Thread: Router cabinet/table WIP

Originally Posted by Lplates

Hi guys,

I am confined to a two car garage that still needs to accomodate two cars.

this is terrible. I am also confined to a two car garage, but cars live outside!

good work, nice and simple. what insert plate are you using to mount the triton router? will be good to see more pics soon

Originally Posted by delbs

good work, nice and simple. what insert plate are you using to mount the triton router? will be good to see more pics soon

Hi Delbs,
I don't intend to use a mounting plate this time around. I used a generic one last time from the carbatec website and that worked out ok but I don't see any advantage to using one. So this time i will mount the router directly to the MDF top. If i don't like the setup later i can always put in an insert. I will post pictures once it's done but basically i will just leave a hole for the bit/collet to protrude and another hole for the height adjustment winder that comes with the triton.

Thanks for watching.

Hi Folks,

I've been beavering away during the week after work each night and i've made some progress. After a number of stuff ups (mostly forgetting to cut various rabbets/panels) I've gotten to the stage below where i can start some of the glue up. I will be oiling the infill panels tomorrow or tonight if i have time so that should allow me to finish the glue up.

I'm not terribly happy with some of the joints; Because the 90x45 framing timber is rounded on the edges some of the joints aren't flush. I will see how it looks when it's all together and I will putty it up if needed, but it will probably be ok, this isn't a piece of furniture after all.

The pics below are pretty self explanatory, the first one is of the back panel, the rest show the dry fit up. The internal panels will be a pain to fit when i come around to gluing up the whole thing hence why i didn't put it all together in one go, but you get the gist of what i am aiming for now.

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Thanks for watching, more soon.

Great progress to date...

I see that you are going to attach the router direct to the bottom of the table.

How thick are you going to make the top?

Are you going to route a rebate for the router to sit in?

Hi guys,

I've been doing bits and pieces on the table over the past week and a bit and progress has been slow but over the weekend I got a good boost with a full day on saturday to get stuck into the drawers. I also managed to glue up the cabinet and fit the castors over the week at some stage too.

I borrowed a dovetail jig to put together the drawers and I see what all the complaints/reviews are talking about now, those things are super fiddly to set up. Also i can see where the extra $ would go in the better(read as more expensive) models. The jig i was working with was of the cheapo variety and the stops on the sides were not great, neither was the slop/lift on the comb which meant i had to apply downward pressure to make sure the depth was correct for each cut. Anyway, after about a dozen setup cuts i managed to get it working pretty consistent, good enough for my workshop project but probably not ideal for a furniture piece. Given that I'm working with pine i also figure i can plane things into allignment if necessary. Thankfully that wont really be the case; After i glued up everything it looks like the fit is pretty good.

I also made a start on the table top too and in answer to your question jw2170, yes i am making rebate for the router to sit in, i cut it using the extension baseplate on the triton which allows for circle cuts. The top will be 2 x16mm MDF with one piece having the circle cut out, so that the router fits through the second 16mm. Not sure if that will be enough clearance to allow for bit changes but i'll see, if need be I can always mount to my previous baseplate. Trying to avoid that if possible because It doesn't provide a totally smooth surface to work against and has caused me issues in the past with edges catching against the rebate that the top plate sat in...despite the fit being near perfect. I also wanted to put some laminex on the top too but i can't find the stuff at bunnies, need to go to a kitchen maker or something similar to get some, that can come later anyway.

Anyway, here are some picture of the progress. Note that i actually got the drawers glued up and mostly finished, just need to cut some dadoes for the drawer slides to sit in, put a rounded edge on the face plates and then oil them up and mount them. Then i can focus on the top.

Pic1-3, drawers in progress, note the bracing on the larger drawer due to flex in the pine panel which i cut vertically (grain is vertical) so that it matches the rest of the cabinet.
Pic 4, One part of the top with circle cut for the router to sit in and also showing the fitting of nuts that the pictured knobs will pull against; Four of these will push against hold downs to keep the router in place (hopefully). The side visible will be glued to the piece that will be exposed to the top of the table.
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Just wanted to add some photos of the drawers after the first oiling. I routered the recesses for the drawer slides to sit inside on monday/tuesday night and also the rounded edges on the fronts too. Had to stop half way because of the lightning storm we had on Monday night which was annoying but it's done now. After some sanding last night i was able to apply the first coat of Cabots danish oil.

Going to give it another coat of oil tonight and then see where i'm at. Might try fitting them up tonight as well since i will have time.

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I got around to fitting the drawers yesterday but unfortunately just as i mounted the last two (before i got to adjust the position precisely) i injured my wrist trying to tip the whole cabinet back upright. I had it on its sides to make it easier to mount the sliders and it was pretty heavy by then with all the drawers fitted. Anyway i managed to get the following photo after my wrist went pop. I now have the problem that the shellac'd sides don't match the oiled drawers for colour. Stupidly i couldn't wait for the oil when i ran out and just used shellac. i should have done the same with the fronts. Will have to play with it now to get it to match.

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will see how the wrist recovers before i can do more. so annoying, stupid body

thats unfortunate about you wrist. you need it so i hope you get better soon. looks like its really coming together now . great work on the draws. what type of draw sliders are you using?

if you dont mind me asking without sounding rude. whats the reasoning behind tge colourings? ive never seen blue used next to a shellac finish before. i dont mind it but when i seen blue frame coming together i didnt expect to see shellac draws.

anyhoo fantastic work id love to build one just like yours sometime.

cheers
delbs

Originally Posted by delbs

what type of draw sliders are you using?

if you dont mind me asking without sounding rude. whats the reasoning behind tge colourings?

cheers
delbs

Hi delbs.

The sliders are full extension ball bearing type. Cheap on ebay at $6 or so per pair. Cheaper than a certain big warehouse charges for normal roller type sliders. Here is a link if you are after some, just check out the guys store he has various sizes.

NEW DRAWER RUNNER SLIDE HEAVY DUTY 500MM FULL EXT | eBay

As for the colour, it's not a rude question at all. We all have different tastes. The reason i chose blue was simply because i had a lot of blue paints that were half or 3/4 empty lying around so i mixed them all together and presto, 1L of paint for the project. I didn't want to paint the pine cos i thought it would contrast well with the painted part. Just be good if the drawers matched the sides. I will try to shellac the drawers to see if i can get it to match.

Thanks for the comments.
Cheers
Mat

Looking good Mat. I like the contrast between the blue and the natural wood colour.
Thanks for the link on the draw slides, they sound like a bargain.

perfect,thanks for the link ill pick some up. that makes sense as i have a few tins kicking around of various colours so ill probsbly do the same.

pretty keen to see it all come together. great work on the dovetails in the draws

Hey Folks,

I haven't had much progress this weekend due to the aforementioned wrist injury however i did manage to fit the drawer handles/pulls. I also realised why the big drawer wont close properly, seems i made it about 10-20 too deep, DOH!!! I based the depth on the top drawers but of course the bottom drawer has a much wider span and some of the frame gets in the way. Looks like i'll have to get out the chisels and fix my mistake. It still closes but i would like the drawers to all be inset a little to minimise the dust getting at them.


The wrist is feeling better now, i can move it but still can't put much weight on it so hopefully should be able to do something later this week. Need to clean up the top and add a slider/miter rail and grooves for the fence bolts. It's dragging on a bit more than i would normally like but oh well.

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Excellent work on the cabinet. Will be watching the end of this one.