Table Top Overhang?

Having seen some of the amazing cabinet style router tables on this and other forums (plus of course, YouTube) I have changed my own planned build to a cabinet with storage. However, it has occurred to me that it would not be a good idea to make the cabinet the same size as the table top, and that I should allow something like 50mm overhang all round so I can use clamps. I still intend to have a full width t-track side-to-side between the front edge and spindle, and two shorter lengths front-to-back behind the spindle to run and clamp the fence to, but it surely can't hurt to keep all options open.

Right now, I am planning to use kitchen benchtop which is NZ$129 for 152 x 600 from Mitre 10, and I have plenty of space so I was thinking I'd cut the benchtop to 1000mm, and have the cabinet 900mm. I can't think why I would need to clamp to the back edge of the table, so I'm thinking I'd make the cabinet flush with the back edge, but have a 500mm overhang at the front. I would welcome any thoughts on if I am about to stuff it up though.

The benchtops are 30.6mm thick and certainly feel pretty stiff, plus it would be easy enough to remove the table top and glue a sheet of 18mm MDF to it and edge it with hardwood. I read every post in the Ideal Router Table thread, and thoughts seemed to be that 32mm was thick enough.

I'm telling myself that this is my last wee bit of prevaricating before I man up, pull the trigger, and start making sawdust. Having said that, I am still waiting on a Kreg K4 pocket hole jig and big box of screw from Amazon, and 18mm plywood is in short supply here right now. There is stock of half sheets and smaller, but the only full sheets available are not great quality, so it is going to be a case of using half sheets etc, and to heck with the cost. :(

Thanks for your thoughts.

Go for it, it is only after use that modification may happen. I have a stand alone triton router and at the time it was the best bang for my buck. It has its limits and prior to using it I had no idea, so it is on the upgrade list. I am researching building a dedicated work bench first :U

Thanks. I would still rather have gone with the Triton TRA001 if I could have got one), and I'd have saved NZ$350 over the Bosch 1600CE and fixed base I now have. The Bosch does look like it is going to work out OK though, and probably be better than the TRA001 when removed from the table (which happens with one clip).

It's always nice to be able to clamp down to a top, even if you rarely use it.

Personally, I'd leave around 4-5cm all around, including the back. That way I could pull the cabinet away from the wall and use it as an assembly table when not using it for routing.

You can still have the cabinet run back to full-depth (ie. flush with the back edge) by leaving a gap between the top of the back of the cabinet and the underside of the table. Just enough of a gap to get the 'nose' of a clamp in, with the handle above the table top.

'Tis a bit of extra work to build, but not particularly difficult.

I think that, for a router table, the really important things (besides the router & fittings, of course!) are:
- the table is truly flat.
- well designed dust extraction

Also, you should consider the height and, maybe, being able to adjust it slightly. So you can butt the table up against another (usually a tablesaw) without any lipping, for the odd occasion when you need to support larger, more awkward pieces.

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Originally Posted by Trevor Dennis

Thanks. I would still rather have gone with the Triton TRA001 if I could have got one), and I'd have saved NZ$350 over the Bosch 1600CE and fixed base I now have. The Bosch does look like it is going to work out OK though, and probably be better than the TRA001 when removed from the table (which happens with one clip).

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My bad, I meant triton router table, i have it fitted with the makita router. I am happy with the makita router but the triton router table has its faults, hence my comments about good value until you have used it for a while. so I will build a dedicated table one day.

Skew, thanks for that. In my case the table will be in the centre of my workshop garage with access all round. The only reason I was thinking of making the cabinet flush with the back edge of the table was being greedy for storage space, but building in a recess as you suggest is a nice idea. Thinking about that some more I'd not want a stepped recess to compromise support for the benchtop, so perhaps a series of slots would give me the best of both worlds?
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The central slots would need to be boxed and sealed for extraction I imagine? From what I have read so far you do need to allow air in to the router cavity, but it would be better if that was as close to the base of that cavity as possible to create air movement across that base so as to stir up any dust that settles. Does that sound plausible?

I use a DeWalt jobsite saw at home (which I greatly prefer to the Somak table saw we have at the Menz Shed) so I made a table for the saw that matches my workbench, and will make the router table the same height.

The Kreg K4 pocket hole jig turned up late today, so no excuse not to get on with it. Before the K4 turned up, I was going though all my bits cleaning off that deposit that builds up on them, and freshening up leading edges with a diamond plate, and all in readiness for some serious use :). I do have an issue with the router support, but I think that needs a separate thread.

Remember that for extraction to work, it has to be able to draw air in from somewhere, across the area where the dust is falling, and then out through the exit system. While some air may be admitted by the opening around the bit, it is not generally enough for effective extraction. Rather than box and seal the central clamp openings, I would suggest a vertical baffle behind them to direct air to the typical mid point of the router body so that it draws across the router on it's way to the exit, collecting trash along the way.

Thanks. Allowing additional airflow to make extraction work efficiently is something I only discovered in the last few days while researching my build, but it does make sense. How did we ever manage before we had the Internet, forums and YouTube? I say that ever so slightly tongue in cheek, but I started my toolmaking apprenticeship in 1967, and would have loved the learning aids that the Internet affords us nowadays.