Replies

1. 
   JDorn | Jul 21, 2003 08:25pm | #1

   Do you mean on your unisaw?  The unifence is an actual fence system that i believe you can bolt to whatever kinda extension table you want.

   I'm going to pickup a used Unisaw today and will be dropping a router table into the extension wing (though the saw has a Biesmeyer fence) so perhaps i'll have some good advice for you soon :) 

   JD

2. 
   RANGERP75R | Jul 22, 2003 05:22am | #2

   tom

      I have a dedicated router cabinet I built, but the addition to the table should work if you are have limited space. Lots of people do it. You have a 3/4" extention an that could create sag it you have a heavy router. You have to keep the extention flat to the TS surface. But, nothing says you can't beef it from the under-side. What do you normally put under the extentions? Are you forced to move the saw because of space limitations? If the saw is stationary, a small cabinet could be under the extention to re-inforce the area the router is mounted. Could add shelves or drawers to it for storage of bits, saw blades, an related items. Use the dead space to your advantage.. Just some thoughts....

      Stare at it awhile with a cup of coffee. The answers will come by thinking it through.

   Enjoy the coffee...

   sarge..jt

1. 
   tkumpf | Jul 22, 2003 05:20pm | #5

   Sarge

   great idea about the cabinet to prevent sag, I never move the saw and there,s just dead space under there any way thanks for the help

   tom

3. 
   Telemike | Jul 22, 2003 07:59am | #3

   I've used an extension table as my router table for years.  That way, I can use the fence and, sometimes, the mitre gauge.  Also, the extension would be there anyway and I avoid taking up space with a separate router table.

   My new table is on a Jet SuperSaw.  It is melamine faced MDF sandwiched to a piece of 3/4 approx birtch plywood with 1 X 1 X 1/8 aluminum angle underneath for stiffness.  The insert is 5/16 aluminum plate with a routed 3" dia recess for throat plates of 1/8" aluminum and various inner diameters.  The table attaches to the ends of the fence rails for the saw which stick out about 18".  I screwed aluminum angle to the fence rails to hold the table.  I have a Triton router in it.  Because I have an older 3 1/4 hp single speed hitachi plunge router also, the triton will stay in the table.

   I've been careful to firmly attach and brace the table to keep it absolutely parallel and flat to the saw top.  My router fence has dust collection, as does the Triton router, and clamps to the Jet fence.

   I've attached a picture.

   
1. 
   tkumpf | Jul 22, 2003 05:22pm | #6

   telemiketoo

   thanks for the thoughts the pictures were very helpful, is it worth considering adding a router lift to the system? I've had no experience with them

   tom

1. 
   Telemike | Jul 23, 2003 08:23am | #7

   A lift is a very good idea.  I had a small 1972 Craftsman router in the wing of my old table saw and resolved to get several new features in a my new saw/router table combo:

   1.  CHANGE THE BIT ABOVE THE TABLE!  That way, I don't have to take the router out of the table, change bits, and put it back.  The triton and several lifts allow above the table bit changing.  In year or so, most manufacturers will offer routers with this feature.

   2.  Adjust the height with knobs.  The craftsman had to be lifted incrementally until right and tighted in place at each height.  What a pain!  The triton has a coarse and fine adjustment.  Most of the lifts have easy height adjustment.

   3.  Electronic variable speed.  Although I had three other routers (and a router base for my Dremel tool), they were all old and none had variable speed.  You just cannot run a panel raising bit or any other bit with a large outside diameter without speed control.

   I looked at the prices of the lifts and variable speed routers and decided to go with the Triton for the price of a good lift.  If you already have a good powerful variable speed router, buy a solid and stiff lift with all the features.

   Dust collection:  You turn lots of wood to dust and chips with a router in a table.  Consider how to dust collect your router.  The old craftsman collected by a sliding 3-sided box under the table that pressed up against the side of the router.  A 3" hose plugged into the other end of the box (all below the table).  It sucked through the opening in the table plate that holds the router.  The triton has a ridiculously small (about 1 1/4") port in the shroud for the bit and I've put dust collection into the fence (see the 3" elbow coming out of the fence in my pictures).  Both setups have been very successful collecting most of the debris.

1. 
   tkumpf | Jul 24, 2003 02:48am | #9

   telemiketoo

   thanks for all your help, this is the way I'm going to go

   tom

1. 
   LarryPile | Jul 30, 2003 11:35pm | #19

   Hi Tom,

   I have a Jet contractor's saw that I used in an ultra-tiny space until my "dream shop" was built.

   I bought a Rockler router table extension wing to replace my existing extension table.  While anyone can build the MDF piece (although I think it's worth asking what your time's worth..it wasn't very expensive), the aluminum router plate is KILLER!  No flex at all.  I will NEVER purchase or use the phenolic inserts when I can get aluminum or steel!

