I am now happily retired and anxious to re-organize my shop and start in on a looooooooong list of projects. One of the first projects is to replace my TS extension table with a router table/cabinet, build John White’s TS extension table, and add an Incra fence to the whole kit and kaboodle.
I’m wondering if any of you have done something similar and would be willing to share any photos or designs you’ve done in SU. I’m also open to suggestions and tips from anyone who has gone down this road and stumbled on a rock or two!
Thanks in advance,
Sheri
Replies
Where are you located? Nothing in the profile!
I ask because of the Incra. If near me (Chicago) you may have a real deal! I have some of the Incra 'things' that work very well but I found that they did not fit my style of woodworking.. Whatever that is?
I found a great idea on the Net. I have not made one but seems almost perfect for a small shop. Have a look.. Sort of like Norm's but I think better in the raising with levers. No plans that I know of but should be easy to figgure out from the height of you TS and casters used.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZyguUCdw4s&feature=related
The router table I use most often is attached to the fence rails of my table saw. Cast iron (BenchDog) for the router and the extension table of MDF and poplar. Several years old and still 'works for me'. I believe BenchDog is now Rocklers...
Edited 2/5/2009 9:07 pm by WillGeorge
Wow that's an interesting project. Thanks for the link.
I'm in Southern California, so nowhere near you, but thanks for the thought. My main objective in combining the extension wing and router table is to give me a little more room in the shop. I have a router table that I built over 12 years ago and it works great, but the way my shop is set up, I have no place to keep it permanently. Every time I want to use it, I have to wheel it out and attach the dust collector and power, then disconnect and move after I'm done. I know that isn't THAT big a deal, but since I now have the time, and will be spending more time out there, I'd just like to make the shop a little more user/time friendly.
I also have a Bench Dog router table/cabinet that a friend gave me which is great, but again, it takes up the floor space. I wanted to incorporate the top from that table into the TS extension, but it's not the right size. Once I put my mind to it, I'm sure I could figure a way to make it work anyway!
Thanks again for your input.
Sheri
I have no place to keep it permanently. Every time I want to use it, I have to wheel it out and attach the dust collector and power, then disconnect and move after I'm done.
Been working that way fer' years! When I move all the stuff and to tired to hook up the vacuum I give up woodworking!
Sheri,
Not familiar with your Benchdog setup but could it be adapted to fit between the rails in your TS? I'm also a fan of a TS/Router combo, like 2fers anytime I can. Woodshop is also space challenged.
I'm rearranging my woodshop and had a router mounted into a homemade top in the right extension wing as you want to do. The old top has a lot of mileage on it so I thoought it's time to replace and to fit the new saw would have to be made bigger.
If the Benchdog top can't be adapted would making a new top work?
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Hi Bob. The problem with the BenchDog top is that it's 1" deeper than the TS. I haven't given it too much thought yet but I guess I would probably be able to make up that inch on the back side of the TS when I attach the rails. I haven't bought the Incra yet, and am not sure what the rails look like or how they attach.
If that doesn't work, I'll make a new top.
Thanks,
Sheri
Greetings.
Wow... What a coincidence! Today, I just finished converting my TS extension table into a router table!
My basic guide was the "Stow and Go Router Table" (http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ProjectsAndDesign/ProjectsAndDesignArticle.aspx?id=28007)
Here's a picture. It was quite easy to make actually. You just need a good template plan for routing out the through-hole and rabbet.
Table insert is the Rousseau 3509.
Good luck.
Tony
Hi Sheri
My addition is quite basic. At one time I enclosed the router with a cabinet, but returned to basics as, with the dust extraction I have, there is no advantage and just more clutter.
Here is my 15-year-old, 12" 2hp contractor tablesaw. It has a sliding table which works exceptionally well. That gets used for hardwood crosscuts - I do not do much in the way of ply or MDF. A recent addition was a Biesemeyer-type fence.
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The router table extension is to the right. This began life as a kitchen counter top. It is bolted to the cast iron table and the fence. A compact triangulated support, from mild steel, helps keep everything rigid and stable.
