Well there has to a better way . I used this ,but as long as there was something I could raise high enough to do the bottom half and then flip as you mentioned.Looks like a slot cutter would take care of one of the cuts...
...and a cove bit of the right size would take care of the radius cut. Push it through, turn it over 180 and push it through again. No need for a horizontal router.
Possible...?
That’s a neat setup . Liking the knobs on the extruded aluminum to help lock it down .You might be able to find a round nose bit long enough. I made a horizontal setup once and it was the only way I would have been able to make the picture frame stock I Made. Here's one from MCLS: https://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/horizontal_router_table.html With this the router raises up and down. The one I made had the table go up and down instead. You need a pretty stiff plate to mount the router to. Plastic is okay but keep it as narrow as possible so that it is as stiff as possible. You could make something in a day or two and the horizontal configuration gives you possibilities that a regular table doesn't allow. Keep in mind that if the bit is below your work feed direction is still right to left but if the bit is above your work feed direction reverses and you go left to right. I found out the hard way.
Loving the simplicity as this is what I was looking for , thanks for sharing .I made the horizontal table featured in Fine Woodworking Feb 2001 edition. It took me one afternoon, and it works so well that I have a dedicated router on it, and use it for all my tenons. Fine height adjustment is by threaded bolt, and very accurate. If raising the bit above the table height, Charles' comment on feed direction is very important.
That is pretty much what I did . Ran the bottom threw than the short sections . When it’s behind a fence it’s hard to see where the radius is located. I took a felt marker and made a mark where the router bit is to help visualize it.@RainMan 2.0
Rick, what you have done looks pretty good to me. What are you concerned about, safety? I reckon if you are able to attach a higher false fence to your reversible fence, and make an L-shaped fence to trap the workpiece on the other side, it will be as good as you can get, with your current setup. If you were using featherboards, you would need double-height ones to give you similar safety and stability as the L-fence I am suggesting.
About the radiuses, perhaps try what Nick suggested: rout a short edge straight through, without worrying about the radius, then the long edge straight through, then the other short edge. It will leave you with an edge instead of a curve where the channels intersect, but that can be softened with a few strokes of a round rasp - less hassle than trying to follow the radius.
@Cherryville Chuck,
Charles, like Rick I was taken with the idea of a horizontal table - I think Matthias Wandel had a design, and I also noted the one from MLCS. There was a particularly versatile all-steel model from an outfit called Hawk, I think. I even started gathering materials to make one, but did not proceed, as I was (and am) uncertain about the ability of a non-steel construction to handle the leverage imposed by a plunge router, particularly something beefy in the 2-Hp range. I only have plunge routers, and other than a trim router, none of them have the round-body spindle motor of say a Bosch 1617. I would be particularly concerned hanging one off of the plastic plate - I note you say to keep it as narrow as possible, but again one is limited by the size of the baseplate on a plunge router.
Which router did you use on your rig, and were there any problems with leverage?
Long explanation here Biagio. The quick part is that I took one handle off and used the screw hole for it as one mount and also mounted it around the baseplate somehow and I don't rememeber exactly how I did that now. But when it was mounted you were looking at the original baseplate for it and not an insert plate. I think I may have also used holes at the top end of the "router" (quotes are there for a reason).@Cherryville Chuck,
Charles, like Rick I was taken with the idea of a horizontal table - I think Matthias Wandel had a design, and I also noted the one from MLCS. There was a particularly versatile all-steel model from an outfit called Hawk, I think. I even started gathering materials to make one, but did not proceed, as I was (and am) uncertain about the ability of a non-steel construction to handle the leverage imposed by a plunge router, particularly something beefy in the 2-Hp range. I only have plunge routers, and other than a trim router, none of them have the round-body spindle motor of say a Bosch 1617. I would be particularly concerned hanging one off of the plastic plate - I note you say to keep it as narrow as possible, but again one is limited by the size of the baseplate on a plunge router.
Which router did you use on your rig, and were there any problems with leverage?
Rob, I believe you have put my misgivings to rest, and also made the case for simplicity, over the sophistication of the MLCS system. I cannot quite make out what is attached to the vertical board on the left hand side?I made the horizontal table featured in Fine Woodworking Feb 2001 edition. It took me one afternoon, and it works so well that I have a dedicated router on it, and use it for all my tenons. Fine height adjustment is by threaded bolt, and very accurate. If raising the bit above the table height, Charles' comment on feed direction is very important.
Are you talking about the thing on the left of the router? Just a magnetic sort of set-up to hold the collet spanner.I cannot quite make out what is attached to the vertical board on the left hand side?
Yes, that is the one. Rob, I don’t have that particular issue of FWW, but I remember a similar arrangement in one of those collections of articles that FWW publishes from time to time. Am I correct in thinking that the vertical “Plate” to which the router is attached, pivots on a fixed bolt on the left side, and the height adjustment occurs on the right? Could you post a photo of that part of the build? Thanks.@Biagio
Are you talking about the thing on the left of the router? Just a magnetic sort of set-up to hold the collet spanner.
Well to build them from scratch isn’t a lot of money ,as all I needed was a 2x8.They look really good Rick. I do agree with you it would be easier with a horizontal table. If I was going to do these all the time I'd build a large horizontail table that would support them well and probably use a large router to handle deeper cuts. I'd also charge too much for each one.
You need to add in the cost of materials, new bits, brushes for the router, and a decent per hour labor charge. What do these normally cost? I would think they arn't cheap.Well to build them from scratch isn’t a lot of money ,as all I needed was a 2x8.
But the wear and tear and the labour really adds up .
I’m thinking of telling them $50 a piece ,as I figure it will take me at least an hour to make one .
Sounds high for a 3’ piece of wood , but it all adds up .
