Another router table - comments?

Eusibius2

Hey there - so I'm reaching out to see what you think. I'm the kind of guy who will research til his eyes hurt, then execute to nearly what he wants with some improvisation along the way. With that in mind, I've come up with a router table plan that I think is fairly simplistic, easy to build, and uses little more than 1 sheet of 3/4" plywood, some scrap 2x4, casters and t-track.

The main cabinet is an old bathroom sink cabinet that I already have, just sitting in my basement collecting dust and holding my clamps. Why not make it into something useful???

I thought of a way to make a guard useful and somewhat flexible. I'm thinking of cutting a stock piece of 1/2" plywood 3"x3" and also make a matching 1/2"x3" hole above the bit. Nothing fancy... it can slide in and out of the fence. If pushed all the way in, it will hide inside the dust collection cubby. Or you can pull it all the way out and hide it somewhere. Only thing is I can't see through it or adjust the height... I can do the same thing out of plexi, which would allow more visibility, but I still can't adjust the height this way.

I'm thinking build a base to raise it up a little bit, and also to make it more mobile. Then build a top out of ply, route some dado's for some t-track, cut a hole for a plate, build a fence out of scraps, and viola! A new table! Let me know what y'all think. Overall dimensions are 36" x 22" x 40.5" (L x W x H).

gav

Looks decent.
You might want to consider a laminated MDF top. It would be far less likely to warp and loose it's flattness. Thicker top too, because as it is in your sketchup, the miter track almost goes all the way through.
I just built a very basic bench top router table and as i was looking for scraps in my garden shed I found the jack for my old car. It's a small 'half scissor' jack.
It works great as a router lift !! I bet you can get scissor jacks real cheap.
Might be worth thinking about if you're mounting a plunge router in your table.

levon

hi Eusibius,

i see lots of recommendations for a "laminated top" while this is a great idea, and seems to get new members foaming at the mouth, it isnt necessary.

i see lots more great projects built by members of this forum that were built on a single thickness top. i see this in the older pros here.

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levon

Walter_Lars

I have a couple of thoughts that might help out

use a double thickness on the table top not only dose it prevent warping
it adsorbs vibrations and you still have plenty of meat under the grove your gonna route for the combo T track

add a T track to the fence to add feather boards and hold downs
add a drawer in the cabinet section to hold router bits and tool and other "stuff" a router needs
I think you will be more happy if you use a piece of Plexiglas as your safety shield

levon

i agree if you want a t-track, you need a thicker top, but lots of us use the kiss method.

if you have that much vibration you must have something wrong with your router.

i have a single thickness top and dont have a problem, but if i did, id check out what the problem was instead of adding to the thickness of my router table.

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levon

Soapdish

I use 3/4 Advantec for the top on mine. I sanded it and put polyu on it, it's nice a slick. I don't have any track in, but getting ready to order some. I'm thinking of just adding a 3/4 strip of scrap to the underside of the table directly under the t track.

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levon

hi Jake,
i think if you glue it to the table, it will work fine.

i, having my table for 5 to 6 years havent seen a need to add a track yet, but who knows, maybe soon.

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levon

gav

The choice between ply and Mdf or even particle board would probably come down to the quality of all of them from your own supplier.
Personaly I just used laminated particle board which was the sink cut out from a counter top. it's about 30mm thick and I got it for free. I don't have a miter track at the moment but may put one in.
Mines just a small bench top table, but the places that do cnc cutting of counter tops also have larger pieces sometimes from the stove top cut outs.
They usually just throw them in the trash.

Cocheseuga

I went with two 3/4 MDF with a Formica top. The MDF is great, but I didn't cement the Formica properly and it's coming up in places.

For my second (and smaller) table, I'm going with phenolic-faced ply, since it was on sale for exactly the size I needed. I'll combine that with probably an MDF bottom for again, a 1.5" thick top. I know others have done well with less, but I'd rather go a bit more solid since I'll be moving mine around.

If you don't laminate it, I'd go with MDF for your surface. And +1 on making it thicker if you plan on putting tracks or slots in it.