Router table design

[Pat Salter]

Wow, there's a LOT of stuff here. Thanks guys for the help and pix. Now I need to cut and paste all these tips into a doc to put with my design papers so I can incorporate the ones I want in. (does that make cents? )
I especially like the pictures. except for the fact that my wife wants to know when I'm going to make something that looks that good for the house . I'll take any other ideas too.

[Steve Sedeski]

Pat,

I have just moved from the design phase into the "commitment" phase of my router table. Commitment means I have already put wood through the saw, and I'm in the joint fitting process.

Mine is also loosely based on Norm's. I'm keeping my top to 24" x 32", and incorporating a combination T-track/miter gauge I got from Peachtree at the woodworking show. That hardware is 32" long. I am also using the Woodpecker Plungelift for the M12V.

I'm using a mobility system I found in a Wood Magazine Idea Shop issue - only two straight casters on the back side that rest slightly higher than the floor when the unit is in place. I'm incorporating two retractable "handles" so it can be moved as necessary, much like a wheelbarrel.

I read many posts about how many and where to put holes in doors to get the cabinets to clean out. I don't know yet if my design will work, but I've put sloping sides at the bottom corners of the router's "house" that feed chips to a center "channel", which has an opening designed in the front of the cabinet. That opening is 3/4" tall and 6 1/2" wide. The combined area of that opening, the hole under/behind the fence (a la Dizzy's design), and the opening in the plate for the router bit will approximate the area of the 4" diameter flex hose I'm attaching to the dust collector. Hope it works to keep all the dust out of the cabinet, but if it doesn't I know I've had several evenings of entertainment designing a failure.

Hope this helps more than confuses. As stated by others, no affiliation with any of these manufacturers.

Andy Haney
Ottawa, Kansas

hello, I love this table. How is it working out for you and did you design a fence for it?
I am pondering building my own, but I don't really care for the cabinet carcases I have been seeing. This looks like a truly sturdy piece of furnture/shop equiptment.

[Bob Noles]

Pat,


I'll add mine as well if there are any ideas you can use from it. I just finished the thing about a week or so ago and posted pictures of it in this thread.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=21330

Be sure to share yours with us when you finish.

[Jerry Olexa]

Bill Hylton has an excellent book w mucho plans/ideas for router tables. Its called "Router Magic".

[Norman Hitt]

Pat, here's one I'm building for a friend that has several of the features you indicated you wanted. It is based on Norm's original RT design, but with most of the dimensions changed and some features added. The top can be both lifted on hinges or Removed by sliding the hinge pins out into the slots provided in the underside of the table, AND the hinge pins can be removed from the hinges on the front door to remove it also. The top is made from two sheets of 3/4" MDF wrapped with red oak, and plastic laminate on both the top and bottom of the table top and beveled 45* all around on both the top and underside of the table top. I've mounted a Woodpecker PRL with a M-12V attached. The floor to table top height is 36 1/4" before installing the castors. The overall cabinet dimensions are 23 1/2" deep x 34 1/2" wide x 34 1/2" tall, and the top dimensions are 1 1/2" thick x 26 3/8" deep x 37 3/4" wide. Large drawer opening is 32 3/4" x 12" deep and the drawer rides on full extension slides (22" deep) and is rated for 100#. There are only 3 small drawers on each side, but they are wider than Norm's and the two bottom ones on each side are also deeper. I have not done any of the DC work yet. If any of this interests you and or you have any questions, just PM me.

Other Pics of this RT can be seen at http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=21335

[scott spencer]

Hello Pat,

This is my go at a router table. It has 2 drawers to store router accesseries, 4 drawers for router bit storage each of these drawers have rubber grommets to hold the router bits nice and tight. It also has two large drawers on the bottom for what ever don't fit anywhere else The top measures in at 44" wide and 30" deep. I mounted a woodpecker aluminum insert in the top to hold my hitachi M12 V. I still need to design a fence and complete the dust collector hook up.

Jeff Hamilton

That's a beatutiful piece of furniture you drop your router into Jeff! Nice job!

