Router table??
- Thread starter Dalejones
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What is your budget? Happy to help if we can, if you need any advice on ours call Jim in the shop.
Cheers Peter
Cheers Peter
GeordieStew
Established Member
I need a router table which can be stored away. Anyone made one? I mean, made from scratch rather than a mainstream supplier.
PS sorry for hijack
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PS sorry for hijack
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
Glynne
Established Member
I've had one for several years and have "pimped" it up a bit - but the basic table is really good value complete with insert plate, fence and stand.marcros":7tky50s5 said:
GeordieStew - I'd consider buying the Rutlands on and make your own foldaway stand.
Racers
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GeordieStew":2nvpzs1q said:
Bit of MFC a couple of screws to hold the router on, a 2x2 for a fence, screwed to a cheap work mate clone.
Folds nearly flat without the router on.
Works a treat but flings dust about.
Pete
Eric The Viking
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@daleJones:
They're dead easy to make (and still be pretty functional). Here's the basic idea, but you need to rearrange the order of work, e.g. fit the router and make the hole first, before fitting the suface onto the legs...:
Ingredients:
Most routers have a thin slippery pad that comes off the base. This makes an excellent template for the mounting holes. I'd mark the centreline of the router on the pad, by careful measurement, and align it with a centreline marked on the top of the "table" so you have an alignment aid in use. I'd score the MDF lightly with a knife, as any applied mark such as with a marker pen, will quickly wear off in use.
How you put it together is fairly obvious, but anyway:
Using the fence
There are loads of ways of doing this, but here's mine:
Sometimes you need a straight, flat fence. Sometimes you need a hole in it, e.g. for cutting rebates. Have two fences! Obviously a clamp at each end holds it in place, but you use the third clamp with the packers to micro-adjust position.
Here's how: Clamp the fence up so that it's too close to the cutter, slightly. Make a test cut. Measure how much more you need. If you pack one end, you'll be moving the fence by HALF the packer thickness. Put the right thickness of packers behind the fence at one end, and the third clamp right behind them, straight onto the table, so it holds them snugly. Loosen the clamp that's holding the fence, only at that end, remove the packers, and gently pivot the fence untli it's touching the third clamp (you've pivoted it slightly backwards). Re-clamp the fence securely down. Adjustment made! If you want finer adjustment, you can use business cards. Anything thinner is probably a waste of time.
You can use the same idea to take measured, multiple passes, for example when cutting big rebates. Using scrap stock, get the fence position for the final cut. Add the third clamp, onto the table, bang up against the back of the fence. Loosen the fence-holding clamp on that end, and add in 4mm packers to taste at the back, by pivoting the fence forward (carefully). This will give you 2mm increments. Make your first pass, then remove a single packer and repeat, until you're down to the right thickeness (the back clamp stays put throughout).
Note that the other end might come loose doing this. Problem is solved by simply putting a bolt through it and the tabletop, near to that edge of the table, that it can pivot on.
This gives a surprisingly fine and easy method of adjustment. If you're worried about things slipping, use masking tape behind on the table top to indicate positions.
Niki, late of this parish, made an excellent version of this router table (much posher than mine), with a posh fence and micro height adjustment. His postings were carefully saved after his death a few years ago. He had a workmate with a tilting top - my one didn't, but router access was still excellent. Use the search engine ("Niki") to see.
HTH,
E.
* I bet you're wondering about using shaping cutters such as ogees, etc. As long as the bearing will pass through the exisiting hole, you should be able to plunge them through, going gently and carefully. I'd do it the other way up, and support the table top on battens. Making the actual top is so easy, you might reasonably have several of them, for different sized cutters - no plate necessary.
There are limitations obviouly. Smaller cutters, no stonking great moulders, and there's no extraction so this makes a big mess. And there's no fence extraction either, so you may need to stop and unclog, especially when rebating. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLEAR SHAVINGS WHEN THE MOTOR IS RUNNING. It's the work of a moment to lose your fingertips!
They're dead easy to make (and still be pretty functional). Here's the basic idea, but you need to rearrange the order of work, e.g. fit the router and make the hole first, before fitting the suface onto the legs...:
Ingredients:
- Slab of flat MFC or melamine faced MDF (honestly MFC is better for this). This will be the tabletop. Note that this needs to overhang the legs frame enough for you to get clamps round the edge.
- Router, with 1/2" or 3/4" plungable cutter, and some countersunk machine screws that fit its base, long enough to go through the MFC into the router base tidily. (A countersink bit would be handy, too!).
- A cheap Workmate-style bench (can be old), Needs to be reasonably strong - the cheapest ones may flop about too much. This is your folding leg setup. Note that the clamping handles aren't used any more in this arrangement, so you can tke them off, or leave them if you intend to convert it back again at a later date.
- Some long, true and smooth stock to make a fence. 3x2" works well. If you want to be posh, you could fix a piece of MFC to one edge to make it super-slippery, but candle wax works just as well.
- Some clamps to hold the "fence" to the top. I use the F-clamps with rubber pads on the jaws, as these don't slip on MFC. Both Axminster and Rutlands sell good ones. You'll need three(!).
- Some plastic packers usually used by window fitters. Toolstation for a cheap mixed bag of these. They can be re-used over and over, and make the fence micro-adjustable.
Most routers have a thin slippery pad that comes off the base. This makes an excellent template for the mounting holes. I'd mark the centreline of the router on the pad, by careful measurement, and align it with a centreline marked on the top of the "table" so you have an alignment aid in use. I'd score the MDF lightly with a knife, as any applied mark such as with a marker pen, will quickly wear off in use.
