Router Table

[icor1031]

What should I look for in a router table?

Also, is this one any good?
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-route...ABTestAvl=true

[Whitneyville1]

It's just OK. The one-piece fence limits what it will do, as well as it's small table area. A two-piece fence takes more adjusting (set-up), but it will do so many more things. A router table makes your router 10 times more useful (at least). Safer and more accurate too. Larger size bits you don't want to use "freehand" are 100% safe and accurate with a table. Rounding over edges with lager bits with a router table are so easy, because you set-up to take a tiny "bite" (1/16") the first pass, then take another 1/16" bite and so-on until you've cut a 3/4" round-over smooth as glass.

[arlis_1957@yahoo.com]

its fine for what it is. bought it for the father-n-law a few years ago. it has a vaccume port and remote switch. the hole wont allow for very large bits. its very similar to the ryobi table i bought for 99 that came with a fixed base router. i made a new fence for it out of oak. two piece, used it for jointing until i got a jointer. if i had the space, i would build one with a nice plate. their are many plans out there.

[Bob Brines]

I have THIS. Get the one with the aluminum plate. I have a PC690 mounted in mine.Works fine for stand mount speakers. For floor-standers, ou will probably have to work out table extensions.

Bob

[Face]

Get the largest you can fit in your work space and that you can afford comfortably. I started out with the one you listed above, if I were you, I would at least consider something a little bigger. This is what I use now: http://www.woodpeck.com/rt3253.html

[r-carpenter]

you could also just make one out of MDF and possibly get router lift later. Make a 2x4 table, mount the router and make a pivot fence. I hate to say it but Google it and you'll find a few that were made already with descriptions.

[jerryanderson]

Mr Brines suggestion is a good one, I also have a table from MLCS and am very pleased with it! The narrow table you have linked in your post are more or less a finisnhing table! Great for doing moldings and the like, get a wider table and it will allow you to do a wider range of projects

[williamrschneider]

Any router table is better than none, so even the inexpensive Sears you linked to would expand your capability and safety. It will have limitations though, but features and size add cost.

I used a version of that router table for several years before I bought a larger router top from Rockler (~$160 on sale) and built a stand for it. The advantage of the smaller Sears (and similar) units is that they are small enough to carry outside for work. That really cuts down on dust!

The larger units tend to have better dust collection features, but no dust collection indoors is as good as taking the smaller one outside.

If you need a larger size, the cheapest option available to you is to put a hole in the middle of a piece of plywood, attach your router to the bottom (remove the sub-base first), and support this "table" on sawhorses. Make a fence from strips of MDF or plywood and use quick-clamps to position it onto the table.

[rhubarb9999]

Search on Craig's List. I found a large Craftsman Industrial table for $30.

[arlis_1957@yahoo.com]

i put my little ryobi on a shelve and another shelve on either side flush with the top.
how much room do you have?

[kevinr]

I went to Sears and looked at their craftsman router tables but they seemed pretty lightweight with a lot of plastic content.
Wound up getting a Bosch from Amazon shipped for $169 that has worked out well. It seems much better constructed than the less expensive Sears model.

[Wolf]

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../Router-table/



I got this one from Menard's, and it was $100. I modified the plastic-fence by attaching a piece of aluminum angle-iron, and a shimmed and adjusted piece of formica-particle-board.

It's great!
Wolf

[JeffG.]

When you are thinking about a router table you need to consider what operations you are going to perform with it. If you are primarily using it to build speaker cabinets you will primarily be milling MDF. If you are not doing dados on the tablesaw you will be doing them on the router table. If you work on smaller cabinets any decent table area will do, but if you get up into anything over 30" you will find a larger table will give you more stability. That means more accuracy and more safety.

The fence is the next thing to think about. I have an Incra which is accurate to .001, but I mean really do you need that? But here is the deal, I would rather have no fence then a crappy fence. If you make your own table and mill the front accurately you can get by with a pair of C clamps and an MDF fence. You just measure to the fence from the front on each side and clamp it. There are solutions in between that method and the Incra, it just depends on how much money you want to spend.

Next you need to think about dust collection. MDF is some nasty stuff. I have not built any speakers yet, but I've milled MDF for other things and it is not only messy, but a real health hazard if you are breathing it. If your work area is something you dont mind covering in dust, then don't worry about enclosing the router under the table. But you will certainly need to wear a mask. Not a big deal, just something to think about.

Last is mobility. If your work area is tight and you need to move the table its a good idea to have it on casters/wheels of some kind. It also allows you to move it out from the wall when working on really large pieces. And having it mobile may allow you to build a larger table. One other thing is that sometimes you can incorporate the router into an existing piece in your shop. I have seen them mounted on table saw extensions (then you can use the table saw fence), mounted on workbenches and everything else. If your space constrains you to having a small work bench and a small router table, build a large workbench and incorporate the router into it.

Think safety always. A router is a really versatile tool, you can mill much more than wood. You can do aluminum, plastic, composite materials - all kinds of things. But it can get away from you in an instant. Always use a push pad or tool of some kind to feed your material on the table. NEVER USE YOUR HANDS. At 18k rpm I have seen wood explode on the table. Safety glasses, all of the Normy type stuff... use it.

Here are some pics of my table (old pics when the shop was just being built):

[50 watt head]

If you need a larger size, the cheapest option available to you is to put a hole in the middle of a piece of plywood, attach your router to the bottom (remove the sub-base first), and support this "table" on sawhorses. Make a fence from strips of MDF or plywood and use quick-clamps to position it onto the table.

+1

[tomzarbo]

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../Router-table/



I got this one from Menard's, and it was $100. I modified the plastic-fence by attaching a piece of aluminum angle-iron, and a shimmed and adjusted piece of formica-particle-board.

It's great!
Wolf

How could you not buy that one. It literally has your name written all over it.

Is that where you're 3+ hp Triton router resides?

TomZ

[Wolf]

How could you not buy that one. It literally has your name written all over it.

Is that where you're 3+ hp Triton router resides?

TomZ

It was kinda funny about that- and I underlined it!!!!

Yep, there she be!!



I also added the hardboard shelf in there to keep some things handy.

BTW- the top is MDF, but has a bonded metal surface on it.

Later,
Wolf

[neildavis]

Wound up getting a Bosch from Amazon shipped for $169 that has worked out well.

It looks like the Sears HPP table is the same as the Bosch table that has the aluminum top (Bosch also has a cabinet version with a laminate top). Different logo, of course, but everything else looks identical. Right now the Sears unit is on sale for $149.99, or $127 if you buy it online (today). It is a very nice table, and at that price it is an excellent buy.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...1&blockType=G1

[Woodfiend]

If you have even a limited number of tools..... a router table is one of the easiest projects to build. You get a much larger work surface and you can make it as simple or as complicated as you need. Time would be the biggest expense. I will look and find a link of some examples if you are interested. I made one of my router table cabinets stationary and hooked up to the dust collection system..... the other is built onto a rolling cabinet so I can wheel it into the center of the shop if I need to make long mouldings.

[Bob Brines]

There is one major problem with a large DIY router table. To work right, a router table has to be dead flat. A sheet of plywood, even well brace is not. I know. I build a 4'x6' plywood table braced with 4" plywood stringers. After a year, the center had settled 1/16" The table was then useless.

Bob

[JeffG.]

There is one major problem with a large DIY router table. To work right, a router table has to be dead flat. A sheet of plywood, even well brace is not. I know. I build a 4'x6' plywood table braced with 4" plywood stringers. After a year, the center had settled 1/16" The table was then useless.

Bob

You guys are speaker builders.. cmon.. MDF