What size and shape should the insert be? One consideration: I will need to shape the inserts, and rout a shallow recess (the same shape) into the tabletop. Unless you can tell me an easy way to do it, I will have to rout freehand.
Would it be easier if I make the insert and recess round?
Janet
Edited 11/14/2002 5:54:42 PM ET by DWREAD
Replies
Janet,
I'd never heard of a ZC insert being used on a router table until I saw the woodworkingtips page you linked to. Are you proceeding with the plan from the DeWalt page - the one where the router is attached directly to the table instead of a separate plate? If so, I'd advise going with a plate first. 1/4in aluminum or 3/8in plastic would be good. If you buy a plate from one of the calatogs it generally comes with a removable insert.
If you're still looking for a smooth sheet to top your table with, I got a 30x36in sheet from Home Depot for $8 - look in the baths & showers area. I don't know how good it would be for a router table top - suggest you spot glue it so you can get it back off if necessary.
HTH,
Graeme
The plan on the DeWalt site has the router attached to a large plate that fits into a recess in the table. That way, you don't have to unscrew the router to change bits (as long as there's enough clearance for the bit), you just lift out the router-with-plate.
I can't use that design unless the recessed opening is huge, to accommodate the handles. The folks at DeWalt said not to remove the handles because that would mess up the dust extraction system.
I'm beginning to think that no insert is possible unless I buy a jigsaw or something similar.
Edited 11/15/2002 11:57:41 PM ET by DWREAD
Most commercial router plates are about 8 by 11 or 12 inches. Is that too small to accommodate your router. The plate I use is a piece of acrylic I had lying around, about 8 by 10. I do have to remove the router handles but I don't use the router handheld often enough for that to be a problem. And taking the handles off doesn't interfere with the dust collection on my Freud FT2000E. The dust port on the router does some good but not enough - I intend to add a dust port to the fence and try that instead.
A hole saw would work for the size hole you want and you don't need a drill press. Tip: drill a hole in the waste area before you start. Then when the waste piece gets jammed in the hole saw you can stick a screwdriver through the hole you drilled and pry it out.
HTH,
Graeme
I don't suggest a round insert at all. The router will tend to twist the insert in the cutout as the stock is fed against the bit and, if the bit isn't EXACTLY centered on the insert, the distance of the bit from the fence can change as the insert rotates.
My insert (scrounged 3/8" acrylic) is about 10" square with 3/8"R rounded corners and my router is a Bosch 1613EVS. I just turn the router as I lift it so the handles come through the cutout diagonally. Works fine.
The best way to cut the hole is:
1-Using the insert as a template, use double-sided carpet tape to stick 1x2 stock snugly around the outside of the insert.
2-Use a flush trim router bit with the same radius as the corners of the insert to route a shallow groove the depth of the insert thickness just to the inside of the rectangle/square formed by the 1x2's. Remove the 1x2's.
3-Use a saber saw to cut about 1/4 to 3/8 inch inside the outer edge of the shallow groove. Clean up the cut with sandpaper on a block.
This will give you a ledge to hold the insert securely, keeping it from twisting with the torque of the router. If you cut the ledge too deep, you can recover by drilling and tapping the ledge for flat head machine screws to act as height adjusters to level the insert to the table surface.
Happy routing!
--
Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
Gateway to the Oregon Caves
Lee, I bought a rectangular phenolic insert from Bench Dog. It isn't a zero-clearance insert, but it was reduced for clearance, so...
Now I'm ready to follow your instructions which, by the way, are very easy to follow. Just a few questions, if you don't mind: I have a flush-trim bit, but its bearing is at the end of the bit (below the cutting edges) and I can't figure any way to cut the groove with it. Did you mean a bit that has a bearing *above* the cutting edges?
The corners of the plate are rounded to 19mm in diameter, which seems a strange choice. (Perhaps it is actually 3/4inch in diameter--although from the other dimensions of the insert, I'm pretty sure that all the measurements are metric. It's more likely that I mismeasured and the corners are actually 18- or 20-mm diameter.)
In any case, the local stores don't have top-bearing bits, and I'd probably never need this size again. Is there another way to rout the corners accurately? I saw these "template guides"
( http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=41778&category=1,43000&ccurrency=2&SID= )
that are more versatile--but I don't know how they work. Could they be used here?
Janet
Janet
Janet
All the measurements are most likely metric. Use a 3/4in bit. 3/4in is exactly equal to 19.05mm. 0.05mm is very slightly less than 0.002in. So in practice 3/4in and 19mm are interchangeable.
kind of like -40 def F is the same as -40 deg C and I'm not going outside to check !
BTW, there's no problem with the getting the router-with-handles in and out. The instructions that came with the plate call for attaching the router diagonally, so the handles point towards corners.
This is so simple and obvious, I don't know why I didn't think of it myself.
Janet
DWREAD: The instructions that came with the plate call for attaching the router diagonally, so the handles point towards corners.
It doesn't really matter how the router is mounted. I lift mine out from above by the bit hole (do be CERTAIN that the router is unplugged first), twisting 1/8th turn as it rises to clear the sides of the table opening.
--
Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
First, let me apologize for taking so long to respond to your questions. I had an intermittent modem problem which I have only just resolved. It, along with a nasty flu bug, kept me with only minimum-to-no internet access for the last three weeks.
DWREAD: I have a flush-trim bit, but its bearing is at the end of the bit and I can't figure any way to cut the groove with it. Did you mean a bit that has a bearing *above* the cutting edges?
Actually, yes, you're right. I meant to say a "pattern cutting bit" which has the bearing above the cutters. I'm easily confused by such details. ;o)
DWREAD: Is there another way to rout the corners accurately? I saw these "template guides" that are more versatile--but I don't know how they work. Could they be used here?
Again, yes. Template guides are actually an excellent way to acheive your goal. An allowance does have to be made for the difference in radius of the guide and the bit but there are easy ways to deal with that.
One way is to use the baseplate as a male template to route a female template from a piece of 1/4" hardboard somewhat larger than the baseplate, then use the female template to route the ledge for the baseplate.
The next step is to use the routed ledge as the template to route the opening using a guide whose radius is as much larger than the bit as the intended width of the finished ledge.
I hope this is a help to you. Do let me know how your router table comes out.
--
Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
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