Thread: Cast iron router table design

Do you mean something like this?




Didn't bother with a mitre slot - never use one. If I want a featherboard, I use the MagSwitch.
For crosscutting I use


and as far as the rest, the Incra takes care of that for me (also held down with MagSwitches)

There are a number of entries on my blog about the development - called the "Ultimate Router Table".

FWIW, the base is from a Carbatec planer (jointer), and I am likely to want to part with it soon as I am going to build my Ultimate Router Table into the Torque Workcentre. So if anyone wants it I'll entertain any cheap offer. (I have already cut out an area for the router to fit in above the dust chute - thought I might as well use the in-place dust collection!)

Is there a specific reason you don't want to use it on your table saw ? That's the setup I've got with an incra ts/ls and I love mine. The combination doesn't cause me any problems because I've got a triton router and can bring the cutter or sawblade back up pretty precisely so even if I can't organise to do all the cutting or routing in a given position in one go I can swap back and forth fairly easily. Obviously the incra is perfectly repeatable.

You get the mass of the machine and of course a good wide table for support. Mine's on a roller base and saves a bit of space that way.

2c

I've always preferred having the router table as a separate machine in the shop, despite the extra space required. The latest iteration (in about a week's time) will see the router being given around 2500 x 750 of the shop's footprint.

I also have a router mounted in the wing on the tablesaw fwiw - sometimes it suits to use that setup in preference to the dedicated table, other times I prefer the separate tools (not unlike using a jointer/planer combo vs dedicated machines).

Yes, you can switch back and forth, and pretty accurately, but I prefer not doing so if I have a choice.

Yeah I know, but you've got a substaintial shed and are willing to spend the $. I just thought it worthwhile to point out the easier and cheaper alternative.

I've always really liked your router table, but it was substaintial $ as I recall. ?

Do you mean something like this?

hi Stu, yes, something very much like that!!! Thanks for posting the photos and helpful comments.

Thanks for the clue about the mitre slot, that will save me a lot of hassle. I was going to put the track between the two extension plates, with a bit of fiddling, but that could cause the table to get out of horizontal alignment eventually, I thought, with the two cast iron extension tables separated by a piece of wood with through bolts holding the 3 pieces together.


One problem I have with your setup is in holding down the Incra fence with Magswitches. Magswitches are great for preventing lifting load pull, but I find them relatively easy to slide along the table. Mind you, I was only using the 18mm diameter magnets. How did you do it? Mind you, it would not be suitable for my design of two small tables.

I think a carcass of 15mm ply for the cabinet should be strong enough to hold the 25kg weight of the combined extension tables. I hope!

Damian,
What I am in the process of doing is using the LH side of my TSC-10HB for using my Triton an extension table for a sliding table. I found this a most useful tool with the Triton WC2000, and I like the way that Sturdee has done this here.

Unfortunately, there are no holes along the LH side of the router extension table, and the lip of the side is not very thick, and I was reluctant to drill and hang a sliding table. So, hence the new extension table, which has re-inforced, extra thickness holes to bolt a sliding table arrangement. I thought $125 for a sliding table attachment was good value. The Triton gear owes me nothing.

A router table is a high priority item for me, so I can give my son back his Triton router table, and I began exploring ways to use the cast iron table, although it is a bit on the small side. I decided to get another matching extension table to make a reasonable sized table 27in wide x 505mm deep.

regards,
Jill

Originally Posted by damian

Yeah I know, but you've got a substaintial shed and are willing to spend the $. I just thought it worthwhile to point out the easier and cheaper alternative.

Hey no problem with that, and space is worth gold, so I spend my hard earned space on a separate router table as a conscious decision.

Originally Posted by damian

I've always really liked your router table, but it was substaintial $ as I recall. ?

Um, yeah it isn't a cheap option. I wouldn't have bothered with a CI top, except for the benefit of using MagSwitch Featherboards. Otherwise I would have stayed with my older laminated top (which I now use as a wing on the tablesaw)

Link here

Originally Posted by JillB

hi Stu, yes, something very much like that!!! Thanks for posting the photos and helpful comments.

Thanks for the clue about the mitre slot, that will save me a lot of hassle. I was going to put the track between the two extension plates, with a bit of fiddling, but that could cause the table to get out of horizontal alignment eventually, I thought, with the two cast iron extension tables separated by a piece of wood with through bolts holding the 3 pieces together.


One problem I have with your setup is in holding down the Incra fence with Magswitches. Magswitches are great for preventing lifting load pull, but I find them relatively easy to slide along the table. Mind you, I was only using the 18mm diameter magnets. How did you do it? Mind you, it would not be suitable for my design of two small tables.

I think a carcass of 15mm ply for the cabinet should be strong enough to hold the 25kg weight of the combined extension tables. I hope!

15mm ply? Easy. I was using 15mm (or so melamine) with my approx 100kg top without issue.

Don't bother with the smaller MagSwitches - the 30mm switches have significantly more power, and I use 2, with a couple more backing them up. I may go as far as drilling and tapping some holes for a more secure holddown, but that is the benefit of CI - easy to drill, easy to tap a thread.

Various links to my articles:
Adding a Torque
Drilling Holes and Joining Top
Fitting a Lift
Fitting a Triton
Top Takes Shape

My router table tale hasn't finished yet, but I am getting close to a conclusion! Once the Torque Workcentre arrives in a week or so, I may finally be able to put this drawn-out build to a rest finally.