Router Cabinet vs Another option

Take a look at the one Norm did on the NYW.

It certainly filled all my needs.

Used a commercial plate with inserts for various diameter openings.

Have fun.

Lew

Instead of using a dedicated router table/cabinet, a lot of folks mount their router on the TS extension and find it handy.

Basically it is a matter of personal choice.

There is no reason why you can't use your unifence for a router fence, although an addition like Uni-T fence in the link makes it easier to do so:

Mounting it under 1-1/2" of material is going to seriously limit your bit choices. There is no need for that much 'deck' to hold that machine. Make a square hole with rounded corners with rabetted inside edges which can hold a slab of 1/2" solid surface. Mount the router to it. If you make more than one insert, you can also make a blank one which will give you a closed in extension top. Slabs of Corian and such are not that hard to obtain from a fabricator. Just ask for a couple of vanity bowl cut-outs. A 12-pack of Erdinger Weiss will get you 2 or 3 at one fabrication shop I know of..

Sonny,

I got a router table from Rockler, mounted it on wheels, and added an Incra fence thingee. I don't see how you can get along without something like this. My dado blade is hardly used anymore. The Incra fence gives repeatable adjustments.

Oh, I added a remote on-off switch - that made it perfect.

Sonny, I forgot to mention that it frees up your table saw if you have that set with a particular fence or miter setup. That way you can make repeatable cuts on the table saw without re-setting it up. Hope this helps.....

Don't look now, but the boy has TWO unisaws ... sounds like he could spare one for a router setup. :)

That's funny. Since I got my better table saw, I can't wait to get a good dado set so I don't have to use the router. :-)

What do you mean by remote? I use a momentary foot switch for mine. I like the idea of it turning off if something dangerous happens and I had to duck for cover.

Agreed. I don't like cutting dadoes on the router if I can do it on the table saw. The cuts are cleaner, it takes far less time (not counting the time it takes to set up the dado blade, of course), and you don't have to make multiple passes if the cuts have any significant depth.

Lots of good advice and tips. Thanks guys.

Several years ago, we ripped out all the Corian from my brother's house. I saved it.... at least 50 sq ft of it. Multiple plates, rather than inserts, sounds like an easy option.

Two 16" Uni-T fences with UHMW fence face will be ordered soon. Wish they'd offer 24" lengths.

A "remote" switch was concerned, also. I didn't know what a momentary foot switch is, but I see Woodcraft has one for $20.... looks perfect! I like the push-button type action, rather than a toggle type mechanism.

On another note, my nephew and I recently installed new decking (double layered) and re-shingled half the shop roof.... about 900 sq ft (inclusive of a 30' X 12' backside overhang). Little by little, it's getting completed. *Decking material - free, salvaged from construction work sites, along with lots of framing stock. Shingles (architectural) - $7 a bundle from Lowes' "damaged" department.

Sonny

I find it is more accurate, and easier to set up, with fewer chances of error to use a dado stack. Cutting across tall bookshelf sides requires a decent sled. When making dados like that, a RAS is probably the most useful....but ONLY for that job. (I throughly hate those things.) The big advantage of a RAS, is that material thickness can vary without it cause grief when running a whole library full of shelves. A router to do dados is a PITA...unless the thing is mounted on a gantry.

I'd like to do the math on how much blade there is to cut with the dado vs router bit.

Two blades at 24k rpm at whatever speed you're feeing the stock. vs.

Really? With a clamping straightedge guide, they go pretty fast.

With two clamping straightedge guides and a couple spacer blocks, they go even faster.

How do you get within a router base's radius of the end of the board?

What size is the dust and how efficient is the removal?

Tipspeed at 3500 rpm of an 8" stack...vs a dinky 3/4"(?) routerbit at

Sorry, I don't understand.

The dado stack is more efficient. No contest.

If you're using the straightedges as dado guides with the base as the pilot, cutting a dado within a half-a-router-base of the end of a board requires the second straightedge to be off the end. ...unless I don't understand what you're doing.

Routing to the edge of a board using a straight edge is no problem if you use a square/rectangular base.