To build or to buy, router tabletop

[sheldon.mandel]

words to live by... I made the same mistake.

Also, the miter track is pretty much a waste of time - especially if it in't square to the bit (did that too!)

shelly

[HerHusband]

Mac,

My homebrew router table consists of a Porter Cable 693 router mounted to the underside of one end of my rolling workbench. I built a ONE piece fence out of a couple of scrap boards with a notch in the fence big enough to clear my largest bit. My high-tech adjustment system consists of a hole drilled in one end and a 3/8" pivot bolt that fits though a hole in my workbench. I swing the fence to wherever I need it, then lock it in place with a C-clamp at each end. Very crude, but I can adjust it accurately, and it works well. I've built dozens of cabinet doors and whatnot using that setup.

I got fancy this summer and rebuilt the fence with birch plywood and boxed in the back side with a hole drilled to attach my shop vac. Now I can perform router operations with minimal dust. A minor, but welcome improvement.

Anthony

[Larry Blanchard]

OK, you caught me. Why does it have to be square to the bit? Seems it would work at any angle. A pivoting fence does.

[Brian Henderson]

True, it shouldn't matter if it's square to the bit. It has to be square to the fence though.

[B A R R Y]

Both.

I have an assortment of shims that fit between the fence and fence support hanging on the unseen side of the table. The shims are made from .010-.080" Evergreen Scale Models sheet styrene, sold in hobby shops, and some thinner brass shims. When I loosen the two fence face screws from behind, the shims drop in.

With certain profiles, say triple beads, shimming out the outfeed fence prevents snipe at the end of the part.

If you're not as lazy as I am, dado shims can also be dropped into the space between the fence face and support, but that's an 8' walk for me.

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[mac davis]

ahhh... make sense, now... I was thinking that it was for the same purpose as the notch in my fence, just for bit clearance... I'll incorporate a 2 piece fence into the table I'm designing..

Thanks!

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[B A R R Y]

In reality, any track is theoretically always square to the bit. _Somewhere_ on the bit...

If the track is square (parallel or perpendicular) to the fence or table edges is another story. Mine isn't perfect, and I really don't care!

If I really need it parallel to the fence, I tap the fence into place.

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[mac davis]

I just bought this from Lee Valley for my next table..

give you the choice of under the table adjustments, or just lifting the sucker out and using it free hand.. Can't beat their guarantee, either.. lol

I don't bend, lean or stoop anymore unless I really have to.. lol

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[B A R R Y]

Not in my experience, with a 4" dust collection hose attached and suitable holes. I've used my enclosed table for hours on end and the router actually stays cooler than during steady handheld use.

My DC would choke if the only makeup air came though the bit hole, so I have additional holes in the cabinet that allow plenty of air flowing over and through the motor. Outside the table, the fence collector and cabinet collector are wye'd to a 6" DC trunk.

In addition to the forced cool air, another factor in my experience may be the internal fan on the motor continuing to spin as the router runs without a load between work pieces.

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[Ron]

******************************************** Do you where I could find the plans.?

[Hoosierpopi]

I built mine out of a salvaged table top from a Subway sandwich shop/ I went to an aluminum place and bought some scrap angles and rectangular tube (3' x " x 36") to form a fence /fence support. Built a base useing drawers salvaged from on old heavy office desk. Having said that, I also looked at the 99$ ryobi router/table package at Home Depot last night and realized that a manufactured fence can outshine any I might construct. Look at teh way they adjust the left side of the fence from flush to proud and think about replicating that in the home shop!

I would like to afford one of those cast iron tops - but can't justify the expense.

THe fellow who made the suggestion for using a shaper - heavy duty base and motor, albeit lower speeds, was right on. Once I built my first router table (this is my third) I realized I wanted to exchange my PC690 for the heftier 3.5" HD router (3715?) . And it would seem that the addition of speed controls to the PC690 line was s[specifically designed to allow one to reduce the speed (the switch on mine went and I traded it out for a fixed speed model).

So, thee's another two-cents worth for you to mull ove.

[mac davis]

It would be a hell of a long walk for me, Barry... I'm still using a wobble blade and the nearest real tool store is about 120 miles North.. lol

I've been looking at Pat Warner's site and might make a simpler version of his fence, with knobs to "micro adjust" the individual sides of the fence.. I don't really do the stuff that requires them or have the skill level to use them, but might as well build them in just in case..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[alexy]

Better than that, DEFINE "square to the bit" The only two relationships between the fence and the bit that seem important is distance and fence parallel (vertically) to the axis of the bit. I don't see what "Square to the bit" could possibly mean.

[Lew Hodgett]

Ya pays ya money, ya takes ya pick.

On one hand, a couple of saw horses, a 36x36 piece of 3/4 MDF with a 2" hole in the center and a router fixed base centered on it and your in business.

Add a couple of C-Clamps and a straight edge, you have a fence.

Simple to set up, then knock down and store when you are finished.

On the other hand, a router station such as the NYW version.

More complex, more time to build, more cost, but more function (Bit storage, dust collection, etc).

I've done both, they both work.

As I said, "Ya pays ya money, ya takes ya pick."

Lew

[noreaster]

Thanx for all of your input. I will be making my mine with 2 3/4" MDF with formica on both sides, the size I'm still thinking about. The fence will be

2 piece and shimable, maybe micrometer adjustable ( I have a few I could use). It'll have a T track in front an top and I could add a upper fence to make it taller when needed. I could make offset zero clearance inserts that could have up to 4 patterns on each. The plate I would get from rockler, just drill a hole for the router raizer that I have install on my Hitichi M12 ( which I just saw at a show in York, Pa, Sat for 89.95). The bench I would have to think about, I don't have the room for one, but a enclosed foldable for a bench would do. I'll post some drawings in the REC when I all this info figured out.

[Brian Henderson]

Especially since the bit is round and spinning, there's nothing to be "square" to. You can be square to a blade, but not to a bit.

[noreaster]

[mac davis]

I keep it simple, maybe because I'm bad at math and theory.. My current fence is 2 layers of 3/4 MDF with bolts through them, slots in the table and wing nuts.. If I need more or less bit exposed, I move either end.. all I'm adjusting is space between the edge of whatever I'm routing and the bit, so it just doesn't seem to include rocket science.. Then again, I have been called a space cadet..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[Brian Henderson]

Sure, I pointed that out before that you can be square to the fence, but not the bit because there's nothing about the bit to be square to.

[Bob the Tomato]

I'd like to see that, when you get time.

Regarding Incra: just do it. You won't be sorry.