Router table and lift.
Router table and lift
A little tour through my work on this project.
So before I even start I will make the conclusion!
Was it worth it?
YES!
Does it work well?
YES!
Will you do it again if you had to?
YES!
And here it is at it looked when all done, up and running!
What is the story?
The story is that Festool wants 866,40 $ US for a table top with a fence! And this do not include a router!!!
I am as some of you knows retired due to health, so where should I find that kind of money?
So what do you do then?
Look in the scrap!
Ok also a second hand original Festool table top for a jig saw, I got for 60 $ US.
Some aluminum profiles I bought more than a year ago from a guy in a news paper, I paid app. 65 $ US for 30 meters and a big back of fittings, screws and other stuff for this BOSCH system (quite a scoop).
Parts from a trashed crap router table (router mount braces, and the feather boards).
All parts are otherwise scrap aluminum, IKEA cutting board plastic and standard hardware parts.
My total cost is app. 170 $ US.
So my router table travel begins in IKEA!
Yes it's really true, I needed some cheap and strong plastic in the right thickness, and thought of cutting boards in a low price, would not be too thick - so IKEA.
All I needed to do was to draw the pattern from the jig saw top, on the cutting board, and the cut it out on my scroll saw - fast and easy, except I bought a hod dog in IKEA and had to wait at least 30 seconds extra for that…
Here it is, hole in one!
What you see here are the original jig saw table plate, my router on top and the mount braces I had from a old crappy router table.
This solves the first part, a quick mount of the router, so it's easy to take of when needed for free hand.
A brace, and a wing nut - fantastic!
And now two!!!
Time for some thinking…
If I put the profiles here… No! If I… No!. Ok but here? OK.
Some cutting in aluminum scraps.
My Festool saw with a aluminum blade cuts like butter in this 8 mm.
Cutting BOSCH profiles. Yes it coud be a boring commercial, but hang on please, the fun will come…
Test setup of the frame - wauuu I made a frame.
Making threads for the assembly.
Holes with the jig that came with the profiles, makes it a piece of cake.
This is actually the most complex part, so I will skip it!
For one reason only I took no pictures.
The alu part are the arm for the router lift, the nylon (white plastic) is my rebuild glider that holds the nut for the threaded rod so it will move up and down.
IKEA again!
Making a steady for the router to hold it in place, and to always hit the same spot when mounting it.
I simply draw the base of the router to a piece of cutting board.
Cutting it on the band saw.
Now we have a steady base mount, a frame and a lift.
The lift I will describe more precise if some one asks…
The bits can be changed from the top.
the up and down are controlled from the table top also.
So no holes in the knees.
I will continue this blog in the next part called the fence.
Hope it could be a inspiration to some, and just a sweet laugh to others
Best thoughts,
MaFe
Router table and lift
A little tour through my work on this project.
So before I even start I will make the conclusion!
Was it worth it?
YES!
Does it work well?
YES!
Will you do it again if you had to?
YES!
And here it is at it looked when all done, up and running!
What is the story?
The story is that Festool wants 866,40 $ US for a table top with a fence! And this do not include a router!!!
I am as some of you knows retired due to health, so where should I find that kind of money?
So what do you do then?
Look in the scrap!
Ok also a second hand original Festool table top for a jig saw, I got for 60 $ US.
Some aluminum profiles I bought more than a year ago from a guy in a news paper, I paid app. 65 $ US for 30 meters and a big back of fittings, screws and other stuff for this BOSCH system (quite a scoop).
Parts from a trashed crap router table (router mount braces, and the feather boards).
All parts are otherwise scrap aluminum, IKEA cutting board plastic and standard hardware parts.
My total cost is app. 170 $ US.
So my router table travel begins in IKEA!
Yes it's really true, I needed some cheap and strong plastic in the right thickness, and thought of cutting boards in a low price, would not be too thick - so IKEA.
All I needed to do was to draw the pattern from the jig saw top, on the cutting board, and the cut it out on my scroll saw - fast and easy, except I bought a hod dog in IKEA and had to wait at least 30 seconds extra for that…
Here it is, hole in one!
What you see here are the original jig saw table plate, my router on top and the mount braces I had from a old crappy router table.
This solves the first part, a quick mount of the router, so it's easy to take of when needed for free hand.
A brace, and a wing nut - fantastic!
And now two!!!
Time for some thinking…
If I put the profiles here… No! If I… No!. Ok but here? OK.
Some cutting in aluminum scraps.
My Festool saw with a aluminum blade cuts like butter in this 8 mm.
Cutting BOSCH profiles. Yes it coud be a boring commercial, but hang on please, the fun will come…
Test setup of the frame - wauuu I made a frame.
Making threads for the assembly.
Holes with the jig that came with the profiles, makes it a piece of cake.
This is actually the most complex part, so I will skip it!
For one reason only I took no pictures.
The alu part are the arm for the router lift, the nylon (white plastic) is my rebuild glider that holds the nut for the threaded rod so it will move up and down.
IKEA again!
Making a steady for the router to hold it in place, and to always hit the same spot when mounting it.
I simply draw the base of the router to a piece of cutting board.
Cutting it on the band saw.
Now we have a steady base mount, a frame and a lift.
The lift I will describe more precise if some one asks…
The bits can be changed from the top.
the up and down are controlled from the table top also.
So no holes in the knees.
I will continue this blog in the next part called the fence.
Hope it could be a inspiration to some, and just a sweet laugh to others
Best thoughts,
MaFe