kk

krw

06/04/2009 6:57 PM

Router in Saw Table?


I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw has
a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.

Any idea how to set up a lift in a MDF table? I have it in a table
now but the leveling screw dig into the MDF making adjustment
difficult. Should I insert some angle iron or some such in the table?
The top's going to get pretty thin inlaying both the lift and a piece
of angle iron.


This topic has 12 replies

BB

Bored Borg

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

07/04/2009 1:14 AM

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 00:57:07 +0100, krw wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):

>
> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw has
> a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.
>
> Any idea how to set up a lift in a MDF table? I have it in a table
> now but the leveling screw dig into the MDF making adjustment
> difficult. Should I insert some angle iron or some such in the table?
> The top's going to get pretty thin inlaying both the lift and a piece
> of angle iron.
>

make the routerlift hole go all the way through the table then screw straight
irons around and overlapping the edge of the hole, underneath, to make a
perimeter shelf. Drill down into the shelf through your existing routerplate
holes then tap the holes to take 3 or 4mm socket head screws. You can then
adjust level by going through the holes with a hex key, take the lift off and
run a nut up or down the screw (while holding it on the key) to lock it.

You probably only need the corners supporting, so take an "L" bracket for
each corner and screw it so the outside of the corner protrudes into the
corner of your hole, with the arms of the "L" pointing away from the hole and
giving you lots of area to screw up to the underside of the table.

Add a couple more midway along the long side if you wish.

You might want to file off the sharp corner to protect your hands from the
inevitable.

Pp

Puckdropper

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

07/04/2009 3:23 AM

"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>
> "krw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
>> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
>> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw
>> has a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.
>
> Do you mind cutting a hole in your rip fence? I would say that 85% of
> the time I have my router bit behind the fence face.
>

I'm sure you know this, but just about every TS fence I've seen has had
provisions for a semi-permanent sacrificial fence to be attached. All
the OP would need is a suitable material such as a good dry hardwood or
plastic.

Just be aware that if you want to use a large bit you might need to
install a really thick sacrificial fence.

Puckdropper
--
"The potential difference between the top and bottom of a tree is the
reason why all trees have to be grounded..." -- Bored Borg on
rec.woodworking

To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm

kk

krw

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

08/04/2009 7:25 PM

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 01:14:42 +0100, Bored Borg
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 00:57:07 +0100, krw wrote
>(in article <[email protected]>):
>
>>
>> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
>> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
>> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw has
>> a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.
>>
>> Any idea how to set up a lift in a MDF table? I have it in a table
>> now but the leveling screw dig into the MDF making adjustment
>> difficult. Should I insert some angle iron or some such in the table?
>> The top's going to get pretty thin inlaying both the lift and a piece
>> of angle iron.
>>
>
>make the routerlift hole go all the way through the table then screw straight
>irons around and overlapping the edge of the hole, underneath, to make a
>perimeter shelf. Drill down into the shelf through your existing routerplate
>holes then tap the holes to take 3 or 4mm socket head screws. You can then
>adjust level by going through the holes with a hex key, take the lift off and
>run a nut up or down the screw (while holding it on the key) to lock it.

Very interesting idea. That essentially reverses the height
adjustments of the lift. They're set screws in the lift that adjust
down into the table. It certainly seems like it would work.

>You probably only need the corners supporting, so take an "L" bracket for
>each corner and screw it so the outside of the corner protrudes into the
>corner of your hole, with the arms of the "L" pointing away from the hole and
>giving you lots of area to screw up to the underside of the table.

Thought you said "screw up the underside...". Yes, that's another
good one. Gotta think about this some more before committing the
table.

>Add a couple more midway along the long side if you wish.
>
>You might want to file off the sharp corner to protect your hands from the
>inevitable.

Already thought about that. ;-)

Di

"Dave in Houston"

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

06/04/2009 9:00 PM


"krw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw has
> a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.
>
> Any idea how to set up a lift in a MDF table? I have it in a table
> now but the leveling screw dig into the MDF making adjustment
> difficult. Should I insert some angle iron or some such in the table?
> The top's going to get pretty thin inlaying both the lift and a piece
> of angle iron.

I purchased a 30X60X1-1/2 thick laminated maple top from Woodcraft ($185
+/- with the 15% off). Had to rip it to 27 inch width to fit between the
rails of my JET contractor saw and put a couple of legs under it (with some
threaded-stemmed feet I'd been saving for about 20 years off what I can't
remember now). I end drilled the legs and epoxied a nut into each hole for
the stems to thread into. Makes it easy to level.
I used my Woodhaven router plate as a template and cut a through hole
about a half inch undersized all the way around. Then I set a straight bit
to just slightly more than the depth of the plate and carefully free-handed
a ledge for the plate to sit on. Some small flat head screws in the corners
of the ledge allow for depth adjustment for the plate to sit flush.

