Replies

1. 
   RalphBarker | Sep 05, 2009 06:51pm | #1

   There have been quite a few discussions of router tables here in the past. You might find those discussions (found via the search function) informative.

   It might help to know how you'll be using the router table, too - both for the immediate project, and in the future.

2. 
   mikeddd | Sep 05, 2009 07:01pm | #2

    I think this is in your price range and you will like the quality and size of this  Router Table . I have the fence and sled on my shopbuilt table and couldn't be happier, you can buy accessories as the need arises.

   Mike

3. 
   Jimurock | Sep 05, 2009 11:25pm | #3

   If space is limited you could try a cast-iron extension wing for your tablesaw.  There's a variety of them -- here's a solid one at a reasonable price: http://www.ptreeusa.com/tablesaw_products.htm#1066

   The aluminum inserts are superior to the plastic, though you'll likely have to drill holes to suit your router -- some come predrilled.

   Fences bought from the manufacturer tend to be expensive, but it's easy to make your own modelled on their plans, or you can adapt the TS fence. 

   Jim 

4. 
   forestgirl | Sep 06, 2009 09:03pm | #4

   Ditto to Mike's suggestion, the Lee Valley steel router table top. It's quite easy to put any router you like, with the universal clamping system they have under the top.  I've had one for years and really like it.  Can swap out one router for the other in about 10 minutes.

   You can make a little stand like the one shown on the LV pages, or a fancy cabinet.  When I first got mine, I built a simple frame (like an apron) to drop it into, and hinged that to the left wing of my table saw.  Could drop it down without disturbing the router/fence set-up any time I needed the space.  It also served as additional support to that side of the blade when using the saw.

   It will be flat forever, and you can use magnetic accessories with it.  Many people ask about the lack of a slot.  But you can run a sled on the fence, with no worries about making a fence perfectly parallel to a slot.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   jointerman | Sep 07, 2009 08:39am | #5

   FG,How about a picture of how you have the LV router table set up. I was leaning toward the Kreg myself, but I'm thinking about the LV now that two people have mentioned it.

1. 
   forestgirl | Sep 07, 2009 08:33pm | #6

   I dug up the old web page from 1994 that shows the first set-up, on an even older Jet contractor saw.  Hope these help.

   Here is the frame alone:

   View Image

    

   Frame with the table:View Image

   Shot of the clamping system, original router was a PC690:View Image

   I've since made a stand for it with a box for dust collection, slapped in a Freud plunge router.  It rocks!View Image

   View Imageforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   forestgirl | Sep 07, 2009 08:49pm | #10

   PS:  One reason I'd take the Veritas over the Kreg is the way the fence adjusts.  With the Veritas, you simply loosen one side, and pivot the fence toward or away from the fence.  With the Kreg, you have to move the whole fence, because it's bolted on both sides.

   Very fine adjustments can be made with a micro-adjustable stop (included with their fence).  I often use a magnetic featherboard in back of the fence as a stop when routing an edge incrementally.

   I won't give their fence 5 stars necessarily -- adjustments could be made easier, and a couple of people have modified them (knobs instead of allen screws, for instance)  But 4 stars for sure.  I'm out of time right now, but later today, I'll dig up a couple other threads.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   Domer | Sep 08, 2009 05:57am | #11

   I don't have room for a separate router table and I don't have the courage to cut a hole in my SawStop table saw.So I made a knock down router table following a design I saw on a Fine Woodworking video on line. I used some scrap plywood for the top and braces underneath.I bought the fence from Rockler for as I remember it $29 on sale or some such price. That allowed me to buy a Jess-em router lift again on sale for as I remember it $160 or so. So I probably have a little over $200 in it.The biggest drawback other than I have to set it up each time I want to use it, is that it does not have a miter slot.If I was building it again, I might make it fit on my Workmate though. It would be easier and quicker to set up.It works pretty well though. Domer

2. 
   jointerman | Sep 08, 2009 07:30am | #12

   FG very nice set up you have there with the LV table. One concern is the size of the table versus other tables, it's half the size of the Kreg. As for adjustment of the fence, I think the Kreg's fence works similarly to a Biesymeyer fence.

2. 
   PeterDurand | Sep 07, 2009 08:41pm | #8

   I had one of those and, sorry, but I had to sell it. It was the effort at raising and lowering the bit, for both precision and bit change. That steel top is HEAVY to lift up and the adjusting from underneath, on the router itself, was awkward for me.I will swear by any top of the table inserts that use a crank for vertical adjustment. There are quite a few of them on the market these days with adapters to fit many routers.Cheers,Peter 

   Better life through Zoodles and poutine...

