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  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
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    781

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    Had a chance to open up the through fence dust pickup port to its full size. Now I was always going to increase the height of the fence for a number of reasons, but to allow for any possible weakness in the fence cause by cutting a larger port, I made the higher fence panel with a thicker much piece of MDF than I was initially going to use. I added a small T-track to that for holding a safety guard and the added height will also hold the fence DRO. I also had a chance to at last make a basic zero insert block for the fence, I mentioned before that I planned on making a few of these for different uses and this first one was just a generic hack and not really zero clearance with the BIT shown of course, but you get the idea I hope, I cut out 5 of them from the small piece of timber I had left. What is nice is that it takes a second to swap them in and out, don't even have to move the fence, just slide the RH rail back a few mm and swap them, then retighten the rail.



    Also got time to do some freehand work without the fence and the DC was brilliant, even though I hadn't made an optimised table insert for this as yet, it gave me a chance to test it for the first time doing some round overs on a few small doors. Now to finish the Router cabinet door, make some draws and start tidying everything up. After the routing I did today there is not one speck of dust in the lower dust cabinet, I even wiped it with a white cloth to see if I could get something, and most of the crap I cut today was that hateful MDF - obviously not a definitive test but it's looking promising - and not wearing a mask at a Router table cutting MDF and not having an instant sinus reaction is a big deal for me.

    BTW No sign of that glitch I mentioned in a the previous post.

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  3. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

    Default

    I decided to make a lift frame for the Router to allow the fitment of some kind of lifting device that I have yet to make. With this Triton, the plunge handles don’t do anything and the plastic grip assemblies are held on with to screws. I made two mounting plates and fixing brackets out of an old piece of 3.5mm aluminium plate – it had numerous holes and old lumps of glue all over it, but it was free.

    Found a way to fix the plates to the router plunge handle stubs and locked the two halves together with a piece of 19mm aluminium box section. The 19mm box section is of course incredibly rigid and is placed so the bottom motor fan air intake is completely clear, the lift point on the aluminium box section is centred around the main plunge column and correct lift point for the smoothest lift feeling possible.

    This frame was really only going to be used to raise and lower the router for bit changing, as I planned on using the Triton fine height knob for setting the final bit height.

    I wanted to quickly try the lifting point out with the router in the cabinet and I remembered seeing a member of the forum post a couple of times about using a vehicle scissor jack in a router table. No one every seemed to reply or comment about this suggestion, and when I read it I was initially concerned about space, the force that could be generated, possible damage to the router and of course blocking the router fan intake, and it just seemed a bit agricultural.

    Anyway I grabbed a jack from the old Honda and tried it. Now it didn’t really fit in the dust cabinet as it needed about 80mm more height below the router at its lowest plunge position. I persevered and tested it anyway, wanting to see how fast and slow it would move the router and how much play was in the jack, it was really smooth and as I looked at the router height DRO to see how much movement there was when a downward force was applied to the router, well it really didn’t move. Next thing was to see how much fine control I had. I found I could move it accurately about 0.05mm at a time and it held that position within around 0.05mm, if I use the plunge lock it moves about 0.02mm, all in all not bad. I fashioned a way to fit a 75mm knob from an old table saw and with that knob it was seven rotations from having the router right at the very bottom of its travel to raising it to auto shaft lock height for bit replacement. Normally the router in a lot closer to the top and then it’s around 3 to 4 turns or less. So no need to use the plunge lock now and it worked perfectly for me.

    Dropped the bottom of the cabinet 80mm, picked up a smaller scissor jack for a smaller vehicle at the wreckers for $12.00, cleaned it up and bolted to the bottom of the cabinet, the result is as shown in the photos.

    BTW The knob itself moves up and down 22mm from center for the “total” router height travel, seriously I can’t feel it when adjusting so it’s not the slightest problem. For something so low cost at $12.00 it really does what I need for now.

    Also made another fence insert (white smaller rectangle with big hole) and table insert ring (big rectangle - unpainted) for different bits and work, will make a few more once I get the cabinet draws made.


    Door closed and open, height plate and knob stay where they are, door opens around them.




    DRO mounted - note old rough piece of aluminium used to make the mounting plates - looked worse before.