[Nicholas Lagios]

I like your thinking. I too am planning on building a router table with a 24 x 32 laminated MDF top and I was going to use a Jessem router plate (9.25 x 11.25) mounted in the center of the top along with a miter track for accessories and a coping sled. I've come across a JessEm 02001 Rout-R-Lift where the plate measures 11.25 x 14.25. If I install it so the bit axis is in the center of the table, the miter track will end up a good distance from the bit. I am wondering if this will affect the coping sled operation. I was considering turning the plate 90 degrees and mounting it such that the bit will be in the center of the table, but this will mean the plate will be offset.

Any opinions?

The replies to your request for design guidance was really helpful to me.

[Peter M. Spirito]

James I have been using the Router Workshop vacuum mounting plate for 3 years now and built my table just like theirs. It has worked very well. The dust collection has been great and is fun to watch. The down side is the hole in the plate is only 1 1/2" which limits the bits you can use. I am now building a new table and using the Woodpecker plate with its interchangable inserts. The rest of the table will be like the RW table and will sit on top of a roll-a-round cabinet. Also this time the top itself will be able to be removed/replaced from the RW base. And the RW part and top will come off of the roll-a-round so I can take it to North Carolina to work on "the homestead".

[Peter M. Spirito]

James I have been using the Router Workshop vacuum mounting plate for 3 years now and built my table just like theirs. It has worked very well. The dust collection has been great and fun to watch. The down side is the hole in the plate is only 1 1/2" which limits the bits you can use. I now building a new table and using the Woodpecker plate with its interchangable inserts. The rest of the table will be like the RW table and will sit on top of a roll-a-round cabinet. Also this time the top itself will be able to be removed/replaced. And the RW part will come off of the roll-a-round so I can take it to North Carolina to work on "the homestead".

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Hi Pat.

Here is a picture of the router table I made. It is based on Norm Abram's plan and also Bill Hylton and freed Matlack's design.

The carcass is made of 3/4" Baltic birch plywood with locking casters.

The top and fence system I purchased separate. It works very well. It has a 2.5" dust port on the back of the fence and a 4" port for the router cabinet, both work great.

I hope this gives you some ideas. if you have any questions let me know.

John

John,

Can you tell me or show me in your photos exactly how you got that switch mounted? It is compression-fit into the wood or how? I just need to know what you did so the switch doesn't move around when pressing the buttons. I've just purchased the same switch and I want to mount it just like you did - in a false front, not just attached to the case somewhere. Thanks.

Randy

[Mike Kelly]

Randy, your picture didn't come through....

[Greg Peterson]

I've given some thought to a flat, sag free top. In my shop I have incorporated the router into my workbench. The work bench has been re-purposed into a wood working bench. The top is an old wooden door, not quite an inch thick. Generally pretty flimsy by work bench top standards. But it works for what I do. Mostly.

My idea is to take a piece of 1/2" phenolic coated plywood, rout two channels lengthwise about 1/8" wide and 1/4" deep. On a second sheet of BB plywood, cut the same grooves. Place a 1/8" x 1/2" flat steel stock in each channel and then glue and mechanically fasten the two sheets of plywood together.

My 2 cents worth.

[Mike Kelly]

Wally Kunkel describes the same technique for building a super solid table top in "How to Master the Radial Arm Saw". Great idea. That phenolic plywood is pricy. You could laminate a top with formica on BB Ply for less I think. Show us pictures when you get it done.

[Gil Knowles]

Here is a plan available from http://www.freud.ca/PDFs/JSTable.pdf
One of these days I will get around to making one like this.
Gil

[Greg Peterson]

Wally Kunkel describes the same technique for building a super solid table top in "How to Master the Radial Arm Saw". Great idea. That phenolic plywood is pricy. You could laminate a top with formica on BB Ply for less I think. Show us pictures when you get it done.

I picked up a piece of phenolic plywood when it was on sale without any specific project in mind. It was simply too inexpensive to ignore. Formica is certainly a great option too, but at $44 for a full sheet, that too can be expensive.