Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you would
recommend making to it? I'm thinking about building it. I currently have
the table that the
Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. It's too small
for one thing and OK for short pieces. If you have a longer board you're
screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence and even then you
only have less than 2 feet to work with.
Thanks for your opinions.
"Artemus" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Pictures?
> Art
>
> "Hoosierpopi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:4cd95187-6e82-437a-9631-c0f6c3930d11@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>> I built mine using old desk drawers and a table top salvaged from a
>> Subway store renovation - already laminated top and bottom with
>> plastic eding installed!
>>
>> I had some 1.25" dowel laying about ad drilled four 0.5" holes 0.75"
>> deep into the base with a forstner bit, cut four pieces of dowel to
>> fit and saned flush with the top of the base, then put some materila
>> under each, glue on to and set the tpo on them until the glue dried.
>>
>> When it had, I gingerly remove the top, turned it over, drilled
>> through the dowes into the top a added s screw to each locating pin
>> (dowel).
>>
>> For a control, I used two duplex outlets and one three-way switch. One
>> outlet is inside the chamber to allow connecting the portable router.
>> he switch is facing front and the other duplex outlet is on the right
>> side near the front.
>>
>> This second outlet is split so that one "side" (top in this case) is
>> always "hot" and the other (bottom) is in series with the outlet
>> powering the router when the three-way switch is in the "off" or
>> "down" position and out of the circuit when in the "up" or "on"
>> position.
>>
>> I took a cheap foot switch meant to plug into an outlet and have the
>> controlled tool plug into a receptacle on the switch so that pressing
>> on the foot switch sends power to the tool.
>>
>> It still works that way, but I created a shorting plug to fit in its
>> "tool outlet" so that, when I plug it into the bottom outlet on the
>> router table, it serves to allow control of the the router with me
>> foot.
>>
>> Using a similarly configured speed control and my "shorting plug," I
>> can control the speed of the router with my foot as well.
>>
>> For bit storage, I took a couple of spare (mis-matched) full extension
>> slides and fixed them to a vertical panel to which I added sevel rows
>> of two-by sliced so as to present an anfled face into which I drilled
>> holes to hold 0.5 an 0.25" bits. it holds nearly a hundred bits!
>>
>> None of it as pretty as Norm's - I used re-cycled plywood from some
>> old shelving, sandwich shop top, salvaged desk drawers, Corian sink
>> cut-off for a mounting plate and some scrap aluminum for a fence.
>>
>> You guys would positively cringe!
>>
>>
>> 0.5"
>
>
I built the table and it works great. To refer to another's post I wish
that both sides of the fence could move in and out independently. I also
have to shim the outbound fence during some operations (which can use a lot
of blue painters tape). I did build the top and used that between saw
horses for about a year before I built the case. I also used wood that was
lying around the shop to make it.
Larry C
I don't have the real estate for a large table.
I use a small portable table that I have an extender fence fixture I put on
it.
The fence fixture is about 48" long, made of 3/4" milled maple, and mounts
to the front of the one that came with the table.
On either end of the table I have a horizontal piece screwed to the bottom
of the fence. It gives me about an extra foot of support on either side of
the table without performing surgery on the table itself.
"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you would
> recommend making to it? I'm thinking about building it. I currently have
> the table that the
> Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. It's too small
> for one thing and OK for short pieces. If you have a longer board you're
> screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence and even then you
> only have less than 2 feet to work with.
> Thanks for your opinions.
On Jul 11, 1:38 pm, "Max" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Here's my "version".http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdinep/sets/72157603875570443/
>
Hey Max, nice job on the table!
I like the clean, functional design and execution.
Good work!
Robert
No need to have made the thing to know it is not a tool for me.
A storage device maybe, a router table no.
*********************************************************************
On Jul 11, 9:43=A0am, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you would
> recommend making to it? =A0I'm thinking about building it. =A0I currently=
have
> the table that the
> Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. =A0It's too sm=
all
> for one thing and OK for short pieces. =A0If you have a longer board you'=
re
> screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence and even then yo=
u
> only have less than 2 feet to work with.
> Thanks for your opinions.
"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you
> would recommend making to it? I'm thinking about building it. I
> currently have the table that the
> Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. It's too
> small for one thing and OK for short pieces. If you have a longer
> board you're screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence
> and even then you only have less than 2 feet to work with.
> Thanks for your opinions.
Here's my "version".
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdinep/sets/72157603875570443/
As you can see I have the Rockler top but I intend to make my own. I
want to add 2" to the width and 4" to the length.
(or should I say 2" to the "depth" and 4" to the width?)
I used pine plywood and I painted it to match my Jet Planer and Jet
jointer.
Max
As others have said, I built the router station too and really like it.
Here are the changes I made..
1. At the back of the slots on the table that hold the fence down with
T-bolts, I drilled 7/8 inch hole. That allows me to slide the fence back
and lift it right of f the table when I want to freehand route an edge, etc.
Otherwise you have to unscrew and drop the t-bolts down into the electrical
compartment and the tool drawer which is a hassle to retrieve and re-attach
later. T-tracks mounted on the table top would have worked too. Just
didn't realize the problem until I finished building it.
