# Am I Crazy?



## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

So ... as with all of my projects, things have grown a bit. I am thinking about building this table for my shop. What are your thoughts?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

help yurself


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

More is always better.


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## Jack Wilson (Mar 14, 2010)

This is a question which is best never asked.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Jack Wilson said:


> This is a question which is best never asked.


here anyways...


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## Ratbob (Apr 6, 2015)

Joe, have you considered how you plan to power 5 routers running simultaneously? Interesting idea, but maybe a little bit bent! :wacko:


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

I'd love to see that done as I think it's an interesting design


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

Crazy is good! Table is huge.:smile: Bigger is better until you can't reach across it. :frown:


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

4DThinker said:


> Crazy is good! Table is huge.:smile: Bigger is better until you can't reach across it. :frown:


The fence can be brought to the front and use the first six or 8 inches of space to route. The depth of the table is only for larger projects that require routes further from the edges.


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

Ratbob said:


> Joe, *have you considered how you plan to power 5 routers running simultaneously? * Interesting idea, but maybe a little bit bent! :wacko:


Hmmm .... No, I hadn't. However ...

"2.25-HP, 12-amp motor, 8,000 to 25,000-RPM most powerful in its class"

It looks like I would need *five dedicated 15A circuits!* That is do-able. My shop will have a 400 Amp service. :nerd:


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## Dan3103 (Feb 12, 2014)

There is no way that I would want 5 router heads all turning 20000 rpm at the same time, I have enough to do to keep track of the one! 

It will be the one head I wasn't watching that would fling my work across the room, or manages to take a bite out of my hand...

I do hope it works out for you if you do this...


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

Dan3103 said:


> There is no way that I would want 5 router heads all turning 20000 rpm at the same time, I have enough to do to keep track of the one!
> 
> It will be the one head I wasn't watching that would fling my work across the room, or manages to take a bite out of my hand...
> 
> I do hope it works out for you if you do this...


Where is your sense of adventure?! People used to start airplane engines by hand!


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

Five of the INCRA Master Lift devices would be awesome. Whew! $2K for them, shipped. UGH. Retirement is expensive!


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Joe Jones said:


> Five of the INCRA Master Lift devices would be awesome. Whew! $2K for them, shipped. UGH. Retirement is expensive!


Your only here once . 
I always say , why save up for a rainy day when you could be hit by a bus tommorow .
And if that day comes and your homeless and destitute , find that bus :|


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

Money is tight, so I think I'll build the table for five routers, and install three of them, leaving the other two slots empty. I can add routers later I guess.


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

Dan3103 said:


> There is no way that I would want 5 router heads all turning 20000 rpm at the same time, I have enough to do to keep track of the one!


I use to work in a wood craft warehouse in Utah, back when I lived in Provo. We had 10 router tables all going at once, and no guards or safety devices on the bits, since the wood craft items were all cut out by bandsaw and then hand routed to round off the edges. Just 10 1/4-round bits sticking up in the air with a bearing at the top of each one! 

The router area of the shop was the loudest area. The sanders were next, and we had a dust collector the size of a 727. 

I was a bandsaw operator. I cut little wooden ducks, bears, cows and such out of 1-1/2" pine wood after the patterns were stamped onto the planks. Knots were avoided, so sometimes the yield was greater, when a higher quality load of wood arrived.

I cannot count the number of times I sliced my thumb pads open on that blade. At first it was traumatic, but after several times, I'd just wash it, pinch it closed, tape it up and go back to work. I think I changed my thumbprints on that job!


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Joe Jones said:


> I cannot count the number of times I sliced my thumb pads open on that blade. At first it was traumatic, but after several times, I'd just wash it, pinch it closed, tape it up and go back to work. I think I changed my thumbprints on that job!


Joe your ten times the man I'll ever be . I get a sliver and run around the neighbourhood screaming like a little girl :fie:

Thankfully my closest neighbour is a nurse


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## Dan3103 (Feb 12, 2014)

My sense of adventure mostly dealt with running into burning buildings for 30 years, but now that I'm retired, I have three woodworking goals:

1- Buy big boards, make little boards
2- Make LOTS of sawdust
3- Be able to count to 10 at the end of the day

Everything else is gravy


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

" My shop will have a 400 Amp service." *shock*
Whoa! That's a small apartment building...
How many peeps you have working there?