  4. #18
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Helensburgh
    Posts
    7,696

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    Awesome! Words fail me. Is there a first prize for the router table building competition because I think you just won it hands down.
    CHRIS

  5. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

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    Hey thanks Chris, just need to save up for a CNC & VFD to retrofit and I'll last a long time, with a different lift of course, but I made this router table with a CNC motor in mind.

    Mike.

  6. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Bundaberg
    Age
    54
    Posts
    3,399

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    This is possibly the most comprehensive router table build I've seen in these forums; I'm particularly impressed with the electrical systems you've devised.

    Watching with interest... and no small amount of jealousy!
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  7. #21
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

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    Quote Originally Posted by Chief Tiff View Post
    This is possibly the most comprehensive router table build I've seen in these forums; I'm particularly impressed with the electrical systems you've devised.
    Thanks for that encouraging feedback. I'm finally getting close to the fun part of making some combined safety shield and dust extraction inserts for freehand routing, they can be swapped over in seconds when the fence is off.

    Oh! and those dam draws to finish the table.

  8. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

    Default Random ponderings

    One of the things that I don't think is really apparent from the photos is the huge shift in dust extraction performance. By opening up and combining the extraction path from in front and below the bit, and all the way back through and into a below the fence extraction port, thus making them as one, and then moving the router cabinet to dust collector 150mm port up high in the cabinet behind the router, and channeling air intake from the top of the cabinet door and across the underside of the table intake opening, you now have all extraction flowing in the SAME direction down, through and also across the underside of the table.

    I wonder how many have thought about fence extraction and have realised that when you pull air through the front of the fence from the typical small fence collector box, and use an extraction hose connected to the top or back of the box, that you are actually pulling that air through the fence and around the bit in almost the opposite direction to the below table air flow, and it's actually fighting below table dust extraction right at that critical extraction point - the router bit.

    Now when you add the limited collection intake area around the bit with typical insert ring design, thus creating very low air flow volume, and the partly blocked and disturbed below table air-path caused by typical router base plates, and the router motor fan that pushes high speed air back up past the router bit and outwards below the table, also scattering any dust that does make it below the table outwards and everywhere around the dust enclosure, then it's no wonder it's a crap shoot. A CNC - "with an appropriate lift" - eliminates two of the three issues -> the base plate and router fan.

    As an example when using a fence. The work piece often covers the insert ring and on a standard table setup the only extraction you basically have left is through the fence, now if you are using a typical zero clearance fence then IMHO, you now have virtually NO dust extraction because of the problems outlined above.

    However in this table design, you still have dust extraction. The air travelling across the underside of the table and past the completely exposed back and underside of the bit, and behind and below the fence, now extracts everything thrown out by the bit, and if you open the zero clearance fence up above the bit zero clearance cutout, then you have above table extraction working again, and this time NOT fighting against but combining with below table air flow.

    What if the work piece is set so that it's completely covering the fence? Just open the normally closed air intake flap located in the top of the fence dust box directly behind the face of the fence, this now pulls bulk air down across the back of the blocked front fence opening, and once again it combines with below table bit dust extraction flow and maintains air flow past and from the bit and effectively removes the dust.

  9. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

    Default Safety shield prototype

    First attempt at making a bit guard from 6mm Polycarbonate, the learning attempt was in heating and bending 6mm poly, so this is the first one. It didn't bend as I would have liked but at least I know how to get the next one right.

    The smaller holes are for testing as air flow through this table is different and there is a lot flow in other areas behind and below the bit, so I need to start small and work up.

    A few photos of the rough unit that will be used for testing, gives an idea of what I'm aiming for.





  10. #24
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

    Default

    Just a quick update to the Safety shield post:

    I glued up the polycarbonate with a polyurethane glue with epoxy like strength, however a separate test piece I used to test the strength, while very strong, could still be broken at the join. As this shield is also used to restrain a router bit letting go, I decided to reinforce it with a few small chrome angle brackets. Dust pickup tests were great and the extra holes have been increased to twice the size as I had flow to spare. Just need to make the next one a little shorter to allow for more vertical travel. I like that I still have a good view of the router bit, but now with bullet shield material between me and a potential metal projectile rotating at around 20,000 rpm - SHMBO has a full days work lined up for me today in the yard, got to catch up on the more boring tasks in life.

