Thread: Challenge to Create the Ideal Router Table

Trust me with my skills I'll be keeping it as simple as possible. hehe.

I have been to the Gifkins site. And I like his tables. I actually saw one up close at the Perth woodwork show last weekend. When Roger finished his talk I was on all fours trying to get a look underneath. Unfortunately my fat gut prevented me getting a real good look at any attachement or plate. Which is where I'm at as far as planning this project.

also you can imagine how unpleasant the view was for the people in the front row gathering there thoughts after a very cool demonstration only to be subjected to my big ass waving in the wind as I lay prostrate at the Gifkins alter.
It confirmed in my mind though that I could do this myself. The table is elegantly simple. I didn't know he published plans for the table on his site. Will have another look. cheers Mate

ps I have the big triton router as well just purchased at the show. The diameter of the hole question is more for which would suit the most common size of bit I would use(if that makes sense). I assume it is important for supporting the stock around the cut.

Hey mate,
Roger has two different router tables.
His first is this one. I believe he used this for a few years and had a couple of upgrades over the time.
http://www.gifkins.com.au/Gifkins%20...%20version.pdf

I am in the finishing stages of making my new router table. I have used some of his ideas including the inserts.

He now sells his own table. This is probably the one you would have seen at the show.
http://www.gifkins.com.au/Boxmaker's...er%20Table.pdf

Andy

Thats fantastic thank you. Will be having a good study of that. Will let you know how I get on.



http://lumberjocks.com/projects/2806
I'm hoping I can post this link. I didn't read anything saying I couldn't. A very nice table. Some good ideas.

This is my first router table I made. I a beginner self teaching woodworker, so please be nice.

I used a car jack as my lifter, works great! I do need to change the guide though.

Good work
I used a car jack on my first router table too, it worked great.

Router tables don't need to be fancy, just a flat table and a decent fence.

I'm a beginner woodworker aswell, I have found this forum invaluable in my progression.

Andy

I agree that a router table can be to big, and made to get in the way. The more that You install , and the less usefull overall it gets. We have another table that We use in the States, A lot like the Gifkins.

I am at the stage of having made a final decision on material after a long, long time and though I'd present my outcome for others who are at the same stage of consideration (and also for those who would like to poke sticks ).

I have a bosch gts10 table saw that had a motor 'explosion' (smashed the metal casing etc- $400 repair min). Rather than repair it I bought a makita 2704, and decided to use the shell of the table as the basis for a good router table.

Before I go any further and anyone points out why don't I just make a new one from scratch and ditch the carcass I offer these two things in my defense:

1. The bosch fence was accurate and clamped like no-ones business, even better than the makita, so I am going to keep it no matter what. I also need a router fence to be quick release so I can use the complete table top for other things as well as template routing of large objects which would be better supported on a table this size.
2. I like the extending fence as I intend to flush fit a trim router drop in insert for when I would like to have a two process bench set up.
3. The front panel is quite removable and I thought to magnetically mount it for easy access and sound reduction as my neighbours aren't too far away.

I've gone from considering welding/machining the insert area, to cast iron to mdf.

• machining was too much of a nightmare as it was honeycombed and not thick enough- I just knew it would end in tears without providing any of the benefits of cast iron.
• can't find a reasonable cast iron table top or even wing that will take the 3/8 woodpeckers plate that I am putting in (if I have missed anything australia wise on the internet I would be eternally grateful if anyone could point it out for me, although I am not keen on the carbatec $800 rt660 for several reasons).
  For the life of me I can't understand why a good sized standard plate insert top isn't available yet- we are closer to china than the US....
• I then considered a woodworkers supply mdf top as it was exactly the size of the main table plate on the saw. I then found that the 32mm top was going to present some problems mounting the fence (I would have to still put a ply skin or metal mounting frame underneath).
  I will also be mounting this carcass on a wheeled frame for outside work and have grave doubts as to my ability to forecast sun showers etc etc.
  On top of that I will be using this for sometimes large, rough timber for industrial style furniture and am not sure of the mdf tabletop's ability to withstand a bit of rough usage.

-
So finally I have decided on gluing up layers of the most waterproof, flat and stable ply that I can get my hands on (it will be around 45-50mm) with possibly putting a steel skin on the top, as it would be easy to machine and would then (hopefully) accept magnetic featherboards, jigs etc.

If anyone can suggest any improvements, alterations or advice on the best type of ply and/or skin for this particular situation it would be highly appreciated.

