Found one of these on Craigslist. The fence looks strange in that it's split into 2 sections but thought I might be able to make something new. Any thoughts on this table and router? Would be for basic weekend projects nothing too demanding. Thanks!
I had a Craftsman router table with a two part fence with my first router. You can make it into a traditional one piece fence by mounting a board as the actual fence to both halves. I don't remember any advantage of the 2 separate pieces.
Two piece fence allows you to use it as either a standard fence (with both in the same plane), or as a poor mans jointer (with them out of plane). I have two of those tables sitting out in the shed that I got for free… IMO, they aren't worth the trouble and I certainly would not have paid for them. If you want a useful router table, best bet is to make one yourself. YMMV.
Here's what I did to make a working fence fence for my Craftsman router table. It's a simples "L" that's braced to keep it square that I fancied up with a box around the bit opening for dust collection. The dust flange came from Sears some years ago as a hose adapter for their wet/dry vacuums. The attachment hardware is what came with the table. I had meant to screw plywood to the bottom of the overhangs on each end to increase the table size but never got around to it. I attached it to strips of wood on the front and back legs to make it easier to clamp it down on the bench. You'll notice that the front strip "L" shaped with the "L" pointing down, this aligns it to the front of my bench and gives it more stability. I can take and attach more pictures if you want more detail.
Thanks for the advice and for the pictures! That's what I was thinking too. I'll see if I can talk the guy down a bit since I'll still need to put some work into it.
MrUnix is correct on the poor mans jointer. It does come in handy on some small projects though. I have clamped a 1×6x30 maple board to the fence for routing 3' boards. And I've made a jig for the Craftsman router table top, so I can use 3 3/8" panel bits and shaper cutters on this table.
Have a router table about like that one, except..it is labeled as a SKIL brand…..been using for a few years. Don't really care for the stock fence (still have it) and use my homemade fence instead.
The split fence has the added advantage that you can expand or narrow the gap for a close fit to bits of various diameters. Improves stability in making the profile, and is better for dust/chip collection.
I see a lot of these Craftsman router tables online for between $15-100. I saw one for sale a few miles from my house for $25. It looks like it has a lot of accessories. I am planning on making a few giant Jenga sets over the next few weeks and I have found that putting each board in my vise clamp and rounding the edges of 54 boards per set is pretty tedious. Eventually I will want to buy a router lift for my table saw, but I can't afford the price in the near future. As someone who has only used a trim router twice to round some edges(I have an old Harbor Freight trim router and an old Ryobi plunge router that I was gifted), are these recommended for beginners until I am able to upgrade?
Also, I should ask, are most routers able to attach to the table? My Ryobi came with about 5-6 router plates, but I don't have any idea what they are used for.
I have this same table with no fence. Thank you Zonker for the great idea for a fence. I am going to take your idea and do this to mine. I am a newbie so may not be as sharp looking as yours, but I was about to go blow some $$ on a router and table. Saw this and changed my mind. Really couldn't afford what I was thinking of doing.
Thanks again.
Wingless, that's a nice restoration you have done. I, like everyone else cannot locate the inserts. I will expand my search. Thanks for the part numbers.
The insert set periodically pops up on eBay for about $50. I have found some randomly included in various Craftsman router accessories assortments, but stopped looking once I obtained a full set.
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