  11. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Sydney Upper North Shore
    Posts
    4,464

    Default

    I've used this in the past for polycarbonate. Gives an excellent bond and resists stress cracking of the poly.

    Loctite Epoxy Plastic Bonder from Loctite Adhesives

  12. #26
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Woodstock (Cowra)
    Age
    74
    Posts
    3,369

    Default

    Just read this all the way through, what an AWESOME job you have done. It would be worthwhile making this into a PDF file for anyone who wants to honor you by building their own.

    x 100
    The person who never made a mistake never made anything

    Cheers
    Ray

  13. #27
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rwbuild View Post
    Just read this all the way through, what an AWESOME job you have done. It would be worthwhile making this into a PDF file for anyone who wants to honor you by building their own.
    Hi Ray, I've been away overnight but I waned to say thanks for the encouragement to continue with the thread postings

    Cheers
    Mike

  14. #28
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

    Default

    Since I wanted to do some testing and I also have some routing to do before I go any further with the build, I decided to use the guard "as is" with the brackets, not that noticeable and even when I get the glue that Lappa posted about, I'm thinking that for peace of mind I may still fit the small brackets as a extra measure of safety.

    Larger holes and 5 small 90 deg reinforcing brackets on the clear safety guard.

    I know not a good photo - batteries on camera ran flat.

  15. #29
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Caboolture QLD AU
    Posts
    781

    Default Video attempt (poor)

    I really wanted to get a video of the dust being pulled away when doing some 19mm wide 5mm deep "through" slots, dados and some Rabbets on the table.

    With the previous standard router plate design, I could easily see the dust and chips leaving the work piece and travelling about 50mm across the table out of the slot before bending back and into the fence pickup, but still some bigger chips were left on the table, and that was with the smaller insert ring left out, so I had about 15mm gap all around the bit.

    This time I tried to get the dust to show up with various spot lighting and camera angles, but without much success. Because this table design totally removes the limitations of standard insert plates, router lifts plates, and rings, the result is a small tightly contained dust Dome ripping almost straight down below the table around and particularly behind the bit, so there is almost nothing to see. Unlike the standard RT design I had, there is absolutely nothing coming out of the workpiece as the bit enters, and as the workpiece covers the bit (hard to film) not one speck of dust is ejected from the slot, not a speck is left on the table anywhere.

    When making the slots I also realised that I should have had a different fence insert as I was now wasting air flow doing this type of routing, and this was also done with the DC having lost 2" and 2.1 amperes due to dirty filter bags.

    FYI, I started with a slot 5mm deep on the bit height DRO and centered 30mm in from the edge (fence) to the center of the slot using the fence DRO, it's just so dam fast to set and change, tried various positions and depths using the DROs and checked each finished job with a micrometer, all routed slots were absolutely perfect in both measurements. I'm really stoked with how this is turning out.

    I have one short video of the small dome around the bit, it's not much but I may post it anyway (posted below) and I'll have another go at making a better video in the next few days.

    One thing that is really showing up with this table design is this: With a lot of the routing work I do, I hardly need any through fence extraction, I can divert even more air into that under-table intake port that sits just below the bottom of the table top and shoots air straight across the bottom of the huge bit opening.

    In case this is not clear - There is only ONE thing that you have to change in this design in order to completely change the dust extraction behaviour of the entire table, and that is a $0.50 (50 cent) insert plate - which is really just a big rectangle insert that surrounds the bit and controls all through table and fence extraction, they can be made in under 10 minutes, and changed over in seconds. They have nothing to do with a normal insert plate as there isn't one in this table design, just as there are no insert rings, that is now part of the changeable insert plate.

    Poor 1st attempt to video dust extraction at the bit - 19mm wide 5mm deep slot - posted just for the hell of it until I get something better.




    Not much better:
    Last edited by MandJ; 22nd March 2017 at 11:34 AM. Reason: Added Video

  16. #30
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    South Australia
    Posts
    86

    Default

    Hi Mike,

    Great job, your attention to detail is outstanding.
    Any chance of a post explaining what your fence is made of, and how it is assembled ?
    I would like to copy your improvements to the dust extraction, if thats OK.
    I can see what you have done with the router base, but i cant suss out from the pics
    how the fence is constructed.
    Cheers.

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