2. There is enough space between the drawers on the lower left side and the
the back of the case to run a 4 inch dust collector hose. I scratched my
head why so much space was being waisted but then took advantage of it. I
installed a dust collector outlet in back lower corner of left side and
connected a flexible hose to that that connects to a pipe T in the back
lower part of the router compartment. The T-part serves as the vacuum for
the compartment. I angled a 1/4" sheet of plywood as a baffle to cover up
and seal of the (T pipe) vacuum side. The top of the baffle connects to the
back of the case and the bottom angles out towards the router compartment
door and is raised 1/2" off the base of the compartment. I fiddled with
different heights and this height gave the most suction. Connected to the
top of the T, is a plastic pipe that then exits the back of the station
through a attached plastic elbow. The elbow daylights at the back of the
case and does not stick out beyond it. This then connects to the hose that
goes to the fence. What you try to do is balance the amount of suction the
fence opening is getting with the amount the router compartment is getting.
At any rate, the 1/2" turned out to work perfectly for me. The compartment
is almost always totally dust free. The flexible hose to the fence has a
short piece of plastic pipe clamped to it that plugs into the elbow and can
easily be pulled out and removed and left on the back of the fence on the
table leaving nothing in the back getting in the way when your not using the
router.
3. I didn't drill any holes in the plexiglass door. There is plenty of
space around the door frame for air to get in for the vacuum to work
properly.
4. I installed metal T-tracks instead of routing T-tracks on the fence
parts. I wasn't feeling good about MDF material working and holding up as a
T-track on its own. No regrets there..
5. Last I put the station on a mobile base, like almost all my machines, to
make it easy to move around and get out of the way when necessary..
It's a bit pricey to build, but I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as the
rest of us who have them. It's a joy to use and great for storage of all
your bits and router accessories..
"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you would
> recommend making to it? I'm thinking about building it. I currently have
> the table that the
> Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. It's too small
> for one thing and OK for short pieces. If you have a longer board you're
> screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence and even then you
> only have less than 2 feet to work with.
> Thanks for your opinions.
I built mine using old desk drawers and a table top salvaged from a
Subway store renovation - already laminated top and bottom with
plastic eding installed!
I had some 1.25" dowel laying about ad drilled four 0.5" holes 0.75"
deep into the base with a forstner bit, cut four pieces of dowel to
fit and saned flush with the top of the base, then put some materila
under each, glue on to and set the tpo on them until the glue dried.
When it had, I gingerly remove the top, turned it over, drilled
through the dowes into the top a added s screw to each locating pin
(dowel).
For a control, I used two duplex outlets and one three-way switch. One
outlet is inside the chamber to allow connecting the portable router.
he switch is facing front and the other duplex outlet is on the right
side near the front.
This second outlet is split so that one "side" (top in this case) is
always "hot" and the other (bottom) is in series with the outlet
powering the router when the three-way switch is in the "off" or
"down" position and out of the circuit when in the "up" or "on"
position.
I took a cheap foot switch meant to plug into an outlet and have the
controlled tool plug into a receptacle on the switch so that pressing
on the foot switch sends power to the tool.
It still works that way, but I created a shorting plug to fit in its
"tool outlet" so that, when I plug it into the bottom outlet on the
router table, it serves to allow control of the the router with me
foot.
Using a similarly configured speed control and my "shorting plug," I
can control the speed of the router with my foot as well.
For bit storage, I took a couple of spare (mis-matched) full extension
slides and fixed them to a vertical panel to which I added sevel rows
of two-by sliced so as to present an anfled face into which I drilled
holes to hold 0.5 an 0.25" bits. it holds nearly a hundred bits!
None of it as pretty as Norm's - I used re-cycled plywood from some
old shelving, sandwich shop top, salvaged desk drawers, Corian sink
cut-off for a mounting plate and some scrap aluminum for a fence.
You guys would positively cringe!
0.5"
<[email protected]> wrote
> "Max wrote:
>
>> Here's my "version"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mdinep/sets/72157603875570443/
>
> Hey Max, nice job on the table!
>
> I like the clean, functional design and execution.
>
> Good work!
>
> Robert
Thank you, Sir.
Max
"Phisherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:43:59 -0500, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you would
>>recommend making to it? I'm thinking about building it. I currently have
>>the table that the
>>Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. It's too small
>>for one thing and OK for short pieces. If you have a longer board you're
>>screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence and even then you
>>only have less than 2 feet to work with.
>>Thanks for your opinions.
>
>
> I made Norm's router table. Actually I used the first design and made
> some changes to it. First, I improved the dust collection and moved
> the DC port to the side. I used 1/4" thick Plexiglas and used magnets
> to hold it in place. All the drawers were hand cut dovetails and the
> top is trimmed with white oak. I added an extra electrical outlet to
> the front and rear. I turned my own knobs. It looks more like a
> piece of furniture rather than a shop router table. The only thing I
> wish I had is an easy lift mechanism for the router.
