How thick is your top? I want to get an insert for my table so for now I didn't cut the hole in the top, just used a hole saw drill and drilled a hole for the bit to some out and drilled the holes in the top to bolt the base on. I don't get the full height of the bit but enough for now and the holes didn't have to be perfect since I wold cut that section out later.
I have a Ryobi RE180PL router that I'd like to temporarily put in a router table. I'm building the table myself, with the intention of putting a good (ie. Hitachi M12V) router in it. In the meantime, I need a cheap way to attach this Ryobi without wasting a $40 insert.
My plan for the future is one of the Rockler (or similar ) aluminum inserts for the big router, but if I cut a smaller hole for now and used 1/2" plywood as an insert, would it work? This Ryobi, unfortunately, has only 2 screw holes to attach to a plate, so the hole pattern in a good plate could not be used with another router.
The cheaper the better for a temporary fix. Any suggestions?
Rob
You could use half inch birch ply, if the cutout is small enough, but it might be too flexible if you let it get too large in either dimension. Regular A-C (or worse) ply probably won't serve as well. You could glue two pieces of half inch A-C together, and make a pretty stiff plate. I use that configuration for my reloading presses, and mount them in the bench vise, and it works very well.
Kevin
Umm I just took a large Bosch out of my router table and replaced it with a Triton router. Just drill new holes to fit the new router. You do not need to buy a new plate just because you are replacing your old router.
I have a penolic plate I no longer use. It came with my Benchdog table and I've since added a lift. It has been drilled out to fit a Craftsman and Bosch routers. It is 11 1/4 x 8 1/4. If interested, let me know. Of course you can always buy a new Benchdog plate to fit right in when you upgrade. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net
Last night I laminated 2 pieces of 3/4" MDF to use as the top. I'll wrap it in hard maple, so it should be pretty sturdy. The MDF chunk is 24"x36" without the maple and weighs a good amount.
My wife and I are moving into a house in 4 weeks, so after the move I'll build a base with drawers for the top to sit on. I thought about just mounting the router to the bottom of the top, but at 1.5" thick, I'll have no bit sticking up.
On another question, if I put poly over shellac over this MDF, will it make it nice and slick? If I use paste wax, will that rub off on whatever wood I'm routing?
It's my first router table (hell, the Ryobi that I bought this December was my first router), so I'm trying to do it right.
Rob
snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net (RobW) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:
You're going to wrap the edges, right?
Congratulations!
If you cut part way through the MDF, say with a router, in the shape of your router base, you would have a usable router table now, since, as another poster mentioned, that piece will be removed when you install the plate later. Your Ryobi should be up to this. And it doesn't have to be all that neat. It's temporary.
You can use shellac, then poly, then a furniture wax, without an anti-slip agent. Or you could use shellac & wax, and skip the poly. Or skip the shellac. If it were my choice, and it isn't, I'd pass on the poly. But if not, I'd use water-based.
Google the posts Unisaw A100 made recently on "An Ultimate Router Table", and the posts he made on "A GoToHell Router table". Both designs work. In fact, the simple on is required, in order to make the fancy one properly.
Sort of 1) Cut a piece of 3/4" cabinet plywood to 24" square. 2) Mark the base of your plunge router in the middle, and drill two mounting holes, as well as a 7/8" hole for the bit. 3) Screw several tubafors under the front and back edges, for stiffness. 4) Clamp a straight piece of hardwood on for a fence. 5) Clamp or screw these to a couple of sawhorses. 6) Make noise, chips, and furniture. 7) Adjust as needed.
You may find, as I have, that the fancy one is no longer nearly as urgent as once thought.
Have fun with the new place. Beware of wife storing her stuff in your shop. DAMHIKT
Patriarch
I was thinking about that, but then concerned that I'd have no way to change bits without unbolting the router. I was hoping that a piece of 1/2" ply as an insert would work, but apparently not strong enough. This morning somebody sent me an email that they'll send me a phenolic plate they have sitting around and not using. Can't complain about that.....
She's already threatened it.....AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN! (I can say that because she's not sitting here watching me type.) Actually, our plans with the house were to split the basement, each getting half. When she saw the basement in the model (it's a new house we're building) she said I need more room for a shop, why not use 3/4 of it.... what a woman!
And you don't think you'll end up paying for that extra 1/4 some way or another? Either now or in the future... There's no such thing as a free lunch. ;-)
Dave
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