Router Table

[OutoftheWoodwork]

Hi guys:

So last week there was this table for sale up in Clare, Michigan. I reached out the to the ( | )hole trying to set up a time to purchase it. ($35 homemade table but looked like a really good build. See pics below.) Anyway, he tells me he was headed out of town to see family until the weekend. To make a long story short, he assured me he would reach out to me when he got back... nope. ( | )hole closed our chat and marked it as sold. NOT A HAPPY CAMPER right now!

So on to my dilemma... does anyone have a router table plan they would care to share similar to the one shown below? Also, I'm guessing the fence and the base plate and everything are a kit? Where can I get such a kit?

Ideas? Help?

[Nickp]

Barb...while you're hunting down what you might want for plans, take a peek at the Bosch 1171 or 1181...or the Craftsman version of the same tables (Bosch builds them for Craftsman). Build-yur-own generally evolve to eventually incorporate functions one might not have thought of. I say this without knowing how much you will use it or for what type of projects. By the time you build the table then buy the plate then buy a fence system, it adds up to real money. When I couldn't get to my table I took a 2'x2' piece of 3/4" ply, cut a big hole in the middle, clamped a 2x4 as a fence, screwed a router onto the bottom side, laid it across a couple of horses and in 15 mins I was routing in the driveway...not saying that's what you should do...

The 1181 has a really good fence system (split and offset) and can accommodate different routers. It also allows leveling and adjustment for the plate. Spare parts are still available at ereplacementparts.com...

Good luck on your search...

[Stick486]

Barb...while you're hunting down what you might want for plans, take a peek at the Bosch 1171 or 1181

2nd the motion...

[Stick486]

Adjustable Router table.jpg

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One-weekend Router Table.pdf

crestonwoodplans.pdf

[Cherryville Chuck]

A lot has to do with what you need and what you have space for. I've built some very functional tables for between $5-10 out of scrap parts so you don't need to spend a bunch of money. Grizzly used to sell the mounting plates for $13. They might be a little more now. Alternatively you could also make one out of 1/2 ply. Good quality 3/8" might work if you keep it as small as possible and take it out of the table when you aren't using it so it doesn't sag.

I built one for my son that had folding table legs under it so that he could fold it up and lean against a wall in his shed when he wasn't using it. James from RF had a piece of ply that he sat on an opened Workmate with a router mounted to the ply. He had cleats attached to the under side so that when it was fully opened the cleats were tight and the ply couldn't move around. Those are good solutions if storage space is limited.

If you need a big table surface then it pretty much has to be a free standing table. I have a small benchtop table as a backup and if I'm doing small items I prefer to use it. It's about chest high on me when it's on one of my benches which makes it easier to see what I'm doing.

A fence can be as simple as as a 2x4 with a cutout or a split fence. That's my preference and I can make one in about 4 hours and for about $10. I recommend you just clamp the fence to the table. I've tried the t-tracks and I can't find an advantage in them and clamping is simpler.

[OutoftheWoodwork]

Thanks for the input, guys.

First, the tabletops router you're referring to, I have that style. Mine is a Craftsman, and I hate it. I want a real router table that won't slide all over the place and wasn't made in China. Before you tell me to bolt my POS table down, I don't want to bolt it down. We've tried to "make do" with this one, and the slots, the fence, the whole thing is just junk. I can't rely on it.

I also don't want a 2x4 redneck fence (sorry, but I don't.) I'll dig till I get want I'm looking for, although, I'll admit, to have one that I would fold down out of the way sounds appealing, with the way the shop is set up. I went looking through these pdf files called shop notes I was given eons ago and found one, but I guess it will hit me when I see the right one.

Thanks again

[Cherryville Chuck]

I had a Crapsman years ago. They are a piece of junk. My bench top table is the steel one that LV used to make and sell. It's about 3/16" to a 1/4" thick solid steel so it's heavy and that helps keep it in place. I'm heading back out to my shop in a few minutes so I'll take a picture of the type fence I like to use and post it later. The Workmate idea is a pretty good one I think if storage is an issue. The real Workmate has a fairly wide stance and one side has a step that you can either weight down if needed or rest a foot on while you're working. The Workmates are also handy for a lot of other things. I sometimes use them for holding long boards that I'm putting an edge profile on with a handheld router and often as a sawhorse.

Some other things to consider: I don't lock my router plates down. The wood you're working on plus the weight of the router holds it down and it can't move sideways if the fit in the recess is good. Plus the fence is usually sitting on top of it. This allows you to take it out of the recess to change bits and make major height changes plus you can use the router freehand with the plate attached and it gives you a large bearing surface that helps keep the router flat on edge profiles. And it makes it easy to remove the router when you aren't using it so that the plate doesn't eventually sag from the weight.