Oh, and my router's the big triton


Cheers,
Garth

My table is made from a cabinet surface or table top. It is 1 1/4 in thick. It is made for commercial table tops for work tables, so it is very dense. The covering is a plastic material that is hard to cut, and does not stain It is on both sides, however the outside is tuffer. It is called formica, and makes a great top. The router insert I made from a part of floating flooring. It is made of paper, and plastic material, that is so tuff, that it is hard to cut.The pouter plate is made in a square plate, 12 inches by 12 inches I found center of the plate a marked it. I then put a centering bit in the router and made the marks where I though the mounting holes were. I took a compass and made several circles on the plate. I drilled a hole from the backside of the plate with a i/4 in bit,and was carefull to get it centered, I drilled to the outer floor covering, and found that the surface was to hard to drill with normal drill bits. I took a cement bit, and drilled a hole through the surface, and carefully kept the surface as smooth as possibal. Now, I took a hole saw that was for metal, and drilled the hole for the 1 3/4 collet. I used a hi speed grinder that is used for drilling steel, and cut the 12 by 12 in. area that would hold the plate. I barely cut throught the plate, and then pulled and ripped the vinly covering out of the top. then routed a hole through the top. 11 3/4 square. The underside could be cut.
This makes a great table top, and cost vary little. That is what I would do. The plate fits the square hole I had some finish work on the table to smooth the line for the plate to fit. The circles that i drew on the plate were centered and for the mounting.

I have read nearly all this discussion on making router tables, looked at plans on the www, and am now nearly completely bamboozled, I like the simplicity of craigs very simple small table for a start, I can change the table later if needed when I am more skilled as a woodworker. The plans on the web seemed way to hard for a beginner

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about better material for craigs guide that he thought he'd change.

This is my first post so I would like to thank everyone for letting me be a part of this fabulous site.

Cheers
Nanoo

Made a large guage / fence, to the table. Has a finger jig bolted to whiched worked great.

i will make a bigger fence with two slides like a guage.


This is my main router table fourm: my router table and stuff

Looks really good, I will hopefully get a chance next weekend to put it all together. I am very impressed that your children help in your workshop as well. Mine like to "help" a lot, My daughter today spent 20 minutes mixing screws, nails and drill bits together in a nice pile beside my saw. It was extremely nice of her.
Thanks again.

Your box looks awesome, hopefully I'll get there one day.

That is exactly the way that I make mine! I have i/4 inch, A 3/8, and a 1/2 inch set-up. They do a very good job, and You can do more than 1 piece,at time. You can cut all the pieces on the smaller ones all at one time! Looks very nice.

I have to agree that simple is best and any design that eliminates the need for any tracks or grooves in the tables surface gets my vote. When I built a router table extension for my table saw, I went to "Woodworking with the Router" written by Bill Hylton of American Woodworker. I use this book extensively and can't recommend it enough.
My table consists of two 19mm MDF boards glued into a 38mm thick top, coated with plastic laminate (scavenged from the local cabinet maker). Its nice and stiff but I reinforced it by taking the original metal right extension of the table saw, cutting it in two and attaching it under the MDF. I then made a drop in plate for the router to hang by, from 10mm acrylic and routed a recess in the table top for it. Amazingly I got it all pretty flush but I still drilled holes at each corner of the recess, threaded the holes and installed grub screws as height adjusters. The saw's fence does double duty with a sacrificial facing on the router side but a thick straight true piece of timber clamped across the top can be used equally well. The router is the Triton TRA-001 so height adjustment is a snap.
I made a sliding table for cross cutting on the saw and I modified it so I can use it with the router (think cutting tenons or laps) but a sacrificial fence on the mitre guage is also effective if I can't afford to lose any bit height.
Can put up some pics if anyone is interested (the laminate is a real trendy fake marble)- but again, the above book is gold and I would not be without it.
Or my Triton for that matter...

The one thing to remember is that the fence on a table saw is used much different that on a router table. The first thing to remember is that the table saw blade is 8, to 10 inches big. and rotates on a horizontal plane. The router, on the other hand is about 1/2 in. in diameter, to 3 in. in diameter, the maximum diameter. The two tools can not be expected to function the same. The fence on the table saw is used to dimension wood, and cut stripes of wood. Therefor, the fence has to be on the exactly parallel to the blade. Also, the wood is normally slid along the fence and used to cut the piece to be the same dimension from front to back of the piece. The fence on the router table is never used with the wood between the blade, and the fence, unless it is used to make dado's, or grooves. Never cut off a piece of wood with a router, like a table saw. Because the router is used on a vertical plane, the wood can be fed into the spinning blade from any position on the table. The router fence is used to allow the bit to be positioned inside a cavity in the fence, or a double fence. The fence and the bit should always be on the same side of the wood. Wood can not be put between the fence on one side and the bit on the other edge, unless You get the wood bound, and have it kick back. I hope I am making some sense of the problem here, The truth is, that the table fence, and the router fence serve a totally different function. If questions occur, I will try to answer then. I am hoping to keep an accident from happening along the way. Thank You, The Dutchman: