New Guy Needs Help With First Router Table
I'm new on this block. Been watching and reading for years but never posted a message. I've been slowly buying my tools over the last 10 years as I could afford as I remodeled my 1920's home. Now I'm ready to start building cabinets and furniture. I'm going to make my first official router table for my M12V. This is what I came up with. #1. Woodpecker's - Offset router table Top - 27" x 32" , TLR Phenolic Router Mounting Plate and Incra Jig Ultra Lite Router System with making the rest. #2. General-purpose router table Top 24" x 32", Plungelift Router Lift with making the rest. Or should I go another path? :confused: All of this is around my price range. If you could add some pictures with your post it would help.
Thanks for all your help:)
Router Table Options and the M12V
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[quote=Kevin W Brown][font=Arial] I'm going to make my first official router table for my M12V. This is what I came up with. #1. Woodpecker's - [color=black][u]Offset[/u][/color] router table Top - 27" x 32" , TLR Phenolic Router Mounting Plate and [/font][font=Arial]Incra Jig Ultra Lite Router System with making the rest. #2. [u]General-purpose[/u] router table Top 24" x 32", Plungelift Router Lift with making the rest. Or should I go another path? :confused: All of this is around my price range. If you could add some pictures with your post it would help.[/font]
Hello Kevin,
I also have the M12V and dedicated it for use in the New Yankee Router table that I built about 5 or 6 years ago. So I thought I'd chime in since we have the same router. I've never had any regrets or disappointments about this setup but I am about to make some changes because there are now some better options available. There are now better face plates, fence designs, and router options that I plan to use in an overhaul of my router table setup.
First, the New Yankee Design is probably the most widely used router table design in the world. They do note it's the most popular design ever produced at their website. This is not the reason to choose a design and you’ll find a lot of shop junkies that wouldn’t consider it just because it is a New Yankee design.(Some of these are friends I affectionately refer to as shop snobs) But it is a good design and a proven one. It's a practical design that is adaptable for a redesigned top as improvements become available and it has plenty of storage. I've been pleased with mine, and the redesign Norm did a few years ago made it even better - especially for dust collection. In my opinion a novice woodworker could produce this table if they just take their time. It would be a challenge, but the plans and video make it pretty simple. It’s available at the New Yankee website.
http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct3.cgi?0301
As for the M12V it has been a good worker. Once you get it mounted with a good drop in face plate it has plenty of power to handle almost anything. I can produce raised panels in one pass on my table but that is pretty hard on the bit. I used to take three passes but I found that power in the M12V is almost never an issue as long as the bit is sharp and the finish is clean. So if you choose to table mount you M12V it is a good choice that will serve you well.
My input for you is mainly as it relates to a router lift. I’ve thought of adding one for years and came close to buying a woodpecker, but it really just isn’t that hard to change bits and adjust the height without it. It would be nice but I haven’t really felt the need to spend the time and money and pull the trigger. If you choose to use the woodpecker as many here have suggested you won’t regret it. Looks like a good system that has satisfied most users. But a router lift is a luxury, IMHO, and not a necessity unless you have back issues that keep you from bending over at all. I actually make a rough height adjustment after mounting the bit and then zero it in and lock it after I put it back in the table. Not a big deal, and I have used the heck out of mine for 5 years this way.
The big news as far as I am concerned are the “new breed” of routers that have been designed for table use. Most routers are primarily designed for hand use and the ability to table mount them is more or less an afterthought. Certainly, the big 3+ horsepower routers are the most appropriate for table use as you seldom need that much power for treating an edge. But they are based on a hand operated design.
There is a very good article in the February 2007 Fine Woodworking issue that looks at these new routers and reviews their strengths and weaknesses. Since I haven’t used or even seen these routers in use I am not making a recommendation. I would just point you to the article so you could make an educated choice. They review seven routers with above table adjustment ability. The adjustment versatility ranges widely in these new routers and some make it impossible to change bits without lifting the router out of the table. I guess you could call these models hybrids. That defeats the purpose in my opinion – kind of like an ejection seat without a parachute. Why go to all the trouble?
Fine Woodworking magazine recommended the Triton MOFOO1KC because bits can be changed from above the table while it is still mounted below, and it is easy to adjust the bit height with a little hand crank that is not unlike the adjusting wrench for the router lifts I’ve seen.
I must tell you that this sounds like an interesting option - router lift capabilities from an in table router without the lift. All this for about $200. So for the price of a good quality router lift you get a router lift capable router. And that would also free up my M12V for hand use. I’m probably going to get one of these soon if I can find some positive user feedback on the forum boards.
The only concern I have is that it is a 2.25 horse router. I hope it has the power I sometimes require for intense table applications, and I may wait for a 3 horse version. But I’ll bet we see a bunch of these dedicated table design routers in the future. I’d like to see woodpecker come up with their own router design like SawStop did for the table saw market. For the record, I have no commercial interest in any product I’ve mentioned.
Has any one else had experience with the Triton mentioned above?
Good Luck, Dennis