Dave in Houston

Lr

"Leon"

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

06/04/2009 10:30 PM


"Puckdropper" <puckdropper(at)yahoo(dot)com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>>
>> "krw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>>
>>> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
>>> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
>>> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw
>>> has a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.
>>
>> Do you mind cutting a hole in your rip fence? I would say that 85% of
>> the time I have my router bit behind the fence face.
>>
>
> I'm sure you know this, but just about every TS fence I've seen has had
> provisions for a semi-permanent sacrificial fence to be attached. All
> the OP would need is a suitable material such as a good dry hardwood or
> plastic.


I am aware of that but if you don't have a through hole all the debris comes
back out at you.

BH

Brian Henderson

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

09/04/2009 5:40 PM

Ralph E Lindberg wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> krw <[email protected]> wrote:
>> The lift has a smaller fence, but yes it would require some work to
>> make a sacrificial fence. I don't see chewing up a Biesemeyer.

> I just use a 2nd fence that clamps to the main fence

Exactly, I have a secondary router table in my tablesaw and it uses a
dedicated router fence, complete with split face, that fastens to the
tablesaw fence. I really don't see how you could get the full range of
router table functionality with just a straight fence and no opening for
the bit.

LH

"Lowell Holmes"

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

09/04/2009 1:48 PM


">> The lift has a smaller fence, but yes it would require some work to
>> make a sacrificial fence. I don't see chewing up a Biesemeyer.
>>
>> Good points. Thanks.
>
> I just use a 2nd fence that clamps to the main fence
>
Me too! A second fence with Destaco clamps.
If you make the fence hollow inside, a vacuum hose can be attached to
collect the sawdust. I haven't done that yet, but I am going to.

kk

krw

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

08/04/2009 7:26 PM

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 19:40:09 -0500, "Leon"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"krw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>
>> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
>> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
>> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw has
>> a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.
>
>Do you mind cutting a hole in your rip fence? I would say that 85% of the
>time I have my router bit behind the fence face.

The lift has a smaller fence, but yes it would require some work to
make a sacrificial fence. I don't see chewing up a Biesemeyer.

Good points. Thanks.

Lr

"Leon"

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

06/04/2009 7:40 PM


"krw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw has
> a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.

Do you mind cutting a hole in your rip fence? I would say that 85% of the
time I have my router bit behind the fence face.







BS

"Bob S."

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

06/04/2009 10:49 PM


"krw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw
> has
> a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.
>
> Any idea how to set up a lift in a MDF table? I have it in a table
> now but the leveling screw dig into the MDF making adjustment
> difficult. Should I insert some angle iron or some such in the
> table?
> The top's going to get pretty thin inlaying both the lift and a piece
> of angle iron.
>

This may give you some ideas...

BS

"Bob S."

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

06/04/2009 11:11 PM



> This may give you some ideas...
>
>

Sorry, a bit fast on the trigger

http://www.patwarner.com/router_table.html

Pat Warner's site is an excellent read and full of sage advice that you
can adapt to mounting a router in your tablesaw. I did it a few years
back after building the fence Pat designed and described in an article
he did for FWW.

The page above shows the version of the fence I built from Pat's
plans - and I still use it today. I have a 52" Jet cabinet saw and
mounted the router and fence at the very end with just enough room for
the fence. I mounted a Jessem Router Lift and have not considered
changing a thing since I installed everything. With the full table to
the left and my outfeed table on the TS, I have a nice working area for
routing which comes in handy when doing the final touches on some long
cabinet door panels.

The fence Pat designed is rock solid and very well thought out. I see
on his home page http://www.patwarner.com/ he has a new version of
the fence which is a simpler design
http://www.patwarner.com/routerfence.html that should provide some
ideas for you to consider.

Bob S.


RE

Ralph E Lindberg

in reply to krw on 06/04/2009 6:57 PM

09/04/2009 5:22 AM

In article <[email protected]>,
krw <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 19:40:09 -0500, "Leon"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> >"krw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >>
> >> I've seen router lifts in saw tables and am considering pulling my
> >> lift out of my router table and dropping it into the saw's extension
> >> table. I could really use the floor space and as I see it the saw has
> >> a much better fence than any I could put on the router table.
> >
> >Do you mind cutting a hole in your rip fence? I would say that 85% of the
> >time I have my router bit behind the fence face.
>
> The lift has a smaller fence, but yes it would require some work to
> make a sacrificial fence. I don't see chewing up a Biesemeyer.
>
> Good points. Thanks.

I just use a 2nd fence that clamps to the main fence

--
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This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
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