Homemade Router Table (compact)

[Timoe]

Not sure if I should even be posting this here let alone at BYOAC.  So mods, if you feel the need to delete this or move it somewhere else.....   oops, mah bad. 


Here is a router table I am making.  I found these plans in a book that came with my old Shop Notes subscription.  It seemed like a fun project to practice on and it may end up a useful tool.

It is nice and compact, sturdy and versatile.

[Timoe]

I started by glueing up two sheets of 1/2" plywood and then laminating them on both sides with formica.

I found the rockler website about a year or so ago and started ordering stuff.  A router plate, some aluminum T-track and miter track and some other odds and ends.  We moved recently and I discovered that there is a Rockler store about 2 miles from me. 

I found that I could drill right through the aluminum , even with my countersink bit but I still wanted to use a polyurethane glue just in case to hold down the T-track and Miter Track.

[Timoe]

Here are some shots of the main "box".  I sized it to fit my router inside with the router at both extreme high and low height settings.

Then I cut the new router table top on my table saw. 

Another thing I didnt know.....  with a carbide tipped blade you can cut right through the aluminum.

[Timoe]

I turned the table top upside down on a sturdy flat surface and clamped it together with a Miter Bar in the track to make sure that everything was aligned.

Then I put the box on top of that, also upside down and I installed the piano hinge for the extension wings.

I secured the top to the box with L brackets and then I attached the front doors, also with piano hinge.  The doors are real tight so that they hold up the extension wings when opened.

I still need to add some clip things to hold the doors under the wings.  I will also include some adjustment screws to make sure the top is perfectly flat.

[Timoe]

The fence will double as the handle.

It features a dust port with vacuum attachment.
expandable sliding face laminated with formica
and threaded inserts for various attachments


The whole thing slides back and forth on Toilet Bolts in those two slots.

[Timoe]

I'm not showing the sliding faces because the epoxy is still drying on the threaded rods I installed in them.

[spiffykyle]

I built myself a similar benchtop router table a year or so ago after finding the Rockler site (I love their blue T-track). One thing I added that has made a world of difference is the Incra Universal Jig. I think you can get it from Rockler for like $50 since you don't need the fence. It's not as snazzy as some of the real expensive positioning jigs, but it gives me solid repeatable cuts every time and makes joinery a breeze since it can lock at every 1/32". You can center or zero your fence to the router bit and then move it wherever you want and know your measurements are correct.

spiffy

[Kaytrim]

I don't think that this is posted in error.  The information and build pics are in line with the Build-It-Yourself moto of the forums.  This type of table is just what every person with a router needs.

Great information, could you post build instructions in the thread?

[Timoe]

Thanks.  I could probably beef up my narrative of how I built it but I cant post the actual plans.

[NiteWalker]

Awesome posts. You'll be very happy with the rockler router plate as it's one of the few that don't sag over time. That's a nice table plan as well. Nice and compact but functional. Eventually I'll be building Norm's router station, but for now I'm making due with this one. Good to see a post like this though.

[DrewKaree]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=61834.0

Plans, a video, etc.  Free, but only for a few months. 

[shardian]

What is your cost on this bench?
I was looking at a router table at Harbor Freight the other day and it was $199.

[NiteWalker]

That's wayyy too much. You can literally build a functional router table for under $50. Even less if you're crafty.

[Timoe]

With all the time I spent on this thing, I wish I just bought it.

I will post finished pics someday.

I built it more for practice and experience because of all the techniques required.  I wonder if I'll ever use it?

If I find that I use it even alittle, I will need to upgrade and then I'll build one like the links NiteWalker and DrewKaree posted.

[NiteWalker]

I had a small benchtop router table for a while too. It didn't take long to see the need for an upgrade. Believe me, it opens a world of possibilities for woodworking. It also makes a lot of operations that were iffy in hand held use a lot safer. I'd be lost without a router table.

[shardian]

That's wayyy too much. You can literally build a functional router table for under $50. Even less if you're crafty.

All I want is the plastic table top deal myself. The $200 dollar one is a full table type setup that is fully adjustable, and can do pretty much anything.

[NiteWalker]

Hey, when do we get to see it all finished up and purdy like???

What router do you use with it?
Have you been happy with it?
Would you change anything about it?
We like to know these things....

Once again, great work on it.

[Rusty]

For anybody looking to build a router table, Woodworking with the Router by Bill Hylton has a chapter where he shows how to build a pretty nice setup.  He also goes into some of the theory about different aspects of router tables (i.e.--why to offset the router in the table, etc).

The rest of the book is also excellent.  It contains tons of color pictures and all kinds of helpful information.  He shows how to build a number of jigs, fences, and other accessories.  I'd highly recommend it to anybody new to router work.

[NiteWalker]

I second that book as well. It's like the router bible. His other book Router Magic. makes a great companion book to that one. Both are excellent and I credit 98% of what I know about routers to his books.