How you put it together is fairly obvious, but anyway:
- Fix the router to the tabletop, with a plunge cutter in it. Use something sacrificial underneath and plunge the router through. That bit is done* - you just finished the tabletop. Take the router off again, purely for convenience.
- Open the jaws of the workmate wide, invert it, unscrew the jaws from the metal parts. Put it on top of the new table (table being upside down), and screw one to t'other.
- Put the router back on again.
Using the fence
There are loads of ways of doing this, but here's mine:
Sometimes you need a straight, flat fence. Sometimes you need a hole in it, e.g. for cutting rebates. Have two fences! Obviously a clamp at each end holds it in place, but you use the third clamp with the packers to micro-adjust position.
Here's how: Clamp the fence up so that it's too close to the cutter, slightly. Make a test cut. Measure how much more you need. If you pack one end, you'll be moving the fence by HALF the packer thickness. Put the right thickness of packers behind the fence at one end, and the third clamp right behind them, straight onto the table, so it holds them snugly. Loosen the clamp that's holding the fence, only at that end, remove the packers, and gently pivot the fence untli it's touching the third clamp (you've pivoted it slightly backwards). Re-clamp the fence securely down. Adjustment made! If you want finer adjustment, you can use business cards. Anything thinner is probably a waste of time.
You can use the same idea to take measured, multiple passes, for example when cutting big rebates. Using scrap stock, get the fence position for the final cut. Add the third clamp, onto the table, bang up against the back of the fence. Loosen the fence-holding clamp on that end, and add in 4mm packers to taste at the back, by pivoting the fence forward (carefully). This will give you 2mm increments. Make your first pass, then remove a single packer and repeat, until you're down to the right thickeness (the back clamp stays put throughout).
Note that the other end might come loose doing this. Problem is solved by simply putting a bolt through it and the tabletop, near to that edge of the table, that it can pivot on.
This gives a surprisingly fine and easy method of adjustment. If you're worried about things slipping, use masking tape behind on the table top to indicate positions.
Niki, late of this parish, made an excellent version of this router table (much posher than mine), with a posh fence and micro height adjustment. His postings were carefully saved after his death a few years ago. He had a workmate with a tilting top - my one didn't, but router access was still excellent. Use the search engine ("Niki") to see.
HTH,
E.
* I bet you're wondering about using shaping cutters such as ogees, etc. As long as the bearing will pass through the exisiting hole, you should be able to plunge them through, going gently and carefully. I'd do it the other way up, and support the table top on battens. Making the actual top is so easy, you might reasonably have several of them, for different sized cutters - no plate necessary.
There are limitations obviouly. Smaller cutters, no stonking great moulders, and there's no extraction so this makes a big mess. And there's no fence extraction either, so you may need to stop and unclog, especially when rebating. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CLEAR SHAVINGS WHEN THE MOTOR IS RUNNING. It's the work of a moment to lose your fingertips!
GeordieStew
Established Member
marcros":qsv8wkzy said:
http://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+woodworkin ... nds+dk2080
Did you mean this one at £150? Can't find any others?
Glynne
Established Member
No its this one - http://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+woodwo...les-xact-deluxe-router-table-rutlands+rtx2000
You'll need to wait for the "special offer" when they're back in stock - it's been £99.99 or even £89.99 in the past.
You'll need to wait for the "special offer" when they're back in stock - it's been £99.99 or even £89.99 in the past.
This is as foldaway as you can get
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-fo ... kit-717613
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-fo ... kit-717613
Eric The Viking
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sunnybob":2oyqwq6c said:
Yup can't argue with that, but...
... my version (Niki's one) costs about 35 quid (plus the clamps, if you buy the workmate new), and is a lot more stable than that one looks to be (legs with bars only work on really flat floors). And actually NOT having a cheap router plate is better for many operations - nothing to sag, no edges to catch on, etc.
And mine is more fun to make.
siggy_7
Full time tool collector, part time woodworker
Here's one wot I made: bench-top-router-table-t66404.html
This was my first router table, before I built a much bigger one into my Table Saw. I must confess I don't use it much anymore since I have a bigger router and the Incra fence on my bigger table, but I do use it from time to time when I don't want to have to faff around with switching set-ups on my table saw. It's plenty small enough that I can take it elsewhere or put it on a shelf or big hook when not in use.
This was my first router table, before I built a much bigger one into my Table Saw. I must confess I don't use it much anymore since I have a bigger router and the Incra fence on my bigger table, but I do use it from time to time when I don't want to have to faff around with switching set-ups on my table saw. It's plenty small enough that I can take it elsewhere or put it on a shelf or big hook when not in use.
YorkshireMartin
Established Member
OscarG":3dnt16xn said:
Hi Oscar
I'm interested in the same thing as the OP. How do you find the Trend Mk3 to work with? Is it accurate?
I'm struggling to decide which direction to go in.
Glynne
Established Member
Rutlands ones are back on offer at <£100
YorkshireMartin":20zpp2r0 said:
Sorry Martin for slow reply, I've only just seen this.
The good points: seems to be well made, fantastic being able to adjust height from above table (if you have a Trend T11 router).
Bad points, the fence is a little fiddly to adjust.
The problem I have with it is the height, it's too low to be usable on the floor, but when on a bench, it's too high. It kind of forces you to build a special stand/trolley which kind of defeats the point of buying this!
For the money it's decent (especially if your bench is low). I've currently taken the table off the stand and put it onto a trolley I can wheel around the shop.
