Router Table quality complete set up suggestion

Semipro said:

Hello and welcome to the router forum
Have you check your area to see if you can buy some reclaimed matching lumber someone in your area may have removed it from a home near you , you also may be able to buy it new or have a lumber mill in the area make it for you
What you are trying to do is some what a large job, and can be done but 1000 feet that is a lot of work
There are a lot members here willing to help you Good luck on this project

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sreilly said:

Welcome to the forum Kevin. Building a router table as stated gives you a big break in cost. Simple to do for your needs. I question the want to do this now and redo in 2-3 years. Wouldn't it be far cheaper to do it right the 1st time and take longer to do. I suspect if you try to base this on your golf club opening you'll be rushed, make mistakes, and cost far more to get what you really want. If it were me I'd take my time, get the proper equipment and do a bit at a time. If golf is that important then pause when the time comes. Just my 2 cents worth of advice.

Good luck either way.....and do check with your local mills as it might end up being the best and most cost effective way.

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mgmine said:

You'll never match the patina of the wood but you can match the look of it. But I would contact a local mill and with a picture and some measurements they could recreate it for you. But if you want to tackle it yourself then start with building a long table, at least 4 feet long. The vacuum and on-off switch are very simple. All you need to do is add a switched outlet inside the router stand and plug both the router and the vacuum into it. When you turn on the switch both will go on. Here is a link to the one I built. It's not fancy or pretty but does everything that you are asking a table to do. I was able to get the top from an office furniture store as a used modular desktop. Ask around they often throw them out when they re-do large office spaces.

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Straightlines said:

Okay, this is admittedly a provocative suggestion on the Router Forum, but here goes: Your throughput will be higher with either a shaper or radial arm saw fitted with a Moulding cutter. Both can be had for a decent price on Craigslist, and are more in line with the quantities you are cutting. It is important to realize that your profile was originally cut on a shaper or moulder, not a router table, with a custom knife set. It is very unlikely that you will find a router bit to match your profile, yet you can order up a set of custom shaper knives and you’ll be good to go. Clever knife designs include additional edges to help cut other profiles/profile combinations.

To be honest, all those bits and bobs you listed as needed to get a satisfactory router table are all standard fair in a shaper, plus a shaper goes in reverse. The one downside to a shaper is that New cutters are quite a bit more expensive than plain vanilla router bits, however shaper cutters can be combined on the spindle to arrive at far more varied profiles than router bits. On the plus side, the shapers typically have independently adjustable fences that enable you to use it as an improvised jointer. Shapers are what router tables are trying to imitate and are generally more powerful, more flexible, more sophisticated with built-in lifting plus above-table bit changes, generally have built in dust collection hook ups, and are quieter than a router.

That said, you might be ultimately better served in this T&G task by “taking your tool to the work” with a router + track system. Festool is the first name that comes to mind, BUT Triton’s track guide (and therefore router) is compatible with Triton, Makita, and Festool tracks. This approach would leave you with a handheld router and track system after the project is done, and importantly it provides a much more direct and simpler approach to your project that will probably yield better results than you’d get after wrestling your stock over a router table.

There is a generic brand track that is believed to be identical to the festool and Makita tracks. The Triton or Makita path is considerably cheaper than the Festool. I own Makita tracks, a Bosch router, and a customized Triton guide. Total cost with nothing to build was under $700.

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Straightlines said:

Okay, this is admittedly a provocative suggestion on the Router Forum, but here goes: Your throughput will be higher with either a shaper or radial arm saw fitted with a Moulding cutter. Both can be had for a decent price on Craigslist, and are more in line with the quantities you are cutting. It is important to realize that your profile was originally cut on a shaper or moulder, not a router table, with a custom knife set. It is very unlikely that you will find a router bit to match your profile, yet you can order up a set of custom shaper knives and you’ll be good to go. Clever knife designs include additional edges to help cut other profiles/profile combinations.

To be honest, all those bits and bobs you listed as needed to get a satisfactory router table are all standard fair in a shaper, plus a shaper goes in reverse. The one downside to a shaper is that New cutters are quite a bit more expensive than plain vanilla router bits, however shaper cutters can be combined on the spindle to arrive at far more varied profiles than router bits. On the plus side, the shapers typically have independently adjustable fences that enable you to use it as an improvised jointer. Shapers are what router tables are trying to imitate and are generally more powerful, more flexible, more sophisticated with built-in lifting plus above-table bit changes, generally have built in dust collection hook ups, and are quieter than a router.

That said, you might be ultimately better served in this T&G task by “taking your tool to the work” with a router + track system. Festool is the first name that comes to mind, BUT Triton’s track guide (and therefore router) is compatible with Triton, Makita, and Festool tracks. This approach would leave you with a handheld router and track system after the project is done, and importantly it provides a much more direct and simpler approach to your project that will probably yield better results than you’d get after wrestling your stock over a router table.

There is a generic brand track that is believed to be identical to the festool and Makita tracks. The Triton or Makita path is considerably cheaper than the Festool. I own Makita tracks, a Bosch router, and a customized Triton guide. Total cost with nothing to build was under $700.

Click to expand...