Thread: Router into bench top?

Hi Woodsprite,

Can you add a little more of a description, coffee hasnt kicked in yet.

dazzler

Working on the assumption that you are not intending to continue with the Triton Router table top, and are making your own table (top included from scratch), then my answer would be no....not really - gravity works pretty well. However, why retain the black mounting plate? Keep it for trenching with the router on the workcentre, but I wouldn't build it into a new table.

Instead, I'd go with a phenolic plate with inserts (such as from Professional Woodwork Supplies) for a really flat finish, and less height loss. The black triton plate isn't manufactured to be perfectly flat (it may be flat, but I wouldn't put money on it, and it doesn't have any capacity for inserts to surround the router bit, so you end up with either a large cavity, or a hole too narrow to retract the larger bits through to operational height.



That way, you will only have to rout out a cavity the thickness of the phenolic plate, and all will be well. In fact, with my Triton router (and this is true for others as well), I've removed the plastic baseplate on the router altogether, and have mounted the metal base of the router directly to the phenolic plate - gives me more height for bit changing etc, and the metal base of the router is flatter than the plastic base.

If you are not using a Triton router, then you could always go this way.....

Although the price is scary.


Now, if you are still going to retain the Triton router table top, and build a base to fit it (rather than using a Mk3 base, or buying the Triton Router table stand), then all you need to continue to use the Triton router mounting plate is 2 lengths of track that fit the knobs on the plate. Mount these tracks high on the base - that keeps the router firmly located in the table, and place the table top on...well on top! You may even be able to source the track as spares from Triton, although a visit to Carpal Aluminium may also be profitable.

Stuart

Can it be bolted through a very thick top to reduce the effects of gravity and run an xtreme xtension collett through perhaps?

Does the Triton have holes to bolt through:confused:

cheers

dazzler

Yes, my coffee hadn't kicked in eiother, and I was rushing off towork still mostly asleep. Thanks for the responses - precisely what I was after.

I will try and clarify my setup. My router mounts onto the black triton router plate which has the four square plastic runners. These sit in the side bars of the work bench and the orange plate/table thingy sits over the bars and locks on to the table. But you all knew that anyways!!

So I want to make a new bench and mount my router into it - sounds like a thin flat phenolic plate or similar is what I am after. Happened to take my first look at the woodwork channel on the computer this morning and there was a guy with exactly the sort of table I wanted. His router seemed to be attacehd to a large square plate and he was simply lifting it in and out of the square cut-out in the table, to change cutters, etc.

So, Stuart, you have answered my query in detail, thanks so much. I will soon proceed to construct said bench, make a cut out in the top, mount the router directly to a piece of flat stuff, and said tabel will be construced so that the router mount can sit inside tehcutout without being hit by a large belt of gravity and fall spinningly onto my feet. - Gee, bet that would make a mess!!

Many thanks folks - gonna go and look in the forum for pics of other tables so I don't reinvent the wheel, bench, router table, etc
Jeff

Originally Posted by dazzler

Stuart

Can it be bolted through a very thick top to reduce the effects of gravity and run an xtreme xtension collett through perhaps?

Does the Triton have holes to bolt through:confused:

cheers

dazzler

Yes it can, and yes it does - the quick-release bolts can be removed / replaced with longer bolts as needed, but why use an xtreme xtension? Particularly without the plastic bottom on the Triton, you get a massive amount of through-base extension for bit changing- enough to cope with a very thick base (at a guess, up to about 15mm - that is a heavy base!)

I hate the whole concept of the xtreme xtension - the bending moment at the router collet, the reliance on yet another component to hang onto a rapidly spinning bit etc. We already criticise routers that have too long a shaft past the final bearing- why exasperate the problem? I know a lot of people like them - gives them Triton-like through table bit changes. I'm glad I don't have any justification for needing one.