Router table pics in ABPW, maybe...

Folks -

Hey all! I've been working on a project and "tweaking" the router table as part of the process. I posted pics "over there" but as usual, *I* can't see them.... If'n any of you are interested in the router table featured in FWW a few months ago, I went ahead and built it. My only real complaint is that FWW doesn't give a complete set of dimensions for a project, and so you have to deduce more than you might otherwise.... That explains some of the additional "cooling holes" in this project (don't worry, the magic smoke won't go through them for some reason) Now that I have this one built, I can already see some mods to make it v 2.0.

I haven't had a real router table before, 'ceptin' for a cheap HF benchtop unit - I think my panel raiser bit weighed more than the sheet metal in that one...

Let me know what y'all think!

John Moorhead

Reply to
John Moorhead
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John, thanks for publishing your work. I've dog-eared that issue of FWW looking at the router table. It reminded me of a combination of great ideas and a few foo-foo ideas -- needing to create enough material to fill out the word-count for an article. The part of this router table that really intrigues me is the horizontally mounted router. I *think* this is a great idea, but I've not actually used one. I'd hate to go to all that effort only to find out it was just fodder for a magazine article. It appears you've built the table in complete form, but have not actually committed it to use all the features (as evidenced by the "permanent" roundover bit in the horizontal position). I'd be very intererested in hearing your actually use experience with it. It seems the horizontal mounting would be useful for making mortises quickly. Also, how well does the melamine board workout for rigidity?

Best regards, Bob Davis Houston, Texas

Reply to
BillyBob

BB -

I think that the table is worth building, with some caveats and improvements - like I said, 2.0 is on the horizon...

The horizontal setup is useful, as a mortiser, but it also is an attachment for several of the other dongles on the table. As for your remark about is a horizontal router "really useful" - I haven't changed the bit in the router because it is a *real* PITA, - the router, not the table, and, I use that profile of bit quite often. I have a mortiser, so the attraction for me is to be able to construct a setup for doing sliding dovetails and tapered sliding dovetails.

A couple of the mods that I made going it, were that I made the top and back apron out of a layer of plywood covered by another layer of Melamine MDF, so it's 1 1/2" thick. That change obviated several others in the process, but I didn't think that a single layer of MDF would have the durability and rigidity that I wanted.

As for the back panel, no.... I should have used something stronger there, or a double thickness. Its' okay for now, but with the DeWalt setup (Router held in the normal "hand held" position, but above the table, there is some flex. It stays put and the jointery, so far, is true, but I am thinking either of using two thicknesses of plywood, building a stronger framed panel, or getting some thick aluminum or something to make it stronger.

Keep my email addy handy on this if you're going to build one yourself. Many of the measurements in FWW are erronious, arbitrary, or missing altogether - I was kind of surprized that such a good idea, on paper, was made much more difficult to construct only because of several editorial lapses. I expect that in Wood Magazine, but not FWW. You could also modify the setup so that one router would work in all three positions - but it would be much easier if you had multiple routers that you could dedicate to the table. It all depends on your priorities.

In using the table as a standard router table, it works like a dream. With the fence and the DC hooked up I had ZERO chips - usually I would have shavings scattered from hell to breakfast - and the quality of the cut was much better. I used it for doing lock miter joints and it worked great. In using the table as an "overhead" router, boy oh boy! - I used that set up for making some lap joints, and won't be going back to the dado stack for that one.

I robbed a keylock power switch from my jointer when I rewired it for 220, and have that plugged into a power strip for all three routers. I just turn the switch on for the router I want to use and I am all set. I may end up mounting a gooseneck lamp on the back of the table for better visability. I am already thinking that I could use the overhead router for doing raised panels - it would make things much easier to see, and still have all the benefits of using a traditional router table.

I made the table a little bit higher and a little bit larger than the plan and will shorten the table to bring it in line with the to-be-installed countertop down the road.

I can provide you with very specific measurements for things down the road, if'n you'd like...

John Moorhead

Reply to
John Moorhead

Which issue of FWW is it in?

[snip]
Reply to
Never Enough Money

Perhaps "The Ultimate Router Table" by John White, April, 2002?

Reply to
Never Enough Money

Found it. It the FWW "Tools and Shops" issue #153 for Winter 2001/2002.

Reply to
Never Enough Money

Reply to
John Moorhead

You are probably correct but I am looking at an article in Fine Woodworking Tools & Shops Issue #153 entitles "The Ultimate Router Table" by John White.

Was it published twice? Is the later one that you refer to an updated version?

Reply to
Never Enough Money

Ok John - I got it. The article "The Ultimate Router" by John White was published, as I said, in the Fine Woodworking Tools & Shops Issue #153 Winter 2001/2002. The article you cited is entitled "A Versatile Router Table" and is authored by Kevin McLaughlin. It is, as you said, in Fine Woodworking Issue #169, April 2004.

Now I've just been reading both of them and to be honest, the "Ultimate Router Table" seems a much better design to me. In fact, I beeleive that combining some of the ideas from "The Ultimate Router Table" with Norm Abram's router table desing woudl produce the "Ultimate Ultimate" router table.

But that's just me. To each his own.

Reply to
Never Enough Money

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