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Router table upgrade

11K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  whimsofchaz 
#1 ·
Well, I have had this metal frame cart given to me by a friend, that was originally used at a macy's store to put price tags and such on clothes. It was an assembly table for a while, and then I mounted my router table top on it. It worked OK, but it was a little light, and the bins that were mounted on it just filled up with dirt.

I took an idea from one of the articles on a "woodworkingathome.com" DVD, ad added a cabinet with several small drawers. The majority of my router accessories are less than 2 inches tall, so the small drawers make everything easier to find than in the deeper drawers they used to be in. The drawers are also interchangable in the different slots, except for the 3 odd sized ones that were made to fit the bigger boxes of some of my bit sets. In all, it took 2 sheets of ply, 2 sheets of 1/4 hardboard for the drawer bottoms, and about 400 screws, but the storage and the sheer weight of the cabinet make the router table much more functional. Probably only around $65 for the wood, $30 in hardware.

The piece of MDF on the outfeed of the table is easily replacable, and serves as a cuting surface for handheld work. The cabinet is actually pretty spacious, the drawers are 25 inches deep, and slide fully thru the cabinet so the open on both sides. This allowed me to make fewer drawers, and store some pretty long items in there, like my router compasses, etc. The cubby oposite the router was originally going to be fitted with 2 slide out bit trays, but I had so much storage that I ended up dividing the cabinet at that point and it holds my other router and the plunge base for the mounted router.

The height is a little low, but it is just about even with my workbench when I put the protective top on it, and it tucks under the extension wing of my saw if I need to get it out of the way. The casters lock, and the extra weight really prevents it from sliding around, but I have some wedges that will actually jack it up a hair and really lock it down if I'm doing BIG stuff.

I'll probably end up putting some finish on it, but only if I have nothing else to do any time soon. I am also going to try a couple of dust collection ideas as well.

The switch is from sears, it was only $20, and I had a coupon for $5 off, so I figured what the heck. The opening on the front and side give easy access to the controls, but height adjustment is also thru the top.
 

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#5 ·
Thanks for the comments, guys. Just finished the bit tray insert in the top drawer, it is a 12 x 12 x 1 inch tray with holes spaced every one inch, alternating 1/2 and 1/4. It is amazing how many bits you can store in such a small space, and leave plenty of room around them so they cannot touch each other. Sure beats the tackle boxes I had them in before....
 
#7 ·
Well done Doug!. That's a real top notch job of squeezing the most out of what you had on hand anyhow. What did you use for the drawer slides/guides?
 
#9 ·
Thanks guys,

This was an older post, but I'm glad you like it and are getting some ideas from it.

The table has been working out great for the past few years. I did have to make a few adjustments and rewax the drawers, I guess 5 years of humidity swelled the edges of the hardboard drawer slides and made them a little tight, but now they're slick as glass. The drawer slides are just the hardboard bottoms of the drawers. They ride in a dado in the case sides. They are able to slide all the way through to both sides, so it's almost like full extension drawers. They hold an impressive amount of weight.

The drawers are nice and shallow, making it easy to keep everything organized and still find things in a hurry.

Lee,
Unfortunately that K9 isn't with us anymore, Cassie surrendered to bone cancer last fall. She left some pretty big shoes to fill. Fortunately I've adopted a pair of 3 year old sisters who just stopped racing on New Year's Eve last year. They aren't quite sure about visiting in me in the workshop right now, but I'm sure once they get used to the noises they will be poking their noses around as well.
 

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#10 ·
Hi

DOGS,,,I had a great doberman she was great dog she loved the shop she would go into the bolt and nut box under the work bench and dig out what she wanted to play with all the time but she could be a pain also if I was working on a car she would pickup the bolts and nuts and take them out into the drive way or where every and just drop them, by the time I was ready to put them back in place I could not find one of them ,I sure miss her.. :( I sure wish I could find my Snap-On sockets that she took outside..

===
 
#13 ·
I love the idea, Doug! I bought a Woodpeckers metal router table for my Incra LS positioner ... I wanted something to get going quickly and it's been fantastic for productivity, however, the 43x20-something-ish(?) space it consumes is completely wasted as it is. Under the table, are two shelves (one on the bottom and one in the middle) and nothing else. The dust goes everywhere! I've been thinking about boxing the underside of the router and adding a 4" dust collection port, but the thought never crossed my mind to do something with the remainder of wasted space until I saw your exceptional design! I really like the clever simplicity of your drawer guides and admit I'm going to have to copy your idea!

Just a thought ... I saw a really cool router bit storage idea in one of my magazines (can't remember which). The idea is to cut a bunch of square tiles of 3/4 thick hardwood. 1x1 tiles for smaller diameter bits, 2x2's and 3x3's for the larger diameter bits. Center the hole on the tile and now you can lay your bits into a drawer to maximize the use of the space because each bit takes up as little a space you dedicate to the square it sits in. Plus, you have a little base to label your bits (if you suffer from the same degree of self-diagnosed OCD that I do) :lol: Thanks for sharing!
 
#19 ·
Well, I have had this metal frame cart given to me by a friend, that was originally used at a macy's store to put price tags and such on clothes. It was an assembly table for a while, and then I mounted my router table top on it. It worked OK, but it was a little light, and the bins that were mounted on it just filled up with dirt.
I too like all the storage space provided by the shallow drawers. Reminds me of a quality tool cabinet so you can get to all your tools while having them well organized.

Nice job!
 
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