gregW

Nice table Tony... I've been thinking about making a table like yours (no insert & quick setup and break down) and I got a lot of good ideas from the pictures you posted.

Thanks!

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Greg

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harrysin

Tony, I don't know if the photos. give a wrong impression, but the centre hole appears to be no bigger than about 1" in dia. which wouldn't be big enough for lots of cutters incl. lock mitre which requires height adjustment to suit the thickness of the material usually leaving it partly below the table surface.

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Harry

elfworks00

I am designing a table that will hold two routers. The top will be 1 1/2" thick either MDF or plywood. I plan to mount the routers using Jessem aluminum rings which use aluminum twist loc inserts. The outside rings are 5 3/4" in diameter. The router screws will sit in the countersinked holes of the rings and will be flush with the table top. The screws will go through 3/8" of top and screw into the router bases.

The top will be 32" long and 24" wide. The rings will be mounted 10" from each end and will be 12" deep. Jessem uses these rings with their phenolic tops. My question is whether or not these rings will work with a plywood or MDF top?

Primary use of the table will be for cabinet making. I will be using a CMT matched set of tongue and groove bits. The routers will be a Porter Cable 892 and a Triton 3 1/4 HP. I have a new house and need to make a kitchen full of cabinets and drawers.

Thanks for your help!

bobj3

Hi elfworks00

I would not recommend mounting the router just to the ring, it will be a pain from the get go, the 1st.error you will have the holes will not line up to the routers and 5 3/4" is a bit small, I would recommend using a stantard mounting plate, the Jessem are a bit high in price but you can get around that by using the one below,just buy two plates and use one for each router, then you can just drop the router in the pocket and go to work.



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94331


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JessEm 02021 4-Piece Tab-Loc Insert Ring Set
http://www.amazon.com/JessEm-02021-4...1677887&sr=1-4

JessEm 03100 Rout-R-Plate Router Mounting Plate
http://www.amazon.com/JessEm-03100-R...677926&sr=1-30

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Thrifty Tool Guy

Deck,

I've given-up on the insert method and opt-ed for simple tables (23"x20") with different size openings. Typically, I laminate a piece of 1/4" thick furniture grade plywood (Baltic Birch) to a 1" thick MDF sheet. The MDF sheet is cut with a clearance hole to pass the router base. I laminate the top and exposed bottom (i.e., the area within the MDF clearance hole) of the plywood with formica sheet. The router base is mounted the laminated plywood piece which seems to be quite rigid and the formica supports the flat-head base screws. At that point, I only have to drill/bore the table opening to the desired size, which is easier (for me) than mounting a base plate.

Since I have a local hardwood furniture manufacturer, the 1" MDF and Baltic Birch plywood are scrap pile escapees. Similarly, the formica sheet is scrap from one of my local kitchen cabinet builders/installers. When I'm feeling really fancy (i.e., making one for some other person), I'll trim the table edges with scrap hardwood from furniture manufacturer dumpster. In the end, my material cost is limited to contact cement and a few finishing nails.

Now, relative to the advantages of an insert plate, I would have to say that I agree with all the arguments advocating an insert. However, in my world, I've never had to remove a router base from a table (I have a two base Bosch router unit), so an insert doesn't hold many advantages for me. Actually, I rarely spin anything larger than 1.5 or 1.75".

Good luck,

TTG

grim99

Deck,
I have had a homemade one at work with the router mounted directly to the table.
It works fine most of the time, the thickness of the table will get in the way of some bits. The other day I had to do some work on it and finally cut out for a plate. It is 17 years old and I have run out of places to screw a router under it. I think I like the plate better.
Goodnight,
Grim

bobj3

Hi TTG

"I rarely spin anything larger than 1.5 or 1.75"."

That's like saying I have a Corvette but I only have 4 spark wires hooked up.. .....you don't need to have your foot in it all the time but if it's not setup to do it all you can't use to it's full potential when the need comes up.

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cptblackeye

Very good eye, The hole is actually 1-1/2 inches in diameter. I have not used the lock mitre on this table yet. This is my second table. On my first and more primitive experimental table I used the lock mitre and made the hole bigger by raising the level of the bit slowly (plunging) to increase the hole size. The biigest bit i've used on this table is a 1/2 inch roundover and plunged the bit into a 1 inch hole to open it up to the current 1-1/2 inches. I'll be posting photos of my projects completed on this table soon.
P.S. - i really like your avatar!

Tony

grim99

That's a really good idea TTG, having a table with a built in plate.
Grim

Thrifty Tool Guy

Grim99,

Thanks, I've been pleasantly surprised with the rigidity of the 1/4" plywood and formica laminate lay-up. Phenolic sheet or Aluminum plate would definitely be stronger, but I haven't found any readily accessible dumpsters stocking those items (but I do continue to look!) .

Relative to Bob's comment, when the day comes that I need to swing a bigger bit, I'll drill a bigger hole in the existing table and make a new table top with a small hole or design and fab a small insert ring to reduce the gaping big hole I just drilled. No need to pay for a Corvette when a Beetle does the job.

TTG