Tilt Table

swissarmyknife1

Just a quick thought, but has anyone ever suggested suspending the router "under" a rolling stool frame? It would make using a plunge router "liftable" for poor arm strength, a large "wheelbase" would allow for broad secure handholds and on a larger work surface allow "freehand" sign cuttting. What do you guys think?

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allthunbs

Bob and Swissarmyknife:

Take both your ideas and put them together. Put the router toward the centre of a circular table that is sitting on a lazysusan bearing. This can be accomplished with a groove routed into the table top and matching base to allow 1/8" clearance. Use glass marbles as bearings sitting in wax or vaseline and use weatherstripping (the brush type) to act as a dust barrier. A tredle lock can be included to lock the top in position or released to allow movement.

The fence can be clamped relative to the bit and because the router is mounted to the tabletop, that relationship is stable. Release the lock and the whole thing turns changing the working position without changing anything else.

Just a suggestions. Brainstorming here.

Allthunbs

Slinking

Can you make a jig or fixture for it?..........that way you move the workpiece instead of changing the angle of the bit.......kinda like a 45 degree sled?

Just trying to help.
Scott

Slinking

Hey, I like that idea about the router under the rolling stool frame.

You might really be onto something there.

Hey.......somebody once dreamed up a router table, right?
Scott

TAJones

So, many good idea to think about. I like the rotating table idea...

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Tom

Robin

So a very large Lazy Susan for rotation and how about drawer slides for left to right? At first I thought maybe a suspended table but then you have work surface wobble. The router would be actually bolted to an under-frame and the table/work piece moves around that. Throw in the ability to tilt the front face of the "table" up and down for ease of movement.
MMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Robin

PS
Think of a normal router table stand. What if the entire mechanism we are describing can be raised or lowered? Have old style bumper jack parts on the device hooked to a central crank. Rotate, raise, lower, tilt, slide and all controls/device operator points at one central position.
Robin

Mike

Lots of re inventing the wheel going on here. The stool idea is overkill. A router set up on a ski jig is very easy to move and far more stable than it would be on casters or wheels. Motorised router lifts are available. Bob and Rick say: "KISS" (keep it simple stupid) and for good reason. For routing with out any strain, lifting or movement there are CNC machines like the CarveWright or CompuCarve. That way all your energy is devoted to developing the concept and the machine does the work for you.

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Mike
Please edit your profile with a name and location so we can better assist you.

Lemuzz

Hi Im an engineer and have developed for spinal patients a multi angle arm for them to mount their TV, computer etc for them to use whether they are lying down in traction or sitting in their wheelchair. A similar concept could be used to mount a router. This arm could be attached to a table and would have infinite movement over the surface of the table. the weight of the router would be born by this arm. The operator would only need to guide it. The next stage could provide router height adjustment either using a wind up handle or an electrical actuator perhaps coupled to a digital readout to raise the router at the end of the cut, the options are endless, limited only to your imagination and your bank balance.
The first stage mentioned above would cost about the same as a router, about NZ $300 or $400 for the arm, post, and router attachment. Any good engineer could produce one.
One of my computer arms will easily support a 10kg computer (about 22 lbs).

allthunbs

Hi Lemuzz: I think you're describing a radial arm router. In essence, take a radial arm saw, remove the saw motor and replace it with a router. I'm not sure it would work in this instance. Robin has limited left/right movement.

However, I do need your council in another direction. Go back a few posts and you'll see where I combine several other posts into a round router table sitting on a lazy susan. How can I lock that lazy susan and still retain the pressure on the bearings? If I put a wedge in the side, I'll lift the bearing slightly and thus throw the relationship between the operator and the table/fence off. Suggestions?

Allthunbs