router table plate questions

[Brikp]

OK - I think what I'm looking for is a router mounting plate.

I have a Crapman table for my PC690. I had to get their stupid adapter ring because of the stupid design, bla bla bla. Its such a pain to move my router in and out that I avoid using it. I do need to use my router in a table for my current project. I am thinking of diverting and trying out a better setup for my router.

Three options come to mind.

1) Build an extension table for my Griz 1023 and mount the router in there. I could add t-tracks an a fence or use the shopfox fence for some operations. All I would need is a suitable top and an insert. Does anyone have a recommendation for an inexpensive insert? Anything like this but less expensive? Drop the above plate into a built-in workbench.

3) Build or buy a router station.

I am leaning towards option 1. Opinions? Pitfalls? Suggestions?

[bridger]

whatever scrap 3/4" sheetgoods you have around.

screw the router base underneath.

plunge your bit through to make a zero clearance hole.

clamp it to the bench.

get on with whatever you were making.

[patrick conroy]

'nuff for the 690...

[Kevin Singleton]

I like the Rousseau router plate. I got mine from Woodcraft, several years ago. It's got removable concentric rings for bit clearance, a starting pin, and very good instructions for use with any router. Once you've got the plate, build an extension table for your table saw, and you get a free fence. You can make suitable fences for "burying" the bit from any stock you have lying around. It's easy to remove the router from the table, for hand-held use, and you'll have a very large, stable router base with straight edges for following a fence on the stock. It's a very good compromise when you only have one router, or even when you have four or five!

[Brian in Vancouver, BC]

"Brikp" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I recommend you take a look at mounting plates available from Oak Park (

) and build your own table. They also sell complete tables, etc. but appear over-priced to me. I would never use a table top with the router bolted beneath. The drop-in top works great for me.

Personally I have the Rousseau, but I think I should have got the Oak Park unit. The trouble with the rousseau is that you have to drill your own mounting holes, which is nearly impossible to get "perfectly" centred (trust me!). The Oak Park units come complete with the holes in place for various popular routers. I have one of their smaller (7"x7") plates. They have a number of accessories that interface with their mounting plates.

Brian

[Alan W]

Oak park has a new plate with vacumn holes in it:

a photo, their site is not so great.

Alan

[Brikp]

Thanks Kevin and everyone else for their responses. I picked up the Rousseau plate, their template and their fence! I guess I splurged. I installed some melamine between the rails of my Griz 1023. I used some heavy gauge aluminum angle iron to make a base for the melamine to sit on. Drilled oval holes into the angle iron and drilled and tapped the rails to attach. The oval hole allow me to adjust the height so its perfectly flush with the TS table.

One note on the Rousseau template and their fence.

The template has holes to mark for the fence bolts. These holes IMO are not really where you need them. I wanted to route some 3/8" mortises in 1 1/8" stock. The recommended hole position for the fence would not have allowed me to set the fence back far enough from the bit to accommodate the 3/8" distance from the bit to the fence. What I did was drill two additional holes on the opposite side of the template so I could mount the fence 'backwards' and far enough out from my bits. Works well.

Better will be to use t-track and loose the carriage bolt setup.

Don't forget to vote. Republicans on Tuesday and Democrats on Wednesday!

[Al Reid]

That is exactly what I did. After looking at the fence and the instructions, I decided to go with T-Track instad. I got the ones with the built-in measuring tape. With this setup, I can get about a foot between the centerline of the bit and the fence.