Blake, the plan you list is the first router table I built. It is not that difficult, you could build this. The Grizzly table is a good choice for a quick start. Building the economy table top and cabinet for it is within your skill level and it works just fine. Most bang for your buck for a good quality router? I suggest the Bosch 1617EVSPK combo kit for about $190.
Advice Needed: Budget Router + Table
Hey all, I'm a DIY and hobbyist in the world of Car and home audio looking to take my builds up a notch. I have decided that adding a routing table to my very modest collection of tools can seriously help me.
The first two attachments are the biggest project I have ever taken on... I borrowed my dads router for the front baffle for those curious
There are subs that go with the floor standers as well... Anyway, I am eventually going to redo those as I decided they aren't quite where I want them. Smoother, better build work, maybe a wood stain finish, etc. That recreation is quite a bit down the line.
The nearer future holds fabricating things such as pic 3 (an adapter for speakers to go into the door of my car. Right now I just have mine bolted to the sheet metal, but I really want to take the install up a notch.)
The next big project I am looking into is an amp rack for my car. It will be two pieces of wood with a LED lit Plexiglas sandwiched in the middle. So routing out shapes in the top piece of wood will be a good chunk of the work and routers are necessary to get smooth cuts in plexi.
So you can see I have a lot of projects in mind and projects cost money lol
That is why I am looking for a router and table with a lot of bang for buck, because i prefer to spend time and money on the projects not the tools. That said I still am willing to invest in something that will last and has some versatility.
After scanning pics of router tables thread I decided that I am interested in a table as portable and spartan as they come, honestly if it would be still be effective I'd just throw a router table top on some saw horses and call it a day.
The T10432 from grizzly is one table that so far has caught my eye.
As a DIY I was attracted to the idea of building a table, but after reading through this build I now am thinking it might be a bit beyond my skills as a woodworker:
woodsmithshop.com/download/303/routertable.pdf
plus not owning a table saw makes straight cuts a challenge...
I am interested in any recommendations on DIY or factory tables plus a router to match. I don't want to throw a budget cap on this, I want to buy something worthwhile... But I don't have much money laying around to spare, so affordable is a must.
Thanks guys for any advice,
Your friendly neighborhood college student,
Blake
The first two attachments are the biggest project I have ever taken on... I borrowed my dads router for the front baffle for those curious
There are subs that go with the floor standers as well... Anyway, I am eventually going to redo those as I decided they aren't quite where I want them. Smoother, better build work, maybe a wood stain finish, etc. That recreation is quite a bit down the line.
The nearer future holds fabricating things such as pic 3 (an adapter for speakers to go into the door of my car. Right now I just have mine bolted to the sheet metal, but I really want to take the install up a notch.)
The next big project I am looking into is an amp rack for my car. It will be two pieces of wood with a LED lit Plexiglas sandwiched in the middle. So routing out shapes in the top piece of wood will be a good chunk of the work and routers are necessary to get smooth cuts in plexi.
So you can see I have a lot of projects in mind and projects cost money lol
That is why I am looking for a router and table with a lot of bang for buck, because i prefer to spend time and money on the projects not the tools. That said I still am willing to invest in something that will last and has some versatility.
After scanning pics of router tables thread I decided that I am interested in a table as portable and spartan as they come, honestly if it would be still be effective I'd just throw a router table top on some saw horses and call it a day.
The T10432 from grizzly is one table that so far has caught my eye.
As a DIY I was attracted to the idea of building a table, but after reading through this build I now am thinking it might be a bit beyond my skills as a woodworker:
woodsmithshop.com/download/303/routertable.pdf
plus not owning a table saw makes straight cuts a challenge...
I am interested in any recommendations on DIY or factory tables plus a router to match. I don't want to throw a budget cap on this, I want to buy something worthwhile... But I don't have much money laying around to spare, so affordable is a must.
Thanks guys for any advice,
Your friendly neighborhood college student,
Blake
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1 - 12 of 12 Posts
First off, thanks for all the input, you guys are awesome
I am pretty busy this semester and don't plan on really diving into my projects until this summer, besides general design and planning. So that said, I think DIY is going to be the way for me. I can build my table when I have some spare time on weekends and then practice with it before I actually begin fabrication this May.
I'll take a look around some local hard ware stores, pawn shops, and yard sales for routers, but the Bosch 1617EVSPK may be a winner. I do have a job so it's not like I don't have any income... but maybe I won't be eating out for a while
I think this is a great starting point but it seems to me that I need to spend a lot more time learning about routing in general before I decide all the features I want my table to have. I'm thinking I will be spending some time this semester reading threads on routing techniques, the purposes of differing bits, etc.
Also I'm going to be reading threads that either step through table builds or are in a how to style.
I'm always open for advice and must read threads.
Thanks for all the help,
Blake
I am pretty busy this semester and don't plan on really diving into my projects until this summer, besides general design and planning. So that said, I think DIY is going to be the way for me. I can build my table when I have some spare time on weekends and then practice with it before I actually begin fabrication this May.
I'll take a look around some local hard ware stores, pawn shops, and yard sales for routers, but the Bosch 1617EVSPK may be a winner. I do have a job so it's not like I don't have any income... but maybe I won't be eating out for a while
I think this is a great starting point but it seems to me that I need to spend a lot more time learning about routing in general before I decide all the features I want my table to have. I'm thinking I will be spending some time this semester reading threads on routing techniques, the purposes of differing bits, etc.
Also I'm going to be reading threads that either step through table builds or are in a how to style.
I'm always open for advice and must read threads.
Thanks for all the help,
Blake
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
