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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Camden, NSW
    Age
    74
    Posts
    3,576

    Default Router (table) resurrection

    It would have been a fine title for a Muddy Waters song?

    For many years, I have used this router table built in to the extension of my table saw.

    EFD4A2AF-E232-480E-945E-BADE3B559313.jpeg

    It suits both my shed space and my work methods. It is based on a JessM router lift which is branded JET and this lift....

    42E212F5-3C5E-4CCF-BADD-0C33DAE34842.jpeg

    ...... holds routers by their faceplate which has created a number of issues over the years re enough rise to mount and remove the router bit. It is mounted in a larger than normal recess and I have made a number of other router plates to fit into the recess such as this one with a pair of Trend routers to greatly speed up work with the Gifkin dovetail jig.

    C3DF1E79-4357-42D8-94DD-DFCBA3EF0CE2.jpeg

    I originally had an old Makita D handle router mounted on the lifter and this has, for a number of reasons, gone to router heaven.

    NOW. THIS IS WHERE THE REAL STUPIDITY STARTS

    I bought a new Makita router to replace the one that went to heaven BEFORE having a look at the long forgotten mounting details? The net result of this impulse buy was a router that required me to put a flexible steel rule through the router opening to lock the spindle to change the bit! It slowly sunk in that I already have 2 Triton routers that are legendary for their ability to operate in a router table and that to use anything else meant that I was about to reinvent the wheel?
    A bit of homework advised me that there is a Kreg router plate pre-drilled to suit the Tritons but....

    CA139A93-1095-4837-A881-A440F37BC24B.jpeg

    ..... it is the same width, a bit shorter but thicker than the existing recess. I made a simple guide box and routered the new depth about mid way along the exisiting recess.

    9F066FFB-B9CC-4AA5-825E-33BADA360ACB.jpeg 78545AB6-9968-4C42-8765-2057DAA9EC3C.jpeg

    While making some inserts to fill the gaps I wondered IF I could use them to create a downdraft area for when I use a copy router bit without a fence and so I drilled them to suit and......

    A340C8F6-9289-4308-88FD-91FD040020ED.jpg

    ........ it worked well enough to do further trials. The current inserts are only timber but the final ones will probably be UHMWP

    C7A55281-E7A4-47C6-8414-AFA1D726DD8B.jpeg

    The Triton winding crank lined up as beautifully you would expect from Kreg...

    E699F519-AD74-4C97-B732-1110632F7D20.jpeg 06BD6600-CB1A-4F69-B9BB-C288A747BF1A.jpeg

    ... but the removal of the JessM router plate meant that I had also lost my fence mounting holes and so, one job leads to another ..... and another....

    CAF17DA6-2AEF-4A4E-83F0-FA9E4E9AB2CF.jpeg EB3F4005-4B62-4490-A640-7D442EFB6860.jpeg

    The original JessM fence mounted directly on to the JessM table insert using tapped holes but, possibly unreasonably, I don’t feel confident in tapping new holes in the Kreg phenolic plate to securely locate the fence. I’m going to replace the existing angle base with this aluminium channel and fix it to to the table saw fence for adjustment.

    6FDD7D13-DEB7-4495-AE78-6AD9D6828901.jpeg 51CB1FD4-0DBE-491B-B316-6EA8DBE45569.jpeg F4264D49-2448-4A94-B73B-C1CB6148B3E7.jpeg

    I’ve never been happy with the under table dust collection box so I’ve listened to 10 years of hindsight and made a new one. This one is much better sealed than the old and the base slopes towards the dust collection port.
    I am about to fully automate my dust collection system and so this now allows me to have 100 mm ports both above and below the table using DustRight fittings so that I can easily change fence and shroud dust collectors depending on the job I’m doing

    F530E0D5-D520-42DB-B126-20F5A78A1C77.jpeg
    a rock is an obsolete tool ......... until you don’t have a hammer!

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Camden, NSW
    Age
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    Default

    Today I continued with the modification to the fence...... a little bit of metalwork is good for the soul?

    D6361FB3-5927-4A8B-A2AF-D5C7B6610F7D.jpeg 11238FB5-CE71-4637-8DC9-319CCC1B943A.jpeg E03D0525-7C1A-4B7C-9D9F-0E32145132F0.jpeg 44E919B7-EF4B-4D7C-98A2-5828B17DC309.jpeg

    Then a quick visit to Bunnings to see what could be used or abused to make the dust collection plenum resulted in the unusual situation of getting out for less than $10 although I stopped at Fence Furniture’s favourite diner on the way back and an egg and bacon roll magically appeared in my hands....

    F9C5D2AC-E6D4-4D38-B75D-862942CA6526.jpeg 8AF082D4-53CC-45C2-A354-33E0206257D4.jpeg

    I would have liked to have been able to maintain the 100mm duct cross section area all the way to the dust source but, by taking the ready-made Bunniies way out, I have reduced to 90mm diameter although that is much better, in fact 3.2 times better, than the 50 mm diameter throat on the original?

    AF27AABC-15B4-4F6A-8038-D6E23A4223B4.jpeg

    However, the proof of the pudding etc....

    A71CF280-7494-46CA-8A49-2F876B430719.jpeg

    .... is that I routed this cove and all dust appeared to go straight up the spout leaving a clear table and clean cut!
    a rock is an obsolete tool ......... until you don’t have a hammer!

