Hi all,
I've been an avid reader of these forums for some time. I'm somewhere between a beginner and intermediate woodworker. Sadly, we don't have a lot of room, so my workshop is a tiny part of our garage. I've finally decided to build my own router table. I've sourced a free laminated benchtop that looks to be just what I need. I bought a Kreg phenolic router insert plate for my Triton TRA001 and it's just arrived in the mail. I have a few newbie vexing questions.
The laminated benchtop is slightly concave (sagging) over it's length but close to dead flat over the width. I measure it at only about 0.004" (0.1mm for us Australians) over the span of about 2 1/2 feet of my straight edge on the length. The Kreg plate is surprisingly fairly convex (bowed upwards). In fact, over it's one foot length, it's a good 0.04" from centre to edge to my eye. So here are my questions.
1. Should I keep the benchtop or look to get something flatter?
2. Should I return the Kreg plate given how far off flat it is? I bought it on eBay from the USA so returning it could be more cost than it's worth.
3. If the answer to 1 and 2 is that I keep them, I have the option of flipping the benchtop over and using the underside, which is not as nice a laminated surface but would present a slight convex instead of a concave. The combination with the plate means that this setup would result in a pronounced convex at the router bit that would be hard to correct with adjustment of the plate.
My own thoughts are that the best setup is use the laminate benchtop the right way up with its slight concave, install the Kreg plate and adjust the height of the plate so the reducing ring surrounding the bit is level with the outside of the benchtop. The result is that the edge of the plate will be slightly below the top of the benchtop but at least there will be no catch points around the plate. Does this sound like a reasonable plan?
Thanks in advance, folks. Sorry if it's a bit of a daft question. I'm showing my lack of experience here.
I've been an avid reader of these forums for some time. I'm somewhere between a beginner and intermediate woodworker. Sadly, we don't have a lot of room, so my workshop is a tiny part of our garage. I've finally decided to build my own router table. I've sourced a free laminated benchtop that looks to be just what I need. I bought a Kreg phenolic router insert plate for my Triton TRA001 and it's just arrived in the mail. I have a few newbie vexing questions.
The laminated benchtop is slightly concave (sagging) over it's length but close to dead flat over the width. I measure it at only about 0.004" (0.1mm for us Australians) over the span of about 2 1/2 feet of my straight edge on the length. The Kreg plate is surprisingly fairly convex (bowed upwards). In fact, over it's one foot length, it's a good 0.04" from centre to edge to my eye. So here are my questions.
1. Should I keep the benchtop or look to get something flatter?
2. Should I return the Kreg plate given how far off flat it is? I bought it on eBay from the USA so returning it could be more cost than it's worth.
3. If the answer to 1 and 2 is that I keep them, I have the option of flipping the benchtop over and using the underside, which is not as nice a laminated surface but would present a slight convex instead of a concave. The combination with the plate means that this setup would result in a pronounced convex at the router bit that would be hard to correct with adjustment of the plate.
My own thoughts are that the best setup is use the laminate benchtop the right way up with its slight concave, install the Kreg plate and adjust the height of the plate so the reducing ring surrounding the bit is level with the outside of the benchtop. The result is that the edge of the plate will be slightly below the top of the benchtop but at least there will be no catch points around the plate. Does this sound like a reasonable plan?
Thanks in advance, folks. Sorry if it's a bit of a daft question. I'm showing my lack of experience here.