Thread: Router Plate Problem

Drill some holes to suit?

Thanks for the reply but the base plate of the router is too small to effectively drill new holes.
The base plate has 2 removable centre plates, if I drilled new holes to suit the router base plate they would be approx 1mm from the edge of the largest centre plate.
That would not be safe. Any other ideas please forum?

Originally Posted by Wongdai

Drill some holes to suit?

That's the go. another $4.95 on some screws and your all set.

Thanks YeahNah, would you like to expand on that a bit for a novice?
What sort of fitting would you suggest?

Hi Ozwa

You should drill matching holes in the phenolic plate to suit your router - not in the router base plate. You will need to countersink the holes, and possible obtain longer screws to make up the difference in the thickness of the phenolic plate. You should also remove the base plate from your router.

HTH

Wongdai

Thanks Wongdai for the advice, but I probably have not explained the situation properly.
The thing is there are 2 removable round plates in the phenolic router insert plate.
The screw locations that attach the router plate to the router are only 1mm or so outside the diameter of the largest removable plate in the phenolic plate. This means that if I drilled the corresponding router plate holes into the phenolic plate they would be too close to the edge of the removable circular plate and cause problems or fail.
So I was wondering if I fixed the router to a secondary plate and then fixed that plate to the phenolic plate with a new hole pattern. Is that a good idea? I would lose about 10mm in plunge depth but at this stage I think I could accept that. So what kind of material would I use for the second plate, I was thinking 10mm MDF, would that be strong enough?

hehe, seems I posted 1 minute after you and didn't see your response about the size of the insert.

When I mounted my Router to my router table, I unscrewed the thin plastic plate that came with my router and used that same plate as a guide to allow me to drill some holes into the phenolic plate. I think from memory each hole was 20 - 30 mm or so from the edge of the detachable insert ring (my Makita 3612c has 4 holes, which I think is typical) . If yours is only 1mm, that is one small router base! I am at a loss as to what you should do.

I have a GMC 1250 router for hand use which may be a similar size. I will check it out in tomorrow and get back to you if inspiration hits me.

No idea how feasible it might be as it depends on the layout of the router's base, but might it be possible to drill and tap new holes in that? You might even be able to find a location to mach some of the existing holes in the phenolic base plate....

Alternatively, might there be an option to switch the phenolic plate for another version to suit the same table???

Originally Posted by ozwaz09

So I was wondering if I fixed the router to a secondary plate and then fixed that plate to the phenolic plate with a new hole pattern. Is that a good idea? I would lose about 10mm in plunge depth but at this stage I think I could accept that. So what kind of material would I use for the second plate, I was thinking 10mm MDF, would that be strong enough?

You could consider some type of plastic such as ABS, or this from carbatech
http://www.carbatec.com.au/eurojig-sub-base_c10760

I have one for using on my Eurojig. It's 8mm thick, can be drilled and can take a standard bush insert. You could save a few bucks by just buying an offcut of plastic. Not sure who would sell it though. Off cuts of Phenolic would be harder to source than ABS or similar.

Let us know what you end up doing. I would be interested to know.

thinking, thinking, thinking, .... then it struck me!
I am going to use some 6mm MDF and create a new plate to connect to the router, using some longer screws that I got from West Coast Fasteners in Balcatta, WA (at only $3 for a dozen of them I reckon its worth the plug).
I am then going to connect this plate to the phenolic plate using 1/4" countersunk screws at reasonably close centres to avoid any flexing of the plate.
This is all going to happen tomorrow so keep your eyes on the headlines in case a silly old fella does himself in in his garage messing about with stuff he knows bugger all about!
I will try to post some pics when I do it, if I can work out how to do that as well.

Good stuff. I hope it works beautifully for you. It is an inexpensive solution, and a small piece of MDF shouldn't sag enough to be a problem any time soon, and it is easily replaced if it sags over time.

GL with it tomorrow.

Sounds like a plan Ozwa. Post up some pics when you are done.

Hope it works for you. Look forward to seeing those pics.

Hi there I cant find the router table in their cat&dog to have a look.What page is it on please The only ones I can see have metal plates.
How about some photos of the router base with a ruler next to it to give us an idea of this problem,before you mount it.This has me going.
I cant picture something being wrong somehow.Aussie