Shopmade Router Table - COMPLETED (well, 99.9% anyway)

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Hey all! Just thought I'd post a few pics of the router table I just completed -- well, almost anyway. I still have to add a coat of poly to the top and bottom skirts, finish adding a second 4" dust port from the back into the carcass to collect dust from below the router motor, and finish modifying the fence (left and right sliding fence) to close gaps around router bits based on their diameter. The table top is 40x 25, which gives me plenty of work surface for just about anything. The router I've installed is a Bosch 1617VS in a Jessem lift, which works beautifully! I didn't go for the big PC router since I own a shaper and use that for the really big milling jobs, so this works out perfectly for me. I've contemplated for a while on whether or not I was going to simply add the lift into my TS exention table. But after much thought, I went for the dedicated RT instead. I must admit this design is not an original of mine, but rather one I saw a photo of on another WW site. I simply printed out the photo and built it from that. All in all, I am VERY pleased and am sure will serve me well for years to come!!

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[Van Huskey]

VERY nice! Shame you had to scar the beautiful piece of furniture with the switch. It probably isn't but it looks like milk paint, which I like for shop stuff because it wears like iron.

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Thanks Van. Yeah, I went back and forth on where to place the switch. I really didn't want that thing hanging off the top or just flush mounted to the carcass since it's pretty thick in depth, so I added it into a false front. I've found that I actually like having it there as it's easy to access once completing a cut and not having to search for it.
The paint is Behr, but the color I chose was from a paint swatch pamphlet I have had that specializes in "period" colors called Olde Century Colors.

[Phil Thien]

That came out great! I agree with Van, it looks like fine furniture.

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Thanks Phil! I don't know HOW I went this long without one of these

[Van Huskey]

The switch is in the only logical place, just a shame it has to be there, but it does!

[Don Morris]

I've made 3 shopmade router tables over the years. That looks like a great one. You won't regret the time and I use mine often.

[glenn bradley]

I don't know HOW I went this long without one of these

Looks great Randy. You will love having a router table. I factor certain tools into my design process as I am deciding what and how I am going to accomplish something. The router table is definitely one of those tools. It is one of the things that turns "how am I going to do that?" into "I can do that."

[Carl William]

Very Nice!! A router table is going to be my next project.

[ian maybury]

Nice job. Not only that, if it ever ends up redundant you can drop a wash basin in and move it to the bathroom!

ian

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

I've made 3 shopmade router tables over the years. That looks like a great one. You won't regret the time and I use mine often.

Thanks Don!

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

I factor certain tools into my design process as I am deciding what and how I am going to accomplish something.

Thanks Glenn! That's exactly what I try to do also each time. Although, I can honestly say that I am now "officially" out of floor space for anymore floor standing tools. Oh well, creativity will have to work overtime from here on out now

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Very Nice!! A router table is going to be my next project.

Thanks Carl - take it from me, do it sooner than later!

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Not only that, if it ever ends up redundant you can drop a wash basin in and move it to the bathroom!

Thanks ian. That's an interesting concept I never thought about. Although I would probably just build another just like it to give me reason the be in the shop