DONALD

I like what you've done with mostly "found" material. You've given me an idea that I'd never considered before........checking with local cabinet shops for their scraps. The guy who built our kitchen cabinets 18yrs. ago used all his scraps to heat his shop by burning them in an old heavy metal mail box he made into a wood burning stove.

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NewMontanaWorkshop

Agree, cabinet shops can be quite handy for a variety of stock. From one -- I've gotten quite a bit of Baltic Birch ply, another has laminated chip-board (which is where I picked up some tossed stuff that will make my next router table).

I'm now making a list of all the cabinet shops in the area so I can do 'drive-bys' on a regular basis to see what's available.

Don't overlook your local contractors either. I have a friend that works as a secretary for a contractor, she has gotten permission for me to 'dumpster-dive' the large haul-away dumpsters. She has my list of times when I'd like to go see what has been tossed and calls me when various construction sites reach that stage.

(Note: Do not go right after the drywall has been installed . You'll come out looking like a ghost and it's hard to get to the good stuff which will be buried under layers of drywall).

I recently built a corner shelf unit that needed a 2-1/2"X2-1/2" post for the back corner. Lacking any other 'goodies', I ran a bunch of oak trim cutoffs through the thicknesser making them 48" long by 1/2" X 1/2". 25 of these glued together made a nice post of just the right size, which was then faced and routed to receive the side panels.

The neat thing about this is my sister (who the corner shelf was made for) can let people know that part of the shelf "came out of the dumpster".

DONALD

Great job........very resourceful!

srjaynes

Subject? What Table to build???

You may want to consider building a table with TWO router plate holes. I find mine invaluable. I have an Oak's Park size hole in one end and another more standard (really no such thing...) size in the other end.

To make it even more useful, I made a top to cover the table when I'm not routing, from plywood and scrap oak flooring. It makes a great assembly table with the top in place. The auxilary top has a lip around the edge and just sits in place without any fasteners.

I used one of the commercial metal router tables and single ended top from Woodpeckers as a start. Then I cut the hole for the Oaks Park plates in the empty end and boxed the whole thing in with 1/2" plywood. I made one long shelf in the bottom and three compartments in the upper level. The two end compartments serve as "dust collection boxes" for the two routers and the center section has slide-out shelves for bits, collars, and misc.

I'll try to take some pictures but my schedule is full right now, with the Woodworking Show in town this weekend and such...

Keep your fingers on your hands!

Putzger

Congrats on your 890-series router! I have two 690s and I'm a bit jealous Wanna Swap??

DON'T <as in Do NOT> buy the Porter Cable Router Table!

See how I turned that "sow's ear into a silk purse" at this link -- www.ApacheTrail.com/ww/tools-jigs/rt/

The PC router table has a surface that's quite small (too small in most opinions) and the fence "system" is a very kludgey joke. As if those aren't enough reason to avoid the PC table, the way the router mounts in it is enough to make any experience user scream in shock and terror.

Being penurous at the time, I had to use the PC mounting method when I made a new table top...

Oh yeah, and unless you manage to find one heck of a deal at a huge retailer, you're going to pay way too much and get way too little for that PC table.

__________________
Steve
www.apachetrail.com/ww/
Mesa, AZ

Learning Herb

Rockler makes a nice one for $70.00 bucks .www.rockler.com
Thanks Learning Herb

__________________
I try to learn some thing new each and every day ,
Learning Herb

JohnnyTest

With the PC 895 you will find a CD-Rom, on this there are detailed instructions on making a router table. For a fraction of the price you can make a very good router table at the same time get to know how to use your router and build with it.

bmb in ab

Yes. Make sure you have proper eye and ear protection.

pmspirito

If you want to see the extreme in complexity and cost in router tables, go to www.woodpecker.com and get their catalog of Incra products. Its all way over the top for me. It sure looks nice, but seems very complicated.

I picked up a sheet of MDF and some Formica this week and will probably get a start on my Router Workshop table this weekend.

pmspirito

I cut out and dry clamped my router table today. I stayed closer to Bob and Rick's table than I originally planed. I cut back on the extra large size and went with 1/2 inch birch plywood instead of the 3/4 inch that I originally planned. It was clear it would be way too heavy to shuffle around the shop. I used 3/4 MDF for the top and will cover it with Formica. It was my first shot at MDF and it was nice to work with.