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

RainMan1 said:


> I'd love to see that done as I think it's an interesting design



You stick to Plan A, Rick........:wink:


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

I dim my lights when I turn on the shop vac. No multi-headed router table for me. Love to see the ideal project for one though. Not sure my mind can handle more than one tool operation at a time.


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## lowracer (May 22, 2015)

Joe Jones said:


> <snipped stuff>
> I cannot count the number of times I sliced my thumb pads open on that blade. At first it was traumatic, but after several times, I'd just wash it, pinch it closed, tape it up and go back to work. I think I changed my thumbprints on that job!


CA glue works wonderfully for that. when cutting meat after my brother went hunting, sometimes you get snipped. I found that it seems to heal quicker. possibly because it is closed up, it doesn't snag everywhere either.


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

DaninVan said:


> " My shop will have a 400 Amp service." *shock*
> Whoa! That's a small apartment building...
> How many peeps you have working there?


There are two panels in the building. The 400 amp (320 actual amps at 80%) will be split into two areas. One panel will be the shop with a heater and A/C, and the other panel will be the four guest bedrooms, the basement, the on-demand hot water and the A/C, etc.

Oh, and it would just be me, and maybe a helper or two when things get going.


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## morris3 (Apr 23, 2015)

Of course you're crazy. Everybody is a little crazy. Suit yourself, it will take a lot of time, don't you think?


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## andypack (Jan 28, 2009)

*Some humble criticism here*

Hello Joe,

Looking at your design, what I see is a long top crossed by seven (7!) slots, each a potential obstacle to the smooth passage of the board being worked on. Since the position of each router is adjustable relative to the fence, you don't need the fence to be adjustable and you can make do without the two aluminum tracks (two slots eliminated).

Instead, you could simply drill a few evenly spaced holes at the left and right ends of the surface to mount the fence at different fixed positions. That would make it much simpler and a lot cheaper.

Also, you certainly know that a piece of wood trapped between the bit and the fence is a dangerous missile on its launching pad, so unless at least half of the bit is recessed into the fence, your design with bits far from the fence is limited to shaping the face of the board, not the edges.

I think you are crazy, but only a bit more than me, since I have made a router table about 32" x 13" in size with three vertical and one horizontal routers.

Regards, André


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

andypack said:


> Hello Joe,
> 
> Looking at your design, what I see is a long top crossed by seven (7!) slots, each a potential obstacle to the smooth passage of the board being worked on.


Seven? Where are the other two?



> Since the position of each router is adjustable relative to the fence, you don't need the fence to be adjustable and you can make do without the two aluminum tracks (two slots eliminated).
> 
> Instead, you could simply drill a few evenly spaced holes at the left and right ends of the surface to mount the fence at different fixed positions. That would make it much simpler and a lot cheaper.


Hey! I LIKE that idea! Thanks! That will work for the fence however, the tracks will be used to place rollers on the other side of the material, to help keep it against the fence, so they will still be necessary.



> Also, you certainly know that a piece of wood trapped between the bit and the fence is a dangerous missile on its launching pad, so unless at least half of the bit is recessed into the fence, your design with bits far from the fence is limited to shaping the face of the board, not the edges.


Correct! The table is basically designed to set up five "favorite" bits that are commonly used, and call any router(s) into play depending on the job.



> I think you are crazy, but only a bit more than me, since I have made a router table about 32" x 13" in size with three vertical and one horizontal routers.
> 
> Regards, André


I'd like to see photos of that one!


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

morris3 said:


> Of course you're crazy. Everybody is a little crazy. Suit yourself, it will take a lot of time, don't you think?


I have a Samson 5x10 CNC table with a router on it, so it shouldn't take a lot of time to create the three top panels. The bottom and vertical supports are easy enough. I will have to get all five INCRA router lifts in, so I *know* I have one for each slot. I also have two more routers to buy. Money, money ... here today. GONE tomorrow.

*andypack:* The slots would not cause a problem for material passing over them. I can sand a slight bevel around each slot so there is no sharp edge to catch the material. OR I can make an insert that lays in the slot, so that there is no slot to pass over. :wink:


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

The question is, Why? N


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## FastEasySmartTOOL (Jul 7, 2015)

That is awesome!! Yes. Build it!


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

neville9999 said:


> The question is, Why? N


The question is, why NOT?


