So many options - Part 2

[DiscoStu]

So my second quandary is regarding routers and router tables.

I'm currently torn between:

The UKJ table, router elevator etc. with a Dewalt DW625EK 1/2 router and then probably a Festool OF1400EBQ as my hand held router.

Or

A Festool OF1400EBQ with a Festool CMS and a Router Mounting Module

The cost of both options is about the same.

I could also go for the Trend T11EK with the Pro table and a Festool OF1400EBQ as my handheld router.

As you can probably tell I am keen on having a Festool OF1400EBQ but I'm not sure if the CMS and router option is that great and if I would be better off with a separate unit as my router table. I definitely want a router that can be raised and lowered from above, I don't want to be fiddling about underneath when I am trying to be accurate.

So any thoughts on these options?

 

[carlb40]

Why not a home made table with a triton router? That can be adjusted from above and bits changed also from above the table top.

 

[pcb1962]

and then probably a Festool OF1400EBQ as my hand held router.

Personally I find a 1/4 inch router preferable for hand-held jobs.
A 1/2 inch machine can be scary hand-held if you're not used to it.

 

[DiscoStu]

I've currently got a 1/4 handheld router but quite liked the Festool as it didn't seem as big and powerful as their 2200 one.

As for making my own router table - I'd be concerned that I wouldn't make it accurately enough. I don't mind making things like table extensions or my bench but anything that requires accuracy I'd rather buy.

Does anyone use the Festool CMS router insert? i wonder how it compares to a separate and dedicated table?

Thanks for the replies and thoughts so far.

 

[pcb1962]

Does anyone use the Festool CMS router insert? i wonder how it compares to a separate and dedicated table?

Peter Parfitt has a couple of videos on YouTube, first one is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af7obE5iElU
He responds promptly and helpfully to questions.

 

[DiscoStu]

I've watched most (if not all) of his Video's. It was his router table setup that I particularly liked. I'll message him and see which option he prefers. Good idea. Thanks

 

[DiscoStu]

Well I did email Peter and got a great reply and very quickly:

i Stuart,

I am delighted to try and help...

I would find it difficult to choose between the Festool CMS-OF and the UJK Cast Iron router table. The CMS is easy to move around the workshop, has superb dust collection (I have the CT26 extractor) and is easy to use. Plus the router can be removed quite quickly when required.

The Cast Iron topped UJK table needs good quality castors (with brakes) in the small workshop. Whatever router you put in there is there for good. I have not tried any other tops other than cast iron so cannot comment on those. You really do need the router lift with this setup and the dust collection is okay but not brilliant. If you workshop might suffer from humidity or damp then cast iron might not be a good idea.

The OF1400 is a lovely router and although it coulkd be adapted to fit in the UJK table - who wants to have one of the best routers in the world stuck in a router table? The Dewalt 625 would be the router of choice for the UJK table.

I got rid of my big heavy table saw completely thinking that I could manage with the MFT3 and rails. After a while I bought a cheap and cheerful (Jet I think) table saw from Axminster which I would not recommend. In the end, because I wanted to do rebate work on the table saw, I went for the CMS-TS. I am lucky enough to have two sets of legs and so one has the CMS-OF and the other the CMS-TS in all of the time.

I find the TS55R with guide rails is perfect for breaking down sheet goods but the MFT3 was not big enough to handle a whole sheet. So I made a pair of folding trestles with sacrificial inserts and sacrificial cross pieces when required.

I have used my MFT3 a great deel and it is very easy, even with a small car, to get it to a job site (and a DIY guy will have job sites - son's house, dad's flat or whatever). If you cannot manage the MFT3 straight away then try a pair of Vertias Parf Dogs from Axminster with the associated bench dogs. Then all you need for an accurate saw station is a piece of MDF on top of you trestles with some accurately placed 20mm holes.

I find a small bandsaw if invaluable as you can re-saw large bits of wood and do curved work. It can take the place of most of the functions of a table saw that are not covered by the TS55 and rails.

A single garage was my first workshop (actually a spare bedroom was the very first) and there are a number of key things to remember...

Security of your tools. For a garaged that can be accessed from a house put sliding bolts on each side of the door on the inside near the top.

Heating - essential in the winter.

Power - at least three 13amo sockets that can take the full load simultaneously.

Mobility - put castors on all the large items.

Peter

So I think I've made a decision on the router table and will go for the UJK one with raiser and Dewalt 625, then keep the Festool 1400 as a hand held router.

I'm less sure what to do with regards to the table saw as per my other post.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I have the Trend T11EK permanently installed in my router table. Its absolutely superb for 2 reasons. Firstly it has a wacking motor which is capable of the heft necessary to drive 90mm diameter panel field raising bits. Don't even think you wont be using your router table to make raised panel doors one day cos you will....cos they're awesome. If you have a raised and fielded panel, it needs to drive heavy cutters.

Second reason is the through the table top adjuster. I posted some pics showing my setup recently because with the T11EK you don't need a router lift. Let me see if I can find it. One proviso, to install my setup I needed to drill a custom hole through the router table top to accommodate the height adjuster. That would of course be more tricky if you opt for a cast iron table. I'll go and look for that thread

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

has-anyone-got-a-trend-prt-pro-and-how-do-you-find-it-t79052.html?hilit= trend

Found it.