Figuring out the small details first will help point you towards the table you want.

[Herb Stoops]

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Eagle+America ... &ia=images

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffsb&q=router ... &ia=images
HErb

[Cherryville Chuck]

Here are my fences. The first one is for my LV bench top table and is currently doing double duty as a bandsaw fence. It has sliding faces to close the gap around the bit which makes me feel a little safer. The second one is the one on my big table, basically the same thing but a little more refined. If you look close you'll see that the area behind the gap in the faces is enclosed and there is a hole in the back for my shop vac hose. That takes care of about 90% of the dust and debris. I also have the main switch mounted on top of the fence. It activates a plug in box mounted on the side of the cabinet that the router and shop vac plug into. After mounting the switch on the fence like that I would never do it any differently ever again. I like it that much.

[CharleyL]

The router table that was made for The New Yankee Workshop by Norm Abram seems to be the most versatile complete table and fence that I've seen and the plans and video are still available on the website. That being said, my favorite router table and fence is the one being sold by Sommerfeld Tools, but it's a big top and made of aluminum, so magnetic feather boards don't work with it. Marc Sommerfeld also offers plans and video for making his version of the cabinet to go with his router table top, which looks like a bigger version of Norm's. I like both, but haven't yet built my dream router table yet, so my plans may go either way on this, but not exactly for either. The big thing that I would do different, if going with either version would be no router insert, since errors can happen when using them, and to hinge the top and add gas springs to make it easy to access the router for adjustments, etc. The hinges would be at the back, so it lifts and opens like a car hood. I would likely add a swing-up safety brace to keep it from falling on me, but I'm always concerned about gas spring reliability. I don't bend down or work at or near floor level any more, because of metal knees. They work for walking OK, but are not as good for other needs as the originals, and my main reason for wanting a table that hinges up for router access. An insert that has any side play can add or subtract this movement from the fence position to bit dimension. A router that's mounted directly to the table does not have this problem.

Charley

[Cherryville Chuck]

Charley I have the steel top that Lee Valley used to make and sell. It has a quick clamp system for mounting routers so that basically any router can be used. At 3/16 to 1/4" in thickness it is very heavy. The biggest issue with it is changing bits. They show a base with hinges like you mention. I've never gotten around to it as, depending on what kind of system your router has for loosening a bit, it may not help to do that. I'm specking specifically to arbors that require only one wrench and require you to hold something with the other hand, Maybe if it was a bigger table so that there was more room between my hands and the brace holding the table up I'd be more comfortable with the idea.

A sloppy opening for an insert can be fixed by shimming. Wood veneer is a good material to make fine adjustments That problem is something I consider easy to fix. As for leveling, I had an idea on the last table I built to just drive a bunch of flat head screws into the rabbet and then turn them in or out to get the plate level. It takes a few minutes of adjusting to get them set but I haven't needed to readjust since in about 4 or 5 years since I did it the first time. That has turned out to be as viable a leveling method as any other.

[Herb Stoops]

I am partial to router lifts. I have the jessem lift in a jessem table, and a Rockler in a MCLS cast iron table. The rockler lift adjusts from the top and the Jessem from a hand crank from the end of the table
Herb

[CharleyL]

A Triton 3 hp router is what I had considered getting for this future router table. It can be cranked up and down from above the table, and it locks when fully up to allow using only one wrench on the collet. You don't need the other hand to hold a button in. Actually my DeWalt DW618 routers (3) all have the button lock, but I bought extra wrenches for each one because I hate the button. The button lock assembly can be unbolted and removed, but I can use the two wrenches without removing it, so it's still there if someone else is using one of my routers and prefers it.

I want the top of my next router table to hinge up, even though the Triton router can be cranked up and locked, because there are times when router access is needed, even if you don't need to access it for changing bits. The Sommerfeld table has no insert plate. Yes, I know they can be shimmed to avoid errors, but if the table lifts for router access, I see no reason to have to deal with an insert at all. They were originally used to make it easy to access the router for changing bits, but they are not needed if the router cranks up and locks easily for changing the bits, and no access to the router is needed for every bit change with a Triton 3 hp router. The hinged top wouldn't be needed often, but for a guy like me that can no longer get down on my knees to make adjustments, if it was only lifted once per year it would be worth having. I really like Sommerfeld's fence system too. It can quickly be moved and replaced by just one hold down at the operator end of the fence, pivoting on the far end hold down.