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## andypack (Jan 28, 2009)

*Pictures of my four-routers router table*

Well since you asked for it, Joe… I wanted a small router table to fit my small basement shop that I would mostly use to shape small parts. The keyword here is “small”. Like you Joe, I like the idea of having different bits already set up for different phases of a project and be able to easily make a new part to replace one damaged in a further step.

The table measures about 32” wide x 12.5” deep and 10” high. All made of MDF sealed with polyurethane. The top surface and the “wall” for the horizontal router were made with some 3/8” smoke-colored Plexiglas I had on hand (I tend to build things with what I have around, including salvaged parts of various origins). That surface is still really flat after almost 10 years, as checked with my Lee Valley 38” straight edge. The surface is glued with contact cement to the structure.

My router of choice for this table was the old trustworthy Dewalt DW610, a single speed, 1 ½ HP, squat and nimble half-inch router. It has the same base as the venerable (for me, at least) Elu and Black&Decker 33xx 76xx series of routers that debuted around 1957. The motor height is adjusted with a rack and pinion drive that I improved by making the motor float on an elastic band, so when I release the locking knob, the motor stays put and turning the adjustment knob is an easy task, as there is no fighting with gravity. The knobs were enlarged for an easier, stronger grip.

The router bases are screwed directly to the Plexiglas surface; they pass through circular holes in the top MDF piece. These holes are barely larger than the base castings, so the weight of the router is well supported. Bit changing is easy with the two wrenches supplied: as the table is not deep and placed high on a stand or cabinet, the collet is at elbow level. The wrenches are handily stored on the left side using self-adhesive magnetic cards. 

The table is shown with four bits installed, including a vertical panel raising bit on the horizontal router (not a typical installation!). The holes for the left and right routers are bored for the use of PC-style template bushings, while the center one is for bits up to one inch and a half. There is no track whatsoever and nothing to block the passage when the fence (not shown) is installed. The description of the fence and other jigs and accessory I made might be the object of a later post, maybe in the “Wanted! Pictures of your router table!” sticky post (I’m short on time…).

Each vertical router has its dust port to the rear, the left one sharing it with the horizontal router. The fence itself has three dust ports over the bits, and in normal use the vacuum hose is connected to only one of the fence ports while a cloth dust bag is inserted in the rear port. As I close the front part of the router base with a cover and there is a funnel in the back, most of the dust is sent to the cloth dust bag.

The horizontal router is mounted on a heavy plate which slides in two side rails (I wished I had longer rails, but again, reclaimed material). The elevation is controlled by a nut stuck in a sturdy plastic gear; tightening the lower nut locks it into place with no slop at all. As the screw thread is ½” x 20 threads per inch, each of the 40 gear teeth represents 0.00125 inch (1/800 inch) of travel. There is enough travel range to bury any bit below the surface. I use the horizontal router for raised panels, mortises and tenons.

Small table doesn’t always mean small parts. All the parts of this coat rack, beside the chromed tube and the hooks, have been shaped on my router table. The largest plateau is 22 inches in diameter. The rack was designed to hold 12 heavy winter coats at once (hey, this is Canada!) and weighs in the neighborhood of 100 pounds. Everything revolves on this coat rack: you can spin the hooks to reach a coat in the back, play with the direction arrows and change the welcome message (Boucherville is the town where the rack is located and FrouFrou is the house cat).

Regards,

André


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

There! SEE! It CAN be done!

I have three of my five Bosch routers, and five JessEm Rout-R-Lift II units on the way, and five sets of MuscleChucks on the way ... all I need now is two more routers and a whole lot of power! I'll start working on the five 120v/15A circuits right now...


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

andypack said:


> Hello Joe,
> 
> Looking at your design, what I see is a long top crossed by seven (7!) slots,


No, there are only five slots for routers, and the table extends on each side of the outer routers so there is some support for a piece after it passes the last bit. The two regions you count as 6 and 7 will be just storage for things like bits, material ... fire extinguishers ... :nerd:


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

Joe Jones said:


> I have three of my five Bosch routers, and five JessEm Rout-R-Lift II units on the way, and five sets of MuscleChucks on the way ... all I need now is two more routers and a whole lot of power! I'll start working on the five 120v/15A circuits right now...


