Centering your router on a mounting plate

41916 Views 61 Replies 37 Participants Last post by niswanger, Jan 8, 2016

Mike

Discussion Starter · Jun 22, 2009

2

It is very important that your router be centered on your mounting plate. Many people sweat over this for hours remeasuring before they drill their mounting holes. The quick and easy way to do this is with a centering kit from Rousseau. These kits work with all brands of mounting plates that accept Porter Cable style guide bushings and they cost $5.

Step 1. You chuck up the centering pin in your routers 1/4" collet.
Step 2. Insert the disk into the center hole of your mounting plate.
Step 3. Remove the sub base plate from your router, set it and the screws aside.
Step 4. Install the transfer screws into your routers base with the points facing out.
Step 5. place the centering pin into the disk, position your router to face the direction you want it mounted and lightly tap the edge of your router with a mallet. This marks the locations you need to drill.
Step 6. Drill the holes, flip the plate over and slightly countersink them.
Step 7. Using the new screws that came in the centering kit attach your router and it is perfectly centered.

If you are using a plate that accepts the larger Oak Park style guide bushings you can purchase a centering disk and a guide pin from them. You can purchase transfer screws from most hardware stores or tool suppliers.

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Mike

Discussion Starter · #21 · Sep 11, 2011

Not centering your router in your mounting plate is like not aligning the tires on your car. It may work but performance goes way down since things are not adjusted properly. Centering your router only takes a couple of minutes and is essential if you want to use guide bushings.

del schisler

· #22 · Sep 13, 2011 (Edited)

centering the mounting plate and bit to the plate

this is what i did i put in a guide bushing in the plate up side down use a big opening guide and use a round bottom bit or a 45 degree bit and brought the bit to the guide bushing. That center the bit to the guide bushing which centered the plate . Tighten the plate to the router. Works for me or have i been lucky ???

grandpagrizzly

· #23 · Sep 13, 2011

I just found this forum and am anxious to see what all is available. Someone sent me a message but it is being blocked by my system.
GG

Aryan

· #24 · Sep 24, 2011

Hi...,Great post..It is really helpful to centered on mounting plate...a friend tell me about this site and i see is really good....Nice sharing.

fishuntbike

· #25 · Mar 16, 2012

2

I centered my router to the plate I just made out of 1/2 flexiglass. I located the center of my plate then drilled a small hole, layed my router with center bit on it and everything was measured from the center hole. I included the center insert came from Rocker by routing the depth of insert and drilled a 3" hole. The insert accommodate the PC bushing. Also I included 8 leveling set screws seating on magnets

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rinthesun

· #26 · Apr 3, 2012

2

Mounting Sears fixed router in a Rousseau Plat

I have placed a step by step process for mounting my new Sears router.

workshopprojects.blogspot.com/2012/03/mounting-router-to-rousseau-3509-plate.html]Workshop Projects: Mounting Router to Rousseau 3509 Plate

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bobj3

· #27 · Apr 3, 2012

Workshop Projects: Mounting Router to Rousseau 3509 Plate

==

ggom20

· #28 · Apr 3, 2012

Hello!

IMHO:

Centering is good for use of guide bushes.
with a very good lift or the fixed base system.

Now try centering a guide bush on a plunge router...

You'll find it is always false a bit later, the plunge collums got so much play
that it' s absolutely useless...

Seen the green Bosh POF 1400 with about +- 2/100 " that's +-o.5mm -hawfull.
My rioby's not better anyway.

The only way for accurate jobs with those plunge routers is the use of cutters with bearings.
That works for dovetailing to.

Regards

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mpjredsox

· #29 · May 3, 2012

I have purchased an RT1000xl table from Canada, it is beautiful, it came with to laxan plates one with a two inch hole, and a blank. I also purchased an aluminum plate from them with a three inch whole that comes with a ring and a brass center piece. I have a Bosch 1617 router and I purchased a lift base. Your right when you say you agonize over the mounting of the router. I have no idea how to do it, I also purchased a fly cutter to cut a larger whole in the blanl lexan plate so I can use raised panel bits eventually. But there i don't know how to cut the whole with the small lip to holf the rings, or do I need to. I need Mounting and cutting holes for router mounting For the Real Dummies.

Neil Tsubota

· #30 · Sep 18, 2012

I like your link.

Finally found the page on the Rousseau 3509 plate.

BRAVOGOLFTANGO

· #31 · Oct 11, 2012

Great info, the Kreg Table I just returned had a clear guide overlay for centering, but I didn't particularly care for it for accuracy, albeit I measured and measured even with the single hole lineup, couldn't figure how that would be exact aside from measuring the template to insert edges while eyeballing the lineup hole.