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I built a router fence out of aluminium section. This makes it easy to duct for dust control (the connection is just behind the yellow fingers, whioch doubles as a guard). It has MDF sliding faces. The router fence is held to the tablesaw fence with clamps. The advance is that it can be adjusted with some precision, and it can be removed just as easily.
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Hope this helps.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Thanks Tony and Derek. Part of my dilemma is whether to just make the router table top, or add a cabinet beneath it.
I'll throw your suggestions into the mix!
Sheri
Sheri,
Leave it open and try it. Get your DC hooked up, road test it for a while, see what you like/don't like. Go from there. You may decide you don't like having the router housed there. Can recycle the top and put it on a rolling stand.
Just suggesting to take it a step at a time so you don't go to all the trouble of making something that you might want to change later. I've found doing that I often get new ideas as I use the tool and evolve the rest.
Kinda like OJT (On the Job Trainig). Hey that might not work for you. We all have different thangs in our woodshops. To me that's what makes this enjoyable.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 2/15/2009 8:43 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Sheri
I can only agree with Bob (he's a LOT stronger than I am, and will thump me if I don't).
As I mentioned earlier, I've had it open and closed. I prefer it open now. I use a 2 hp fixed base GMC that is dedicated to the router table. It is fairly quiet for a noisy machine. If it were a screaming banshee I'd probably have a different set of priorities.
Dust control is excellent via the fence. Here is a picture of it stripped. The aluminium box section is closed in the centre section, and the vaccuum's hose has to deal with a small area.
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Here it is with a shop-built biscuiting fence. (This pivots on one end, and the open centre section houses the router cutter).
View Image
And the picture from before again ...
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Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek
How did you cut the slot in the Granite?
I have a cast iron Bench Dog? router table on my TS. I love it and then some! One tool I will NEVER knock!
Hi Will
It only looks like granite - it is laminex over a high density particle board. Very durable, flat and solid. It is now about 6 years old.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek
Thanks. I sort of thought is was not real stone but had to ask. You always give real answers! A real man with real answers!
Sheri,
Here's a picture of the router table extension I built for my TS. I added the box for dust collection. I was routing some MDF panels and the dust was awful even with dust collection in the fence.
Bill Gray
Thanks Bill, very nice design. MDF dust is a bugger!
I see you also made the router table top. Is it a lamination or torsion box? Any sagging?
I'm debating whether to buy the top from Woodpecker or make one myself.
Thanks.
Sheri
It's formica on top of 2 pieces of 3/4" MDF banded with maple. I also put a strip of maple on the top in which to cut the miter slot. No sagging even with a bench dog lift, PC 7518 and enclosure.
Hi Sheri - I just noticed this thread and recently completed a number of tablesaw addons like you described. If you have the time, you might want to build the entire router table cabinet lsomething like the one shown in this attachment. The drawers and doors encase all the bits and jigs I use and one of those knobs is the gate for the dust collection. The fence is a home-made beisemeyer fence that's easy to adjust and slide around, and (the best part) remove when necessary.
You also might like the drop down TS extension table. It flips up and down in a few seconds when I need the room and is quite sturdy.
The entire TS is resting in a movable cart on locking casters which is handy in my small shop.
As far as rock stumbling goes, the toughest part was getting the router table flat and smooth with the insert so that the wood didn't hit little speed bumps as it passed through, so be careful on this part.
Sheri:
I have a small shop off a 2-car garage that shares space with . . . 2 cars! So everything has to be mobile. I built this cabinet on casters to house a Delta contractor's saw and a router table extension. The router table top is a pre-fab unit from Rockler. The base of the cabinet is a torsion box to prevent twisting. Table saw accessories are stored in the small drawers on the left. Router bits and accessories are stored in drawers under the router compartment. This setup also provides good dust collection for the saw out of the back - always a tough task with a contractor's saw.
Thanks Scag_man and NYG, more good ideas and things to consider. I am liking the cabinet underneath the router table more and more. You can never have too much storage in a woodshop!
Sheri
You can never have too much storage in a woodshop!
AND You never mentioned MORE room!
"AND You never mentioned MORE room!"
Amen!!!
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