   Good luck!

   Larry

2. 
   tkumpf | Aug 01, 2003 04:45pm | #20

   Larry,

   I think you have a good idea, by the time I buy all materials and stuff I may be better off just buying an extension table like you did.  I also checked out Woodhaven's router tables for a table saw and they look pretty good too.  Thanks for the info.

   tom

4. 
   mstens | Jul 22, 2003 08:41am | #4

   I've moved to a smaller shop and well need the space so I'm looking to do the same.  I'm thinking I'll build the extension table out of MDF in a torsion box construction, should keep it stable enough to avoid the sag from the routers weight. 

5. 
   JDorn | Jul 23, 2003 03:33pm | #8

   Well i just got done mounting my plate in the wing of my unisaw and it is working fine with my PC 693 underneath (no big bits for me :) ), unfortunately the pattern i'd made for the cutout had changed dimension over the last 3 months in my garage and i wasn't smart enough to stop and check it before i started routing so my hole didn't come out just right.  But here's a pic of it in the wing to give you an idea.

   
1. 
   tkumpf | Jul 24, 2003 02:50am | #10

   JDorn

   thanks for the pics, they are very helpful

2. 
   Telemike | Jul 24, 2003 08:16am | #11

   Looks great to me!  If mine were cut so neatly and accurately, I would had attached some closeups!

1. 
   JDorn | Jul 24, 2003 05:04pm | #14

   Trust me, its not as accurate as i would have liked.  About 3 months ago i made a pattern for the hole out of some scrap MDF i had laying around which was very accurate and made a nice tight fit in my old tablesaw's extension table. 

   I just got the Unisaw last weekend and pulled out the pattern (without checking it again) to make the hole, and to my surprise the pattern had swollen (proving MDF is not dimensionally stable :) ) so my plate fit a little loose, thus the reason for the 4 bolts in the corners of the plate that now attach it to the table tightly.

   But it'll have to do until i get around to building a cabinet to sit in place of the extension wing though, which may be a while since i gotta pay off the saw.

   JD

6. 
   IMERC | Jul 24, 2003 09:36am | #12

   Tom I have the Uni-saw with a 53" extension table and Vega fence. I put a PC 5202 EHD router in the extension. Built a router fence (knock off of one I saw a picture of) assembly to attach to the fence. Made some auxiliary clamps to keep every thing soild. Added collector nozzels to the upper and lower . Works like a champ.

   Putting the router in the cast table its' self wouldn't work very well because of the open cast ribbing on the underside of the table.

7. 
   AlanTurner | Jul 24, 2003 04:39pm | #13

   I've had my router in the extension table of my Unisaw since forever it seems.  Well before lifts were common.  I buiilt a lift, of sorts, just to handle the weight of a heavy Bosch 1611 or 1613 plunger.  Cost was zero, of course; just scraps and shorts.  I posted a pix of it many months ago, or so, so it is here, somewhere.  I recall that FG was kind enough to resize it for the forum.  I'm weak on the search function on this forum, so good luck finding it.  My insert is a 3/8: alum. plate.

   Alan

8. 
   user-135888 | Jul 29, 2003 11:12am | #15

   heres my set up. 3/4 inch isn't a problem.

   just do a webed frame around the router plate.

   john

   
1. 
   tkumpf | Jul 29, 2003 10:03pm | #18

   John

   thanks for the photo, very helpful, I'm almost ready to start.

   tom

9. 
   SCFrankland | Jul 29, 2003 03:00pm | #16

   Here is my router insert in my table saw.  I am presently working on a few ideas for a new table saw base with a router station built in.

   Scott C. Frankland

   "This all could have been prevented if their parents had just used birth control"

   
10. 
    scooter1 | Jul 29, 2003 07:15pm | #17

    I used a Benchdog Router Table--they make one that fits a Unisaw perfectly and supports a 3hp router.

    Regards,

    Boris

    "Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

11. 
    SawdustSteve | Aug 01, 2003 05:53pm | #21

    Tom... I was a wood-shop teacher in a middle school (junior high) for many years.  I needed a router table for an occasional project mass production project that the students designed.  Funds and space were both at a premium.  To get around these limitations, I took one of the wings off my Unisaw, took it over to the high school metal shop and had the teacher up there mill out the web on the bottom, just enough to mount an extra router base, center a hole for the bit and countersink the top face to take standard P-C bushings.  The hardest part was to get the school electrician to run a 110 volt box and switch for me.  It worked great.  We have a Vega fence and by screwing on a sacrificial wood face to it, the students could do most small router jobs in safety.     SawdustSteve