Thread: DIY router table - I did it for $10

I had an idea this weekend - I want a router table and to make it myself. The next point…..it had to be working in one working day (8 hours just for the hell of it!!!) and had to be cheap.

In the end it was almost free….free becauce my farther-in-law gave me a router for fixing his computer. At that time, one thing popped up in my mind “What did I want with a router?” so I put it shelves and forgot it. That was until my oldest son asked me for bunk beds.
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So the gears started going, looking dimensions, material, fasteners, finish, paint or stain, …finish?…edges…router. I needed a router for the finishing edge. With a bit of play it was clear I had to have bench to make a good edge.
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I play with what wood and metal I had in shed, and then pushed the dust of an old tatty pine desk. (it was left in the house when we bought the house). This was going be my router. To start with I marked up the bench for fasteners and space for the blade. Next was to put together a guide made of two bits of 65x18 and three bits of 43x43 for fixing it. There is a notch in the vertical 65x18 so the blade can fit (in the pics). Initially I just used G-clamps to hold the guide to the table, but this was a pain. So I made a guide out of more 65x18, the router was used to make the rail and with a ¼” carriage bolt with a butterfly nut there was the fixing.<O</O
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Yes, it’s pretty basic, but I only spent less then $10 on it!!!!! And the $10 was on fasteners! The rest was just free . This has been a great week……I better start the bed<O.