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I have been kicking around this idea for a while. I wanted to come up with a combination machine that I could combine 3 router based machines that I use quite often. I have designed a few router milling machines and some of the engineering I discovered I used in the process of this build. Although this is the rough build of my final design I am using this as an experiment to see what changes I need to do to the final version. On my mills I used a mechanical system for the plunge feature but this I used electronic.
The whole machine was built from scrap wood and scavenged parts. For the drive motor I used a dc motor from an old 12 volt battery drill then found a cheap 12 volt power supply.I even used the chuck to connect it to the threaded rod. I also made my own switch to raise it up and down, i did not use the drill trigger.
If you look you can see a contraption about knee high, that is a pivot switch. it sits in a cradle so it can be removed and used as a foot switch. I dont know if you can see them but I have included limit switches on it to set depths on a plunge.
I used V grove bearings running on angle iron to keep everything tight and smooth. I have included tensioners on the bearings to adjust the tightness. The main frame is two rails of glued up plywood 3 layers thick. They are all tied or glued in with the frame, it is very stable with no movement. The head unit is adjustable in height that slides up and down with a single bolt in the back to lock it in. The head unit itself has 6 inches of travel on the angle iron rails.
The table pivot has round disks with 60 grit sandpaper glued to one side sandwiched between the frame and the table unit . Once the outer clamps are tightened down in front and back it does not move and you can put it in any position. So far I am very pleased with it, it is a new toy and am discovering all the possibilities. I hope to post some videos in the next day or two. I have a few more pictures I will include in the comments

Gallery

Comments

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Nice work Mark.
I would like to see it up close and personal. Looking forward to a video.
Thanks

Damn shame that over 330 people looked at this and not one of them could be bothered to comment,
(but a pencil holder can land a top 3) :>/
Lately that's just typical for Lj's
 

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+1 to the above comment.
I think you have a good idea there Mark.
Looking forward to the video.
Jim
 

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1,171 Posts
Mark,

I wish I were so brilliant! I love your idea and look forward to the video, too.

L/W
 

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That is some piece of work, excellent!!
 

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80 Posts
Very nice build and a very cool design!
 

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Wow… innovation! Absolutely love the creativity here. Great job. I'm in the process of building a unique router table myself and will be posting soon. It's a fairly basic router table with some great features but definitely not as versatile as yours. I've put a lot of thought into making a table that would go from vertical to horizontal but it never occurred to me to use your approach. I had an overhead pin router I built and used for many years. I only used the pin feature maybe 4 times in 8 years but it was nice to be able to see what is being cut. Eventually I opted for a router table because the depth of cut is indexed from the surface being cut. Slight variation in wood thickness created weird results with the overhead router. Never the less, you design allows the best of all worlds.

Very impressive!
 

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48 Posts
Very cool idea, and great execution.
 

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Now that's just slicker 'n deer guts on a door knob! :) Great thinking!

Planeman
 

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Nice design, I may borrow some of these ideas.
 

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Yes! This is the kind of can-do attitude I like.

A router is such a simple device, but it really takes the workspace to unleash what can be done.

Well done!
 

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Peoples brilliance never ceases to amaze me. Very interesting project.
 

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Wow! Awesome and unique maschine - so many maschines in one - brilliant work and idea. From technical engineering point of view - very smart and clean execution.
 

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Thank you everyone for the encouragement . As promised I am going to get a video up tonight. My video skills are not as good as my building skills so I am very slow at it.
 

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Nice work. Looking forward to videos as well. In a small shop or garage multi-functional machines are a must. I am always looking for ways to save space and maintain functionality. As we have just moved I am going through the process of redesigning my work space. Something like this would work great. Thanks for sharing.
 
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