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    2,205

    Default

    I’m about to add a fence to my circ saw side table router lift set up So was interested to see your great job.
    Im completely out of touch with fittings available so could you tell me about the red Al adjustable plates and locating angles.
    Thanks.
    H.
    Jimcracks for the rich and/or wealthy. (aka GKB '88)

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Camden, NSW
    Age
    74
    Posts
    3,576

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by clear out View Post
    I’m about to add a fence to my circ saw side table router lift set up So was interested to see your great job.
    Im completely out of touch with fittings available so could you tell me about the red Al adjustable plates and locating angles.
    Thanks.
    H.
    g’day clear’
    I haven’t seen you to chat since (I think?) when we met up at Rooty Hill where the gent was selling off some tools?

    I went back to find the original thread.....

    and now... Fletty's router table

    ...... but being in 2008, it was before the Great Picture Heist and won’t be of much (any?) use to you? The “red Al adjustable plates etc” were all originally acquired as a complete fence that came with the JessM router lift. I have modified it over the years but, until yesterday’s efforts, it had remained mostly together. Others may wish to comment or correct me, but Kreg now manufacture router fences and they are available at Carbatec. I haven’t heard anything negative about them so it might be worth having a look at one of those?
    Give me a shout if you want to have a look at my router table and set up as the shed door is always open....

    fletty
    a rock is an obsolete tool ......... until you don’t have a hammer!

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    2,205

    Default

    Thanks fletty I’ll check that out.
    That was a year or so back at Rooty Hill.
    I’m due to drive down to Mittagong at some time in the near future so I might take you up on that.
    H.
    Jimcracks for the rich and/or wealthy. (aka GKB '88)

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Sydney Upper North Shore
    Posts
    4,464

    Default

    Looking noice. Just a quick question - do you run the 100mm above the table and 100mm below the table into a single 150mm pipe?

    i have a 125mm pipe into the lower cabinet of the router table and a separate 50mm pipe from VC into the fence. I have been thinking about integrating the fence line into the cabinet line so I can fit a bigger diam. pipe at the fence. This would probably mean upping the cabinet diam. to 150mm ?

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Camden, NSW
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    74
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    Default

    Hi Lap’
    I have a 150mm overhead duct and then 2 separate 100mm gates coming off that with one gate for each of the 100mm flexes to the router table. I can open one or both gates depending on the job being done?
    fletty
    a rock is an obsolete tool ......... until you don’t have a hammer!

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Camden, NSW
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    74
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    Default

    Now, for those into political correctness........
    The 2 x 100mm gates fitted to the 150mm overhead backbone for the router table, have been automated so that they open when the router is started. However, only one of these gates has the limit switch required to start the dust collector (DC) if it is not already running. Back in the old non-PC days, the gate with the limit switch would have been named MASTER and the other SLAVE! These titles are no longer ‘PC acceptable’ to the more gentle folk amongst us and so alternatives are required. Yesterday afternoon, I ended up in a well lubricated VERY local cheese and bikkie afternoon and I thought this was an excellent forum to discuss PC alternatives to the antiquated and potentially offensive MASTER and SLAVE.
    Fast forward an hour or 4, everyone, regardless of state of sobriety, was totally involved with cases being put forward, and challenged, to support their recommendation.
    By the end of the night, the 3 still standing agreed to a compromise. From that moment the 2 gates are now known as....

    SORCERER and APPRENTICE!
    a rock is an obsolete tool ......... until you don’t have a hammer!

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Helensburgh
    Posts
    7,696

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Lappa View Post
    Looking noice. Just a quick question - do you run the 100mm above the table and 100mm below the table into a single 150mm pipe?

    i have a 125mm pipe into the lower cabinet of the router table and a separate 50mm pipe from VC into the fence. I have been thinking about integrating the fence line into the cabinet line so I can fit a bigger diam. pipe at the fence. This would probably mean upping the cabinet diam. to 150mm ?
    Lappa, have a look at Mike's (MandJ"s) RT to see how he does it with a single 150mm line. Far more simple than multiple lines, gates etc This is the post he did in graphics Automated Router table
    CHRIS

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Sydney Upper North Shore
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    Default

    Mine is in fact very similar to that. The air enters at the top of the cabinet door, sweeps across the top of the underneath of table, around the router collet and bit and out the 125mm outlet. It’s been like that for some years. I have very little, if any, debris left in the cabinet and, in most cases, very little on the table top. I have a Triton connected to a Kreg insert. The top 50mm hose, connected to a VC is mainly used when using my box joint jig. So, rather that have two vacuum machines running, I thought it more prudent (and more gentle on the ears) to only use one machine with two hoses.
    Gates will always be necessary as the lines lead off to many connections to various machines

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
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    Helensburgh
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    Default

    My reference to gates was to reduce the number from two to one and not to say they are not necessary. I suspect that most commercially supplied entry plate inserts are no where big enough to do the job properly. I think Mike in fact proved that by making the entry from the top a lot bigger than normal.
    CHRIS

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Sydney Upper North Shore
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    Default

    The larger Kreg inserts I use have openings of 30mm and 67mm which have proven to be big enough for the majority of tasks I carry out.

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