Project Information
A few months ago I got a new router and built my first router table. All was well until I made some rails for a cabinet. I had made a braced mdf top. The weight of the router caused a negligible sag in the center of the table. Negligible to the eye, but noticeable when I tried to put a piece of wood through it. The rout of course wasn't even. If I pressed the center of the wood when it went through it was okay but this was very unacceptable. Back to the drawing board. You can see in a couple of the pictures my old top standing up in the background.
I decided to joint up a bunch of fir sections and laminate them together. I did this in two sections so that I could still put it through the 12 1/2" planer in two pieces. I then glued the two sections together and hand planed any irregularities.
I must say, this setup works great. I used up some of my t-rail for the fence (which I used from the previous setup) and made a 'roller-featherboard' ?? I don't know what else to call it. I saw it on a link to a link on an old LJ's forum topic. It really holds a piece of work to the fence but still lets it roll through.
As you can see I have a flip up top to gain access to the router for adjusting and changing bits. and I have a plug inside connected to an outside switch. The inside plug lets me unplug the router when I change to another bit.
I found out that 95% of the chips when routing ended up in the table. So, I've added dust collection to the hollow table area and will eventually branch it up to the fence too. The table is on kick-out wheels, mounted to a hinged board. I flip the board with my foot and the wheels flip up inside the bottom of the table. Simple, efficient, but it takes a second to flip them with my foot as I tilt the table.
So, this is take #2 of my 'make tools right the first time or do it again". I think this one will stick.
Thanks for viewing,
Daniel
I decided to joint up a bunch of fir sections and laminate them together. I did this in two sections so that I could still put it through the 12 1/2" planer in two pieces. I then glued the two sections together and hand planed any irregularities.
I must say, this setup works great. I used up some of my t-rail for the fence (which I used from the previous setup) and made a 'roller-featherboard' ?? I don't know what else to call it. I saw it on a link to a link on an old LJ's forum topic. It really holds a piece of work to the fence but still lets it roll through.
As you can see I have a flip up top to gain access to the router for adjusting and changing bits. and I have a plug inside connected to an outside switch. The inside plug lets me unplug the router when I change to another bit.
I found out that 95% of the chips when routing ended up in the table. So, I've added dust collection to the hollow table area and will eventually branch it up to the fence too. The table is on kick-out wheels, mounted to a hinged board. I flip the board with my foot and the wheels flip up inside the bottom of the table. Simple, efficient, but it takes a second to flip them with my foot as I tilt the table.
So, this is take #2 of my 'make tools right the first time or do it again". I think this one will stick.
Thanks for viewing,
Daniel
