router/table saw combination

[RogerS]

Itchy fingers perhaps but for the last six/seven months I've been mulling over various 'deficiencies' in my workshop. Most of my work seems seems to be on the large side...so I spend a lot of time with roller stands on long stock.

Conclusions so far ....

Table saw...Ryobi...fence challenged. Ability to cut large stock...ditto.

Router table...Ryobi cheapie combo....repeatability limitations...too small..fence ..a bit iffy ..OK but can do better... .so inspired by the varous homemade tables on the forum been thinking of going down that route. Triton router...has to be...means you don't need to spend funds on some form of lift plus ease of changing bits plus lots of other benefits.

Common deficiencies...fence and real-estate. So looking at Incra led me on to this

which seemed to meet some of my needs.

But then I looked at the orientation of the router end..which seems to me to be 90degrees out. Surely you'd want to have it so you could run long stock from right to left ...down that long axis? The way they have it limits real-estate for the router and back to fiddling with roller stands again for long stock...which is what I'm trying to avoid.

So a question for the Incra owners is...is there any way to rotate things by 90 degrees?

All suggestions very welcome as I'm running around in circles at the moment.

 

[tim]

The simple answer is that if you've got lots of large stock then you should move the router over it rather than the other way round.

I know what you mean though about the orientation and I suppose you could make up a table that is wide and long but it depends on your space.

Cheers

Tim

 

[RogerS]

The simple answer is that if you've got lots of large stock then you should move the router over it rather than the other way round.

Not sure I follow you, Tim

Can you do that with large cutters, for example? How do you make the cut in increasing depths of cut, as it were, which you can easily do with the fence on the router table?

How would you support large stock while you ran the router over it?

Roger

 

[tim]

The rule of thumb that i use is that I move the thing that is easiest to move. SO if the timber is awkward, heavy or long I put it on the bench and use the router in portable mode.

Can you do that with large cutters, for example? How do you make the cut in increasing depths of cut, as it were, which you can easily do with the fence on the router table?

There aren't many cutters that you would use regularly on this kind of stock that can't be used in the hand held mode.


I don't understand what you mean re the second part. Most routers have fences and depth adjustment of varying accuracy. I din't say it was easy - you may need to make jigs etc but in general this will be more accurate and safer than messing about with rolling supports (which are usually pretty poor).

Cheers

Tim

 

[RogerS]

I see what you mean. Good point. But I haven't got a bench yet either :wink:

 

[SlimShavings]

My Unisaw sets so the right extension table is against the wall. I have a router insert on the right side of the blade close to the right side of the wall.
Then there is a top ,both infeed and outfee, that hooks to the wall. Like shoving a Tinto the wall top first... Hope this makes sense. It helps when ripping sheet goods . But it goes against the grain of putting the table saw in the middle of the room.

 

[Anonymous]

I've got a similar arrangement to your picture, with an Incra Ultra plus home made long guides so that I can use it as a fence for both saw and router. The other problem you get if you want to saw wide panels is that you need enough clearance beyond the table for the end of the moveable part of the Ultra. But the arrangement you show uses the microadjustable properties of the Incra for both sawing and routing, which I find is extremely useful. I would say that this outweighs the disdvantage for long lengths.

 

[RogerS]

Tycho14...your systems sounds interesting. Do you have any pictures?

What did you use for your home made rails?

Roger

 

[Anonymous]

There is a Bosch aluminium extrusion which is very similar to the Incra TS long rails -ie takes a shaped captive nut which is used to fix the incra base and the fence in position. I can get a part no. if you want. I managed to get some cheap from a Bosch dealer close to where I work. I think the Bosch stuff is in the RS catalogue.
You can down load the instructions for the Incra TS from the Incra web site, which shows how it's constructed. I already had the Ultra, and I found alternative parts, some of them home made to convert it to the TS arrangement. You can also see the Incra TS being installed and used on Woodshopdemos. My arrangement is similar to his 'superstation', with the router table to the right of the saw.

I don't have a digital camera - I can borrow my son's, but he's off to Spain on holiday on Saturday, so it might not be straight away. But it will give me time to tidy the place up

Alan

 

[RogerS]

Alan

That's really helpful. What a superb site. His "superstation" project is exactly what I had in mind.

Did you use something like this part number 40x40LR from Bosch (in rs catalog)?

And what did you use for the part that incra call..the baseplate..ie the bit that slides up and down the rails?

I've just spend all morning constructing a spreadsheet that shows all the permutations of Incra bits that you can get from Woodpecker vs their various 'packages'...trying to work out most bang for buck...then I did a sanity check and the real killer is shipping (over $500 !!!) plus an indeterminate amount for possible (certain?) import and VAT charges. I'd buy locally but, after some web research and a telephone call, came to the conclusion it's pointless going to so-called UK Incra distributors since they don't carry anywhere near the complete range nor will order it in.

Look forward to some pictures of your nice tidy workshop :wink:

Roger

 

[Anonymous]

Roger

I used the 30x30mm which takes the M8 nuts. I've got 2x 1800 lengths, but the length would be to suit your router table/ saw table length. I have the Ultra with a 24" carriage length, and there are times when I would like it to be longer as I sometimes run out of length and have to move the base back. I made the base from 3/4 plywood, which is what Incra recommends when you use the Ultra fixed as for use with a router only. I made the base clamps from some thin painted steel sheet which already had already been formed into a right angle. I think the glider pads under the base clamps lift the base just off the table, so that the base is supported on the rails only. I also got a length of the Bosch 30x 60 profile for a fence which is compatible with the fixings on the end of the carriage. I spent a long time with the Incra instructions and looking at the pictures in Woodshop demos, but it turned out to be pretty straightforward. I never did figure out the purpose of the two set screws on each base clamp which are tightened with the 3/16 hex tool! It works just as well with the 4 tightening knobs.
Hope that helps.

 

[RogerS]

Tycho

Yes, thanks, that really explains things and makes it much clearer.

Roger