1. 
   boilerbay | Sep 08, 2009 05:07pm | #13

   Peter,Have to go with you on this one Peter. I think the steel is great for flat but it's a PTA to adjust. I like LVs fence but don't care for right angle for cope as such I'd rather have a miter slot. I have needs to cope at an angle other than 90 enough for it to bother me. Also, unless built in to a working height table, you end up working either too high or too low. Once in a table, you have the problem of mimicking LVs under structure to lift it for adjustment, and then invent a Rube Goldberg dust capture system. The concept is fine but I think they were only thinking of flat and not everything else when they did the original design. (height adjustment, table use, dust control, after market accessories etc)I think LV needs to revisit it's design and upgrade it for cranks, etc. Mine sits in a shelf gathering dust. Quality high but wouldn't buy again without a design change.Boiler

1. 
   Carya | Sep 09, 2009 01:58am | #14

   "Have to go with you on this one Peter. I think the steel is great for flat but it's a PTA to adjust."I don't get the criticism of the LV table. I love mine. I've done small parts, 4x4 deck posts, templates, raised panels, etc. It rarely seems small. I think I've only lifted the table a few times but it works great with their table. I usually just put my hand under the table and adjust the router. Perhaps because I have a good router and a higher table than most, its easier than lifting or cranking anything.My beef is with LV bits. Too sharp like their drill bits. Almost cut my fingers a few times before getting them into the collet... ;)Andy

2. 
   forestgirl | Sep 10, 2009 06:12pm | #15

   [pre-script:  want to sell it? you're not too far from me, shipping might be affordable and I'd be interested]

   I'm a bit mystified by the criticism also.  Especially the "Rube Goldberg dust capture" comment.  Dust control, as far as I can tell, is the same as with any other table:  A cabinet below, and a dust chute in back of the fence (they sell a magnetically attaching dust port, which I use both on the router table and on the band saw, just above the table surface).

   Any table needs to be built to suite one's height.  The Veritas is no different.  Like Carya, I adjust the router from below, which isn't terribly convenient, but it wouldn't be hard to install either a Router Raizer or a router with built-in above-the-table adjustment, drilling a hole for the control rod.

   I can see where coping at an angle is an issue, but I'd think a small one.  All that need be done is to make a auxillary fence for the coping fence, a wedge at the needed angle.

   Not arguing that you, BB, should change your mind -- all this stuff is personal and for sure "to each his own."  Just saying I don't see these as serious problems.

   As to re-design, my experience leads me to desire some tweaking of the fence design, mostly to provide tool-free tightening in some places.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

   Edited 9/10/2009 11:17 am by forestgirl

5. 
   forestgirl | Sep 07, 2009 08:39pm | #7

   Sheraton, if you should happen to buy the LV table top and make a small (portable) base for it.....they include plans, and I can't remember what they use on the underneath of the table to position it against the corners, but what I used were big, really big, rubber stoppers, which I cut down height-wise, and then fastened onto the table with the provided screw a tad off-center.  This gave me eccentricity and I could rotate the stoppers until they were in exactly the right spot to make the table very snug in the frame.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
6. 
   bones | Sep 07, 2009 08:44pm | #9

   I bought the woodpeck PRL and made my table from Norm's plans.  You could stay in your budget and have fun making the table.  All you need is a couple sheets of ply and some mdf for the top.   Wood pecker also has some base tables and tops with plates for very resonable prices.  Their stuff is top notch.  They are worth giving a gander at.

    

   http://www.woodpeck.com/precisionrouterlift.html

   I was married by a judge - I should have asked for a jury.
   George Burns

7. 
   YesMaam27577 | Sep 12, 2009 03:24am | #16

   Build one yourself. It's a great project, and you end up using your own product for years.

   And if you have a tablesaw, you can build it into one of the extension wings, and can possible use the tablesaw fence (with some attachments of your own design) as the router table fence.

   I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
   And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
   I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
   So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)

1. 
   Don01 | Sep 13, 2009 05:49pm | #18

   "Build one yourself. It's a great project, and you end up using your own product for years."They certainly can be a lot of fun. A friend of mine built one using Bill Hylton & Fred Matlack's design in "Woodworking with the Router".
   He did a fine job adding many of his own enhancements. When all done he said "It would have been one hell of a lot easier if he had had a router table!":-)Don

8. 
   Don01 | Sep 13, 2009 05:41pm | #17

   The following works. I got the idea from Pat Warner's site.

   Take the base plate off of your router, insert hanger bolts (half bolt half screw) into the mounting holes. Put a 1/4" spiral bit in the chuck.

   Find a piece of 3/4" or thicker sheeting that has one side finished - counter top, melamine etc.

   Place the top smooth side down, place the router making sure the screw tips make a good mark in the wood. Bore a 1/4" hole. Drill 3 or 3 more holes where the screw tips made their mark. Countersink these holes on the top and mount your router. You may have to purchase a selection of machine bolts in order to accommodate the increased thickness of the table top.
   You should now have a nicely centered mounting pattern for your router.

   You can the cut the top to size and clamp it almost anywhere as long as you provide enough support to eliminate any sagging.

   For the 1/4" spiral bit, you now have a zero clearance surface. If this hole needs to be larger, the 1/4" hole allows you to use a standard hole saw to increase the opening. Of course once you make this cutout you are stuck with it, but you can always flip the top over and punch another attachment point in the same table top.

   This is a simple low cost solution if you are unsure of how much you will need a table. And when you are done, it is easily stored out of the way. You will spend more time adjusting your cutter than you will inserting and removing your router in the table top. If you have a job that needs two bits (making doors), use the saving to buy another router. The Woodline USA guys have 3 routers setup for their door building demo. If you are doing a project like that it certainly makes sense to have each cut setup in advance to ensure consistency.

   A basic fence is easy to build it just has to be straight and square. Some fine commercial fences are made by Pat Warner, Lee Valley and Kreg to name a few. You want a universal fence that you can mount anywhere.

   Some food for thought.

   Don