I see that when you want to move the fence, the right and left side have to
move together because they are constructed as one piece. If you want the
left side farther in than the right you have to use shims on the left side
to get the stock close to the fence so that no snipe occurs. Have any of
you that have built this table devised a way to have the sides constructed
so that they move independently of each other?
Thanks again for your replies.
On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:26:27 -0500, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"Phisherman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:43:59 -0500, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you would
>>>recommend making to it? I'm thinking about building it. I currently have
>>>the table that the
>>>Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. It's too small
>>>for one thing and OK for short pieces. If you have a longer board you're
>>>screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence and even then you
>>>only have less than 2 feet to work with.
>>>Thanks for your opinions.
>>
>>
>> I made Norm's router table. Actually I used the first design and made
>> some changes to it. First, I improved the dust collection and moved
>> the DC port to the side. I used 1/4" thick Plexiglas and used magnets
>> to hold it in place. All the drawers were hand cut dovetails and the
>> top is trimmed with white oak. I added an extra electrical outlet to
>> the front and rear. I turned my own knobs. It looks more like a
>> piece of furniture rather than a shop router table. The only thing I
>> wish I had is an easy lift mechanism for the router.
>
>I see that when you want to move the fence, the right and left side have to
>move together because they are constructed as one piece. If you want the
>left side farther in than the right you have to use shims on the left side
>to get the stock close to the fence so that no snipe occurs. Have any of
>you that have built this table devised a way to have the sides constructed
>so that they move independently of each other?
>Thanks again for your replies.
Norm's design includes an auxiliary fence on the outfeed.
On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:43:59 -0500, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you would
>recommend making to it? I'm thinking about building it. I currently have
>the table that the
>Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. It's too small
>for one thing and OK for short pieces. If you have a longer board you're
>screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence and even then you
>only have less than 2 feet to work with.
>Thanks for your opinions.
I made Norm's router table. Actually I used the first design and made
some changes to it. First, I improved the dust collection and moved
the DC port to the side. I used 1/4" thick Plexiglas and used magnets
to hold it in place. All the drawers were hand cut dovetails and the
top is trimmed with white oak. I added an extra electrical outlet to
the front and rear. I turned my own knobs. It looks more like a
piece of furniture rather than a shop router table. The only thing I
wish I had is an easy lift mechanism for the router.
Pictures?
Art
"Hoosierpopi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:4cd95187-6e82-437a-9631-c0f6c3930d11@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> I built mine using old desk drawers and a table top salvaged from a
> Subway store renovation - already laminated top and bottom with
> plastic eding installed!
>
> I had some 1.25" dowel laying about ad drilled four 0.5" holes 0.75"
> deep into the base with a forstner bit, cut four pieces of dowel to
> fit and saned flush with the top of the base, then put some materila
> under each, glue on to and set the tpo on them until the glue dried.
>
> When it had, I gingerly remove the top, turned it over, drilled
> through the dowes into the top a added s screw to each locating pin
> (dowel).
>
> For a control, I used two duplex outlets and one three-way switch. One
> outlet is inside the chamber to allow connecting the portable router.
> he switch is facing front and the other duplex outlet is on the right
> side near the front.
>
> This second outlet is split so that one "side" (top in this case) is
> always "hot" and the other (bottom) is in series with the outlet
> powering the router when the three-way switch is in the "off" or
> "down" position and out of the circuit when in the "up" or "on"
> position.
>
> I took a cheap foot switch meant to plug into an outlet and have the
> controlled tool plug into a receptacle on the switch so that pressing
> on the foot switch sends power to the tool.
>
> It still works that way, but I created a shorting plug to fit in its
> "tool outlet" so that, when I plug it into the bottom outlet on the
> router table, it serves to allow control of the the router with me
> foot.
>
> Using a similarly configured speed control and my "shorting plug," I
> can control the speed of the router with my foot as well.
>
> For bit storage, I took a couple of spare (mis-matched) full extension
> slides and fixed them to a vertical panel to which I added sevel rows
> of two-by sliced so as to present an anfled face into which I drilled
> holes to hold 0.5 an 0.25" bits. it holds nearly a hundred bits!
>
> None of it as pretty as Norm's - I used re-cycled plywood from some
> old shelving, sandwich shop top, salvaged desk drawers, Corian sink
> cut-off for a mounting plate and some scrap aluminum for a fence.
>
> You guys would positively cringe!
>
>
> 0.5"
I recently built it and it's great. The only change I made was to use
a double thickness of mdf for the top where the plans call for one
3/4" and one 1/2" sheet. 2 3/4" work fine. Also, I used cherry
instead of the maple or oak called for as I have lots of cherry.
The Rockler kit makes sense but if $ are tight, there's nothing there
you couldn't do without or get a a hardware store.
On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:43:59 -0500, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote:
>Have any of you built his table and if so are there any changes you would
>recommend making to it? I'm thinking about building it. I currently have
>the table that the
>Router Workshop guys use and I'm not really happy with it. It's too small
>for one thing and OK for short pieces. If you have a longer board you're
>screwed unless you make up some kind of horizontal fence and even then you
>only have less than 2 feet to work with.
>Thanks for your opinions.