I’ve had a Porter Cable router table with a 690 PC router for the past 7 years, and am thinking of upgrading. I’ve been mostly satisfied with the table with the exception of the metal washer inserts for the router opening. When running, they vibrate significantly and are ~1/16″ lower than the table surface, which leads to dips in some finer cuts.
I’m looking at tables by Bench Dog, Veritas, and other companies and wanted some real world feedback/opinions. I may pair it with a 3+ HP router, and any recommendations are welcome there as well. I’m looking to spend $300-400 for both router and table (maybe a pipe dream). Thanks for any advice.
Replies
Troutspot,
If you do an advanced search in the gallery with the words "Router Table" you'll see a nice home made router table using the plans from New Yankee Workshop.
Hey Troutspot,
There are numerous good selections out there - depending on what you want to spend. Years ago I purchased the porta cable table and out grew it. I removed the top of the table and set it into the center of some special order 1-1/4 inch plywood measuring 36 in. x 25 in. I built a 2x4 pedestal to support the entire table. My router is an 8 amp # 690 porta cable. Using the fence supplied with the table and extending the miter gauge slot from end to end through the plywood - this table has done everything I needed it to do. I also made the height of the router table to conform with my table saw - so I could push it over against the outfeed end for long boards or 4 x 8 sheets. The pedestal has a shelf on the bottom to hold bits, the fence when I'm not using it, etc.
Regards,
SA
There's lots of support here at Knots for making your own RT, and I can understand why. However, should you not choose to go that route (also understandable), I'll throw my hand up for the Veritas system. I have the table top only (which I got used) and am waiting for the economy to turn so I can get the fence.
If you get the Veritas, you don't have to change anything to mount a different router in it. The top will stay flat forever. The accessories are very reasonably priced. It's very portable, even if you set it on a cabinet. You can use magnetic accessories. BrianMc has the whole system, so he might pitch in here and vote too. Last I heard, he was extremely pleased with it.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
You are going to get two strong schools of thought - build your own or buy. I built my own but was dissatified because I didn't have a dedicated router for the table. Changeover times - even minutes for me was too much. I finally decided on the 1/4 inch thick steel top made by Veritas - and I did buy the fence which was well worth it.
I make a lot of small run mouldings and I need all the height I can get from a router bit - homemade tops can be limiting if you attach the router to the bottom of a 3/4 inch thick top. Drop in router bases are fine but accuracy can be a problem. with the Veritas, the router is mounted in 10 - 15 seconds and I have lost only 1/4 inch in height - the thickness of the steel top. It's taken me 5 years, but I now have a great combination - the Veritas top and fence and the Porter-Cable 3.25 hp variable spped router. My set-up times are minimal, I have lots of power and can cut a variety of moulding contours that I couldn't have done as easily on a homemade table
Since buying a used 3 hp Rockwell shaper for $700, I've used my router table maybe 2x in the last 7 vrs. Delta sells a router bit collet for that shaper which works like a dream, and the weight of the shaper means I can use a power feed if I want to.
Hi, As Jamie said, I purchased the Veritas table system a short while back and am very pleased with it. High quality engineering, Simple to set up and very user friendly. It will probably be my last Router table and I'm still relatively young!
I put my Milwaukee 3.25 Hp in as a dedicated router and the combo is hard to beat.
About the only thing I would do differently would be to pass on the Wood table stand and mount it on an extension wing of my table saw. I need to get with Jamie again about how she did it. How about it Jamie?
Good luck...Brian
Ok, you asked for it. The last three pictures on >>this page<< show the Veritas table top and its frame, mounted off the left tablesaw wing. Very basic arrangement that shows how simple it can be, and was done this way just to get it up and running. Nowhere to go but up -- cabinet, dust collection, bit drawers, all that good stuff!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yeah, like a piece of plywood with a hole in it ;-o
Man you are good on the keyboard there girl! Thanks for the info. Did you get a manual with the specs and templates for the table base when you got your table? If not I can send a copy of them to you by email or snail mail whichever you prefer if you want them.
Good job on mounting the table!
Brian
D%MN server ate my reply. Sheesh I hate that. Thanks Brian, but I got the manual and videotape from Veritas right after the table arrived (remember when you were spending all that dough at Veritas? 'Bout that time).
One little glitch on that frame mounting -- I used the 2x2 that was from an earlier tabletop mount, and now when I lift up the Veritas, the back edge slips into the crack between the frame and the 2x2, creating some stress. Once I settle on an outfeed table for the saw and figure out where the saw will "live" I'm going to put some meat into that RT mount -- get the accessories in a cabinet and a better arrangement for propping up the table.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Hi Jamie, Bet you have already thought of this, but if I'm picturing it right, to keep the table from slipping in that crack, how about a dowel or .25 X .25 piece of wood glued in place directly behind the table when it's in the frame?
If there's any room of course. This may be too simplistic , but then I'm pretty simple minded!
That is one sweet bench.
Later, Brian
The best router table? The next one you'll make. The second best? The last one you made.
i use 2 router tables in my production shop, the veritas with a 690 and the frued with a hitachi 3 1/2 horse
both are great tables, the veritas is not cheap but the engineering and accessories are great, the frued is great for high production runs of moldings and has very fine adjustments
caulking is not a piece of trim
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