The piccys are 4 posts down from the top. I use a freebie 3.6V dewalt screwdriver with a Hex socket in the end to operate the rise and fall of the router (T11EK) and for fine manual adjustment, the spanner that came shipped with the router. All from above the table. I haven't bent down to that router in 5 years!!

 

[petermillard]

Just to add to your options and FWIW, the current big Triton (TRA 001) is also height-adjustable and the cutters changed from above the bench. I have one (older version) permanently bench-mounted and with a home-made removable fence it makes a good option for a small workspace - take the fence away and drop the router down and you have a regular table top to work on.

HTH Pete

 

[david123]

+1 for the triton

 

[LJM]

It appears from your tool choices as though budget is not too great and issue. However, have you looked at the Router Raizer (SP?)? It adds above table height adjustment to many popular routers, some of which would rival those you've sighted and perhaps you have ruled out simply because they lack this feature.

Personally, I fitted one to a Freud which is not the most glamorous of tools, but is industrial quality, powerful, simple and works very well under a table. And at the princely sum of £30 (used once), it worked out very economical, even with the added cost of the Router Raizer.

 

[Charlie Woody]

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/has-anyone-got-a-trend-prt-pro-and-how-do-you-find-it-t79052.html?hilit= trend

Found it.

The piccys are 4 posts down from the top. I use a freebie 3.6V dewalt screwdriver with a Hex socket in the end to operate the rise and fall of the router (T11EK) and for fine manual adjustment, the spanner that came shipped with the router. All from above the table. I haven't bent down to that router in 5 years!!

I see how you adjust the height which is very neat, but what about changing cutters? Do you do that from above the table too & if so how please? Did you make your table or buy it?

 

[DiscoStu]

Thanks guys,

I have looked at the router raiser. I think I am keen on the UJK table and elevator. Cost isn't too much of an issue, and by that I don't mean that I am happy to throw cash at things, but I view these purchases as long term purchases and that I would rather pay for a quality product that will last a long time.

 

[RogerS]

For a homemade router table to be accurate all you need is a good thick bit of MDF.

If I was spending the sort of money you are talking about then I would much rather go the MDF route and use the money buying the Comatic Baby power feeder for the router table. Now that does give you consistency and accuracy.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/has-anyone-got-a-trend-prt-pro-and-how-do-you-find-it-t79052.html?hilit= trend

Found it.

The piccys are 4 posts down from the top. I use a freebie 3.6V dewalt screwdriver with a Hex socket in the end to operate the rise and fall of the router (T11EK) and for fine manual adjustment, the spanner that came shipped with the router. All from above the table. I haven't bent down to that router in 5 years!!

I see how you adjust the height which is very neat, but what about changing cutters? Do you do that from above the table too & if so how please? Did you make your table or buy it?

Hi Charlie, I have responded to your PM but I've only just seen this so below the line is the message. It was an Axminster "own branded" table which became obsolete about 4 years ago. I cant for the life of me understand why it failed because it has everything you need for a decent price. I recall it was circa £200 with a nice big pressed steel frame and shelf and adjustable feet for level. I modified the mdf/phenolic coated top by drilling and countersinking for the height adjuster to allow the Trend T11EK to function from above the table.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From underneath although "you" are above ie not bent down. (Slightly arched forward)

You wind down the cutter until the collet nut is about an inch below the lower table level. This allows easy access to the collet with the collet spanner. 2nd hand is depressing the spindle lock while you undo the collet nut. Out comes the bit (from above the table) and replacement goes in. Snug it up by hand and then final tighten with collet spanner. All of this is done with you above the table but both your hands just below the table at the router. Access to the cutters to change them is all from above the table through the cutter hole, which of course you pop out the plastic rings to make it its widest aperture.

It is so easy to use, in particular when you employ an electric screwdriver with the appropriate hex socket in it. With that approach its like an electric router lift. I really love my setup and wouldn't change it for the world. That dewalt 3.6V driver was a freebie with a dewalt router I bought years ago. It now lives on the router table shelf.

Edit: For those who don't know the Trend T11EK has a special feature which allows adjustment of the router height with a socket wrench from the bottom of the router ie when its upside down in a table provided there is an appropriately sized and positioned hole in the table top. You can then operate the router rise and fall either by hand with the supplied spanner or with a drill/driver and 12mm socket (on slow) as I do

 

[Charlie Woody]

Bob
Many thanks for the great explanation. That sounds ideal. At the moment I have to do everything under the table ..... no wonder I have a sore back!

I wonder if there is a similar table on the market today or even separate top & fence to get something like your setup?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I think Kreg sell a fence system separate from a table and not sure but UKJ technology might also. I know for a fact Axy sell router table insert plates with the concentric plastic rings. Once you have router, fence and insert, you could easily make your own cabinet and top. There are many versions of plans available for such a cabinet not least of which is Norm's favourite design off NYW which is almost certainly available on youtube to watch for free. You can buy his plans off his website I think. But really, you don't need plans for a router table. Its a carcass with a top that's braced and has a "sink like" hole in to take the insert plate. It's not rocket science after all.

 

[DiscoStu]

UJK do sell the fence on it's own. From what I can see UJK is the same a Kreg just a different colour, but it does look like a rebadge going on?

Anyway Axminster sell UJK (I think it's their own brand) and the fence is here:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/ujk-technolo ... able-fence

 

[RogerS]

There is one major problem with that fence (and any similar) in that you can't adjust the outfeed fence front-to-back relative to the infeed fence.