home made router table question, and an introduction

[karfeef]

Hello all! My name is Harry, from Liverpool. I'm extremely new to woodworking and am currently sourcing tools, ideas and inspiration.

One of the things I want to try first is a self built router table.

I've found some free plans for a table I like the look of which uses ¾" ply for the table top, with 2 sheets of hard board glued to it, and then some plastic sheet to complete the sandwich...

There is then a recess cut in, with a lip to accommodate inserts..

My question is about attaching the router. With a fairly thick top, would one need to cut any kind of recess underneath to allow the attached router and bit to protrude far enough through the hole or is it ok sitting flush on the underside?

 

[karfeef]

Ignore my question :-D

Just re read the plans and totally forgot the fact that the router is attached to the insert! Doh!

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[marcros]

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to consider thickening the top, particularly if you have a beefy router on it. A couple of sheets of MDF would prevent the top sagging, although I am not sure what the plastic thickness is.

You could use a sheet of 12mm for the top piece, would would be the cutout for the insert to res on. The chances are that it will be a couple of mm too deep, but some grub screws will allow you to correct this and adjust the plate so that it is perfectly level. save having to cut. Another alternative is to use a piece of kitchen worktop.

There are many alternatives for router table tops- and there is no right answer. Dont be afraid to ask when you get stuck, even if it sounds a daft question.

 

[carlb40]

Agree ^^^ I would add another layer of ply to keep the top nice and stiff. That is unless you are using bracing under the top?

 

[karfeef]

Thanks for the reply and welcome. I was thinking about kitchen worktop, Will see if I can grab an off cut from somewhere

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[carlb40]

Thanks for the reply and welcome. I was thinking about kitchen worktop, Will see if I can grab an off cut from somewhere

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B+Q often sell smaller offcuts / damaged sections really cheap.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Welcome Karfeef!

Thick is good! I mean the table, not the insert plate.

Mine is factory made, not home build, and the MDF top is only 1". It's been in a damp garage; I have to rebuild it because it isn't flat any more. Bloomin' nuisance.

Plywood shouldn't sag as much for a given thickness, but consider bracing it underneath (that's how I'm going to do mine, incidentally).

Also, if MDF or chipboard, seal the edges thoroughly with paint, or varnish or a lipping or something. The other infuriating thing about mine is that all the MDF edges are swelling up, making lips on which wood gets caught. The most annoying bits are the ends of the fences and the edge round the insert plate. You can hardly feel it with fingertips but it's enough to be a real nuisance when you come to use it.

I may be telling granny to suck eggs, but consider good ear defenders a must-have buy if you're going to be doing a lot of routing. The router manufacturers won't tell you, and the older router experts didn't realise (so don't trust YouTube!), but you can do a lot of damage to hearing in a short amount of time with mitre saws, planers, table saws and router tables (anything with a fast-turning cutter or brushed motor of some sort).

If you have them you can always not wear them, if you don't, you WILL damage your hearing. The only question is by how much. Imagine middle and old-age when you can't quite catch what people say first time round. It isn't inevitable, and not wearing them is frankly dumb (not macho!).

Sorry - hobby horse of mine! Enjoy your router table, all the same.

E.

 

[karfeef]

Many thanks for all the replies, some good things to think about, and I hadn't even thought of ear defenders yet, good shout!

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[Grahamshed]

I agree about using kitchen worktop. I think most of us use that, but it does make the cut out and lip for the plate more difficult than doing it in layers. ( not difficult. just more so than the other way )

 

[rafezetter]

Many thanks for all the replies, some good things to think about, and I hadn't even thought of ear defenders yet, good shout!

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eh? what was that sonny?

 

[Mr T]

Hi

I recently made a router table using an insert and kitchen work top http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPtT-O_1xvg

I also made a fence to go with it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVHWaduVWcM

I'm just finishing a cabinet to fit the table on which includes a lift and vacuum box, no film as yet.

Chris

 

[karfeef]

I see what you did there.. :-D

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[karfeef]

Hi

I recently made a router table using an insert and kitchen work top http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPtT-O_1xvg

I also made a fence to go with it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVHWaduVWcM

I'm just finishing a cabinet to fit the table on which includes a lift and vacuum box, no film as yet.

Chris

That's exactly the kind of result I was hoping to achieve, many thanks for an excellent resource Chris.

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[karfeef]

Looks like I'll have to find a diy solution to the insert though, £50 for an axminster is a bit out of reach for a lowly taxi driver lol

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[carlb40]

Keep an eye out on rutlands, they often sell stuff in a 'sale'

 

[karfeef]

Will check rutlands, thank you.

Thinking about making one for now, with something like 2 x 5mm kitchen plastic chopping boards, glued together, but with a hole cut in both, one smaller than the other, to accept a disc of the same material as cutter inserts....hmmm...

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[Racers]

Good luck gluing plastic chopping boards together, and if you do I don't think they will be stiff enough or flat enough.

My first router table was a piece of MFC with a slight rebate cut for the router which was screwed on and a 2X2 for a fence worked well enough.

Pete

 

[carlb40]

The problem with trying to make your own insert rings will be how to attach them? Most now have a form of a thread so you do a half turn to remove/ insert. Older ones have a very tight push fit. Chopping boards are a soft plastic so will wear quickly?

TBH you might be better off making the insert from 9 or 12mm ply - mdf isn't stiff enough IMO. Then having a couple of insert plates with 2 different sized holes depending on the router bits used.

 

[karfeef]

Good luck gluing plastic chopping boards together, and if you do I don't think they will be stiff enough or flat enough.

My first router table was a piece of MFC with a slight rebate cut for the router which was screwed on and a 2X2 for a fence worked well enough.

Pete

After looking at ours in the kitchen, you're absolutely right, the surface alone would be a nightmare to glue, and then there's the fact they are as straight as a banana!

Might try and find some perspex/plexiglass..

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[Eric The Viking]

[twerp mode]Slightly later: spot the idiot! I've only just read Pete Maddex's post - exactly the same thought as mine. Serves me right, anyway somethign below might still be helpful...[/twerp]

If you can't afford a proper plate, use a lightweight router (preferably), and bolt it through the top (countersunk bolt heads on the business surface). Either plunge it through with the cutter you intend to use to make a 'zero clearance' table, or drill a hole with a hole saw or forstner bit in roughly the right place.

I used a scrap wardrobe shelf from I(cough)ea. It worked just fine for several years*, mounted on a workmate frame instead of the sliding jaws. I routed out a circular recess underneath to take the router, as it was a bit on the thick side otherwise (my little Bosch has limited plunge depth).

Look at the late, great Niki's router stuff over in the Jigs and Tips section - he had a similar (but better) arrangement.

To put mine into context: Mr. T. is building a Morgan Roadster - handcrafted, and wonderful. Mine was a Mini Metro, with the rear mirror fallen off, but still drivable. I know which I'd prefer any day, also what I had to put up with for a couple of years until funds improved!

Whichever, don't forget to thoroughly seal the edges of the board to stop it swelling up.

E.

PS. A tiny amount of thread lock (Locktite, for example) on the bolts holding the router in is a good idea, to stop it vibrating loose, If countersinking into chipboard (e.g. worktop), using a bit of PVA in the countersink, and letting it harden thoroughly first, will gum the middle of the chipboard together a bit and minimise the tendency of the mounting bolts to sink in as you tighten them fully.

*after that I got a cheap table from B+Q. It wasn't an improvement, and I went back to the I(cough)ea shelf !