Hi, all. New to the forum and to workworking in general. I'm trying to clear out the garage and get some of the basic power tools, but have to keep an eye on the budget. So far, I have a planer and a jointer - hoping to set those up and try them out tomorrow. I do have a router (Craftsman 50429), but need a router table. Hoping to get a decent table saw mid-year, so, again, trying to mind what I'm spending. I've noticed that the router tables for purchase are very expensive - even the decent table-top ones, those not made of plastic, are a good bit of money. I've looked at some videos of tables that folks online have built, but 1) My skills aren't there yet, and 2) I don't have the time to invest in an end-all-be-all table right now. Plus, the lack of a table saw at the moment is an issue.
My question is, can't I build just a basic shop cart to the right dimensions and put a purchased router table top on it? I don't need anything fancy right now, just something to get me up and running. Once I get some skills under my belt, I can always build something nicer with more features.
Below is a simple shop cart that I built recently out of 3/4" plywood to put my planer on. I think the total cost was about $75 including the casters. I can easily build another one to the correct dimensions of a ready-made router table top and attach it to the top of the cart. The plywood top could be removed if necessary and the top box would be moved lower to make a second shelf and to maintain rigidity. Again, I don't need anything fancy right now so this seems like a decent option.
Opinions? If this is an acceptable path, does anyone have any suggestions for a decent, cost-conscious router table top?
Thanks!
My question is, can't I build just a basic shop cart to the right dimensions and put a purchased router table top on it? I don't need anything fancy right now, just something to get me up and running. Once I get some skills under my belt, I can always build something nicer with more features.
Below is a simple shop cart that I built recently out of 3/4" plywood to put my planer on. I think the total cost was about $75 including the casters. I can easily build another one to the correct dimensions of a ready-made router table top and attach it to the top of the cart. The plywood top could be removed if necessary and the top box would be moved lower to make a second shelf and to maintain rigidity. Again, I don't need anything fancy right now so this seems like a decent option.
Opinions? If this is an acceptable path, does anyone have any suggestions for a decent, cost-conscious router table top?
Thanks!
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