably.

   I sweated over the router table decision for ages, finally settled on the Veritas, and then had this one fall in my lap.  It's advantages are numerous:  forever flat; universal mounting system underneath so any router will fit right into it with no need for making insert plates; magnetic accessories work with it (Grip Tite featherboards, magnetized dust chute, whatever you can imagine); affordable and well engineered.  You can mount it to a simple frame (mine is made of oak 1x2 and hinged off the side of my table saw) or build a full-fledged cabinet for it.

   There are other Knots users who have opted for the Veritas.  Hopefully, they'll see the thread and contribute.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

1. 
   Glaucon | Apr 01, 2006 07:52pm | #6

   I have the LV. I agree with your desription, and would emphasize the "forever flat" part. I used a table at a shop that sagged beneath the weight of the router. The coined steel of the LV will never do that, and I think that is the key feature for any table. I have a big PC router mounted underneath mine and it hasn't sagged a bit (coined steel is funny that way). The fence is very useful, particularly for cutting moldings.Glaucon

   If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 01, 2006 11:28pm | #7

   "I have a big PC router mounted underneath mine and it hasn't sagged a bit "  BG will be glad to hear that, he's considering the Veritas.  What does "coined" mean??forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   Glaucon | Apr 02, 2006 04:59pm | #9

   "Coined" generally refers to a metal that is stamped,as opposed to being cold-rolled or ground into shape.If you do decide to buy the fence FG, get the video- it has a lot of useful demos.Glaucon

   If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...

1. 
   forestgirl | Apr 02, 2006 08:14pm | #10

   "get the video"  Actually, I already have it.  Can't remember why or how, but I do.   :-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

3. 
   BruceS | Apr 01, 2006 07:31pm | #5

   Personally I'am pretty fond of the JessEm router tables.  Top notch quality and performance.

   Work Safe,  Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

   Bruce S.  Counter Sales, Tech Rep.  http://WWW.EAGLEAMERICA.COM

    

    

4. 
   Spalted | Apr 02, 2006 06:25am | #8

   I know this is sort of off topic but it may be a boon to someone. I came into possession of some free 3/4solid surface countertop scraps and although they stank like machined plastic when i routed the fence adjustment slots, the clearance hole, the miterguage slot, etc. it is the cats pajamas! The thing is dead flat, slippery, heavy and stable and best of all it cost me WAY less than one of those fancy systems. I don't need any universal mounting plates- i made my own mounting holes. I can clamp it anywhere, I was able to make dust collection nearly 100% effective and the thing is infinitly accessorizable!! (lol is that a wird?)

   I know its sometimes counter productive to reinvent the wheel, but just curious about how other ppl feel about making their own tables?

5. 
   bones | Apr 03, 2006 06:47pm | #11

   I went with the woodpecker PRL and built Norms Table. For the fince I bought the Incra twin linear. For the router I purchased the PC 7518 3hp. It's a heck of a set up.  Good luck on the choice.

6. 
   Lataxe | Apr 03, 2006 10:27pm | #12

   I've had a LV table with all the options, except the pin routing arm, for 4 years now.  As others have noted, it stays flat and is very easy to set up and use with any router.  The fence, cross sled and all the other parts work exceptionally well too - they are all designed and made with care and precision, using very good quality materials. 

   The fence design is particularly good, with lots of T-tracks for mounting hold-downs, stops, guards, sacrificial fences etc.. The micro-adjuster allied with the pivoting fence design also means that super-accuracy is possible.

   The cross cut sled is a very superior mitre gauge; it's one drawback is that it only operates at 90 degrees, although it is possible to mount wedge-shaped wooden fences, using the T-slots, to create other angles.  I've made a wedged fence to create a 45 degree cutting angle, for instance.

   One exception to the genrally excellent design of the LV system is the bit-jack, which works but is not designed as well as the rest of the system, in my view.  I found it difficult to get the jack set up on a Dewalt 625 for every and all heights that I wanted the bit raised to, for various tasks.  I also found the jack's fine adjuster rather tedious to operate.  But this might be my impatience as much as the limitations of the bit-jack design.

   The first router that lived in the LV was a Dewalt 625 - a heavy 3HP machine that worked well with the table apart from bit changing and router-raising. 

   The LV can be mounted on a plywood frame that has an arm for holding the whole table and router tilted up so you can change the bit more easily than otherwise - but it was still a fiddle.  I used the aforementioned bit jack to raise the router, at first; but eventually changed it for the double bar device used to control router height on the woodrat.  This double bar works even better under a router table than it does with the woodrat.

   I've now mounted a Triton (Australian) plunge router of similar power to the Dewalt in the LV.  This is a much better option as its collet can be wound above the table for bit changing, which needs only one spanner as the spindle automatically locks when the collet is raised above the table (and the motor cannot then be started). 

   The Triton also has one of its handles settable so that it can be rotated to wind the bit up and down, as well as a second fine adjuster with a 1mm-per-revolution pitch.  I use one of those LV wedges with 0.1mm gradations spread out along the wedge to measure bit height above the table.  The Triton adjuster plus the LV wedge are, together, very accurate.

   The Triton, although usable as a normal plunge router, is designed specifically to work well in a router table.  It works particularly well in the LV.

   Having seen and played with a number of router tables owned by woodworking friends, I still prefer the LV.  Other tables have one or two advantages over the LV - a bigger table top; a groove for a standard mitre gauge; a sliding carriage, in one case - but no table I've seen has the overall engineering quality and usability of the LV. 

   Most other tables are also a lot thicker than the LV, which means some short bits are difficult to use or you have to resort to a collet extension, which are rather worrying things - a series of nuts, shafts and extra collets all whirling at up to 25,000 rpm!

   The Triton mounted in a fully-equiped LV is, in my view, the ultimate router table.

   Lataxe