Thread: Challenge to Create the Ideal Router Table

My table is approx 900 x 450.
Two pieces of 19mm melamine coated board. The bottom piece is a little smaller than the top piece.
The router is attached to a 3mm aluminium insert.
This sits on top of a box/cupboard which has a 4" port to the DC.
A 2" hose goes from the box to the fence.
There is no sign of sagging despite having a heavy old Makita router sittiing in it permanently.
The fence is a rough copy of Pat Warner's fence published in Fine Woodworking Sept/Oct 2000.
The fence is constructed from a piece of 2" x 6" white pine (of unknown variety) taken from an old kitchen mantlepiece. I think it was seasoned! It has not warped.
The fence is only a little over 900mm long - I would like it longer.
Otherwise I am very happy with it.
Cheers

Melamine board is difficult to glue - and PVA will definitely NOT stick to it, unless you sand off most of the melamine faces. Try pouring some PVA onto melamine, leave it to set and try scraping it off - pops right off, even if the surface is a bit scratched.

There are glues that will stick - though I'm no expert on the best one. The real issue of course is that melamine, while pretty durable, is really not durable enough for a router table in the long term. It scratches & dings relatively easily.

MUCH better to glue down a proper laminate the right way - with contact adhesive. A disposable paintbrush does the job just fine, and the adhesive is cheap enough. It really is very easy to do.

Laminating two pieces of MDF together with PVA is fine - assuming you've got a truly flat surface to leave it to set on, for anything up to a week, especially if there's a bit of excess glue towards the middle. Most of us don't have a truly flat spare surface. Again contact adhesive will work just fine, and it doesn't require the same time to set - or as much weight, so should be less likely to result in a warped panel.

One good way to laminate large panels is to use a bunch of screws from underneath, starting from towards the center (avoiding wherever you're going to cut out for the router) and working out from there. Assuming you start with two flat panels and you don't use weight, and you space the screws evenly, it will stay flat.

If I were to build a new router table, I would incorporate some or all of the hardware supplied by Lee Valley. At very least, I would used their table-plate and router attachment hardware. It is designed to overcome the flexing problem to which many have previously alluded.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...D=&ccurrency=1

At CDN$443 plus shipping, this Veritas system is not cheap - but it certainly seems to provide most of the answers to the problems found in many router tables.

I will ask some more specific questions to give people more thoughts to ponder...

a) rather than going to the trouble of laminating boards and adding a laminate top, can't you just buy a laminated 1m x 1m board from a kitchen supplier? It will probably be 32mm chipboard.
Is it because unless you are buying a whole kitchen, most kitchen makers will tell you to off?

b) rather than the traditional way of screwing your router to the insert plate, does anyone have an opinion of the Triton quick-release-plate? (...preparing to be flamed now...) Assuming it can be adapted to a normal table.
If you want to take the router out and use it hand-held, can you use it with the insert plate attatched, or do you have to unscrew it each time?

c) I was reading an old Aust Woodsmith (#17) which features a router table. To make the mitre slot, they used aluminium angle, but one edge was cut short to make the correct depth.
How do you cut aluminium lengthways like this? I imagine you don't hacksaw for the whole length! Rip it with an aluminium blade? Can you plane it with a normal plane?

You can 'rip' aluminium angle with a hack saw - it is actually quite easy as long as you use a the correct blade for the thickness you are cutting. You may not have a very straight edge so clamp it against a piece of hardwood and file down to the wood, as long as the wood section is thick enough the file will cut the aluminium much quicker than the wood so a clean straight edge can be produced.
cheers

John wrote:

rather than the traditional way of screwing your router to the insert plate, does anyone have an opinion of the Triton quick-release-plate? (...preparing to be flamed now...) Assuming it can be adapted to a normal table.

Below is a pic of this. Again, I have used Triton fittings (available from Carba-tec).

The other feature to look for is the top right hand corner. This is my home made height adjustment screw: just a screw through a nylon block, adjustable from the underside of the table.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Another view:

I cut aluminum with a metal cutting blade on my band saw. It does a good jod, and at least I find it easier to control than a hacksaw. And you can use the rip fence to hold a very straight cut.
Hager

One more "essential" (I did a search, but couldn't find what I was looking for).

Recently on this forum, someone provided a link to a US manufacturer of an after-market through table height winder kit for routers. Each model was router-specific.

If I was designing the ideal router table it would incorporate such a device. This is a critical adjustment and quite awkward even on the most advanced routers (Triton), only because it is accomplished under the table. Whether the router table is enclosed or open, it requires the operator to bend and reach awkwardly. I would love to be able to simply wind a control from the normal operating position to achieve gross and micro adjustments of the router-bit height.

I like the idea of gluing and screwing the sheets. I don't see a problem with the screws as they can always be removed after the glue has set if they get in the way of inserts, mitre slots, etc. This solution is only for those that cannot source 32mm thick sheets and want to use off the shelf sizes.
I also take the point that we are trying to build the ideal router so while cost will be a factor it will not override quality or features.
I agree a laminate surface is more durable than melamine and will work this into the specs.
Looks like there are a few commercial router table insert kits and both Jessada and the Lee Valley look good.
The router table insert is of course a critical part of the design. I am interested to see more discussion and there needs to be more input and some photos of the home made jobs. Detail of the insert plate/s, materials used and method of attaching the router would be helpful. The winder for height adjustment also sounds good so I will have a look for it when I get some more time.
Another area that needs some feedback is the method of adjusting the fence in or out from the router bit. I have always attached the fence at both ends but end up with a see-saw action if I want to move it out of the way or more than a few millimetres. More specifically how do you attach you fence to the router table so that you can easily adjust and then clamp it in place.

if you try some of the smaller cabinetmakers, you will find that some of them will have reject postform tops at 33mm in thickness which are great for router tables. well at least the ones i know do.

if you ask nicely they even may cut and egde it in pvc edgetape.

also try a postforming company, they will have heaps of rejects and stuff ups. the post forming process can be a hit and miss affair getting the tempreture/timing right.

av56 will glue melamine together just fine. its designed for
mdf but works great on melamine.

any fine tooth tct blade will cut aluminium perfectly.

my two cents

G

Rod wrote:

Another area that needs some feedback is the method of adjusting the fence in or out from the router bit. I have always attached the fence at both ends but end up with a see-saw action if I want to move it out of the way or more than a few millimetres.

This was the reason I attached my fence to the tablesaw fence.

Another solution is to use a fence that is fixed but pivots at one end and adjusts at the other.

The downside and that is you will (a) effectively end up with a round table top, and (b) not be able to use a mitre gauge.

Or, you could spend $$$ and buy an Incra fence.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Another alternative is to make one. See this thread for example:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...&threadid=5633

It's a mortising jig but as Rocker says, it was adapted from a design for a router table fence.

I'll bet you could fill up another thread on router table fences.

For anyone interested in the router raizer (yep the spelling caused a few false trails) there is an Australain Supplier and the link below will take you there
http://svc009.bne011i.server-web.com....html?cache=no

Well mabe but if that doesn't work try
http://www.routerraizer.com/
This is the manufacturers site and you can find a link to the Australian Supplier from there.