I would buy a Sommerfeld table today, if it was 24" or 28" and not 36". My shop is just way too small and crowded to allow giving up that much space for a big 3' X 3' router table. I would need an addition to the shop to put it in, and this isn't happening at my age. I have an RBI Routershop that would have to be sold to make room for a new router table. It has features that are nice to have, but it isn't designed to accept a router larger than 1 hp. I have an old B & D Commercial Duty router in it (my first router - almost 50 years old). It only takes 1/4" bits, so the table is pretty much only for smaller and lighter work. I tried to fit one of my DW618's into it, and got it to fit, but the support and sliding track of the table told me that this router was too much for it very quickly. Plastic slides don't handle 2 1/4 hp routers well. Just too much flex in the design for good results.

Charley

[RainMan]

Sounds like your ready for an Incra router table Barb . I bought the top and fence ,and plan on just making the base below . Something I can’t screw up too easily lol

But if I could do it again ,I’d purchase a lift and build a router table from scratch with multiple fences

[Herb Stoops]

I thought we spent 6 months on the last one you made and chucked in the dumpster. I think it was to go in the table saw,if I remember correctly.
Herb

[Stick486]

I thought we spent 6 months on the last one you made and chucked in the dumpster. I think it was to go in the table saw,if I remember correctly.
Herb

I remember that fiasco....

[RainMan]

I thought we spent 6 months on the last one you made and chucked in the dumpster. I think it was to go in the table saw,if I remember correctly.
Herb

Good memory , can’t get nothing past you guys lol . Ya but that was [D]ifferant

[Herb Stoops]

Uh-Oh,here we go again, I thought things were resolved when you bought that new top with the fence and just needed to build a box under it. You can still use that with a lift.
Herb

[Stick486]

Uh-Oh,here we go again

oh Lord....

[RainMan]

Uh-Oh,here we go again, I thought things were resolved when you bought that new top with the fence and just needed to build a box under it. You can still use that with a lift.
Herb

No that’s for a separate router table , yet another project that never got finished . Actually never really got started lol .

If I could start all over I’d build a table like Mike did with a router on each end . The more router tables the better imo, as I hate doing multiple setups . Getting things setup is what seems to take all the time.
I’ve only got so much room,so I’m going to have to be content with one router in my tablesaw wing , and a separate Incra router table , and a cnc router table after I buy the electronics and the spindle .
Come to think of it, I’m not even exactly sure what I’m actually even routering . Just seemed like a good idea at the time

Some good news for Stick though . I did finally buy a Bosch 1617 Router to see what all the hype is about

[DaninVan]

*shock!*...are you saying you're not satisfied with your Festool router?!
I know we're all on the same page when we say you can't have too many routers, but...???

[RainMan]

*shock!*...are you saying you're not satisfied with your Festool router?!
I know we're all on the same page when we say you can't have too many routers, but...???

No it’s fine , but I had to buy the Bosch to see what all the hype was about . I do like it more ergonomically, but haven’t used it much .
Will probably be buying a second one as there priced decently imo . I’ll put one in the table saw wing and one in the Incra table . I have a PC 690 in the tablesaw wing now and it suffices , but thinking upgrade to the Bosch to keep Stick happy.

[Herb Stoops]

What are you thinking about a lift for the Bosch has one built in and it can be adjusted above the table. You just have to reach under and lock and unlock.
If that is one of the old PC 690's were the best router made at the time and took a lot of abuse and kept on going. The standard of the industry at one time.
Herb

[RainMan]

What are you thinking about a lift for the Bosch has one built in and it can be adjusted above the table. You just have to reach under and lock and unlock.
If that is one of the old PC 690's were the best router made at the time and took a lot of abuse and kept on going. The standard of the industry at one time.
Herb

Yes it’s an old pc690 . Almost 20 years but still new looking . I tried the lift that came with the Bosch and didn’t care for it . Can’t remember what the issue was, but maybe I was too stupid to make it work properly

[Herb Stoops]

If you have the fixed base, not the plunge base.
It is pretty easy to use, it has to be mounted on a 617 plate, then the hole in the plate should match to the router. Just stick the hex wrench thru the plate and engage the router lift reach below, unclamp the router, and turn the wrench to height,reach under clamp the router, remove the wrench on top, your good to go.
Herb

[Herb Stoops]

This is how we did it in the good ole days when the router tables and lifts cost more than the family car.
HErb

[Cherryville Chuck]

The Hitachi M12V2 also has above table adjustment capability but they never advertised it. It works so well I've never considered a lift. I had my M12V (version one in other words) in my table to start with but it doesn't adjust from above. Having a Musclechuck on the V2 is a huge improvement. No worrying about getting to a spindle lock or needing two wrenches. The V3 (actually the VE model) seems to be a step backward.