This makes finding your insert holes precise when building a router table like I'm planning to start tomorrow.

Thanks for all the good info, us newbies need all the help we can get.

Willway

· #32 · Feb 19, 2013

Mike said:
It is very important that your router be centered on your mounting plate. Many people sweat over this for hours remeasuring before they drill their mounting holes. The quick and easy way to do this is with a centering kit from Rousseau. These kits work with all brands of mounting plates that accept Porter Cable style guide bushings and they cost $5.

Step 1. You chuck up the centering pin in your routers 1/4" collet.
Step 2. Insert the disk into the center hole of your mounting plate.
Step 3. Remove the sub base plate from your router, set it and the screws aside.
Step 4. Install the transfer screws into your routers base with the points facing out.
Step 5. place the centering pin into the disk, position your router to face the direction you want it mounted and lightly tap the edge of your router with a mallet. This marks the locations you need to drill.
Step 6. Drill the holes, flip the plate over and slightly countersink them.
Step 7. Using the new screws that came in the centering kit attach your router and it is perfectly centered.

If you are using a plate that accepts the larger Oak Park style guide bushings you can purchase a centering disk and a guide pin from them. You can purchase transfer screws from most hardware stores or tool suppliers.

Thanks Mike. This may be the wrong place to ask a question but does this set work with the Grizzly plate you recommend?

Blakewnelson94

· #33 · Feb 26, 2014

Thanks for the great post! all these stickies really help a newbie kick off

sunrunner

· #34 · Jul 11, 2014

In concerns to another reason why centering a router bit in a table is very important. I am an avid Incra LS Positioner User. If that router bit is not centered it is a bear to set up that accessory to work correctly if you can do it at all. I create tons of boxes with up to four different registrations and I'll tell you if that bit is not in the center of the router table you get all kinds of interesting results. But once both the router bit is centered to the table and the Incra Positioner is centered to the bit life is good.

idarwin

· #35 · Sep 5, 2014

Mike said:
It is very important that your router be centered on your mounting plate.

Mike, could I ask you please to clarify (a) why it's so very important and (b) how critical the centering is? I presume it needs to be centered on the existing hole rather than the exact dead centre of the plate (if they differ; I don't know of any brands for which this is true).

Thanks!

jw2170

· #36 · Sep 5, 2014

Hi Ian,

Mike is away for a short period.

However, the reason the router is centered on the mounting plate is so that the guide bushings are correctly centered.

If you never intend to use guide bushings, this is not critical as the cutter will reference of the fence.

idarwin

· #37 · Sep 5, 2014

Ah, makes sense, thanks!

sunrunner

· #38 · Sep 8, 2014

There are two reasons I can think of why it makes sense to center your router in the base plate. If you want to use an Incra jig and the bit isn't centered it is much harder to align the jig. In extreme cases I've seen the jig actually mounted crooked to compensate. If you use a pin router and the pin and the bit aren't aligned with each other the results you get are not acceptable. I found it is much easier if both pin and router bit are centered in their respective plates and the plates are centered to each other.

Victor

bob156235

· #39 · Nov 22, 2014 (Edited)

This reply may not be best-suited in this table mounted section, but the same topic is being addressed, so...

I never liked the base plate on my hand-held Ryobi R180 due to part of the round perimeter being flat and using it against curved guides/edges, etc. So I bought a universal round, clear, predrilled base which came with additioanl screws, a brass collar w/nut to hold the centering pin, and a brass (centering) pin shaped like a golf tee to theoretically "center" the plate around the router collet.

I cannot get the plate centered after numerous attempts! The predrilled holes are adequatedly sized, so there is ample room for the screws and heads to adjust to the router foot print. I installed the centering collar and it fits snuggly into the plate hole with no slop. I then snuggly pressed the pin into the collar while it "wedges" itself into the collar, presumably to center the plate, and while maintaining pressure, I tighten the router collet, then tighten the four screws, yet the plate is not centered! It is consistantly 1/32"+ off!

This was a couple of months ago. I have used it since then, but now "rotate" the router so as to keep the same area of the plate against the guide edges when I'm not using a bearing bit. What can it be? Is the plate center-hole NOT centered? :blink:

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DaninVan

· #40 · Nov 22, 2014

Hey, Bob; out of curiosity, are your screws conical on the underside (flat head screws) or flat on the underside (round or pan head screws). I keep seeing references and comments in books and articles suggesting replacing the existing OEM ones.
If either the countersink or the screw is conical then for sure it'll pull away from where you want it.

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