It is large purchases like this that separate the single men from the married men ... and makes married men envious. :grin:


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

I dunno... It all depends on how well paid your wife is. My ex made twice as much as me, and was always "Sure Honey" when I hinted about a big investment for a project. Now that she's gone and total income is 1/3 of what it was, those big projects get longer pondering from me.


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## andypack (Jan 28, 2009)

*That much power, Joe?*



Joe Jones said:


> There! SEE! It CAN be done!
> 
> I have three of my five Bosch routers, and five JessEm Rout-R-Lift II units on the way, and five sets of MuscleChucks on the way ... all I need now is two more routers and a whole lot of power! I'll start working on the five 120v/15A circuits right now...


Joe, will you really need five separate 15A circuits? If you only use one router at a single moment, they could all share the same circuit. My four routers (9A each, I believe) are on a single circuit on which I also have the shop vac with an auto switch. But I only use one router at the time...

Regards,

André


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

?!!!!....The thought of having any more than one router running at a time should scare the bejeeesus out of any sane person. No disrespect intended, but if that's what you intend to do, well 'nuff said.


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

andypack said:


> Joe, will you really need five separate 15A circuits? If you only use one router at a single moment, they could all share the same circuit.
> 
> André


My plan is to be ABLE to use all five routers at the same time if needed, or any combination of two or more.



DaninVan said:


> ?!!!!....The thought of having any more than one router running at a time should scare the bejeeesus out of any sane person. No disrespect intended, but if that's what you intend to do, well 'nuff said.


I don't see why. They are powerful and noisy and the bits are really sharp, but I'm not running HFT tools here. I bought five Rout-R-Lift-II racks for five Bosch 1617 EVS routers, using five MuscleChuck arbors and the highest quality bits I can find. I am only running ONE piece of material across the bits, so I really do not see any additional risk. There will be guides, and rollers, and guards, and feather boards, ... all there to keep the material from going freaky, so what is there to fear?


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

Joe; please don't try that. You can only focus all your attention on one sharp whirly thing at a time. This is a recipe for a serious accident, safety measures notwithstanding. 
I hope I'm not the only one that thinks that?


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I am just shaking my head while shaking in my boots.:no::no::no::no::yes2:

4 no's,and one yes

Herb


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

DaninVan said:


> Joe; please don't try that. You can only focus all your attention on one sharp whirly thing at a time. This is a recipe for a serious accident, safety measures notwithstanding.
> I hope I'm not the only one that thinks that?


With five routers (or 4, or 3, or 2) only ONE router would be cutting an edge. The other(s) would be doing a dado cut beneath the material, so there is no real risk of contacting the bits with my hands. I am not planning to cut five EDGES of material simultaneously. I'm not CRAZY! :surprise:


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## iregan (Jul 9, 2006)

Hi!
I can see it working until something fails catastrophically! What if your pushing material through and one router fails,, say a breaker blows. What if your material has a flaw in it. What about the different speeds of the different diameter bits causing resonant vibrations. I see too many ways this could go south really fast, and with several bits going at once,, yikes! 
Don't get me wrong,, I have considered the same thing, but have decided to err on the side of caution 
Regan


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

iregan said:


> Hi!
> I can see it working until something fails catastrophically! What if ... *one router fails ... a breaker blows ... material flaw ... resonant vibrations*.


Those are ALL *valid* considerations! Thank you for your post. I will take steps to control or avoid those potential issues I had not considered. 

The MAIN purpose of the experiment is to set up five routers with the most common bits used, set to any "usual" height. EVEN IF all five bits protrude above the table surface, simply sliding four of them back BEHIND the fence will allow me to instantly access the ONE router I need at the moment, already set up, and positioned at the front of the table with the fence behind it, and only in need of setting the distance from the fence.

The fence could "normally" be no more than 10 or 12" from the front edge of the table, with the other routers and bits slid to the rear and out of the way.

I had not considered a breaker failure, so I will set up a parallel 120vac circuit. In that way, there will be breakers capable of carrying a total of 75 amps, but if one breaker fails, the power will continue via one of the other breakers. Of course, all of the breakers MUST come from the same side of the panel, so I don't shoot 240vac through the routers! If I cannot do that (I am not an electrician either :surprise: ) then I will use relays that will shut down ALL of the routers when the power to any one of them fails. 

As for a catastrophic failure of an individual router, I just don't see that happening. These are quality routers from Bosch, not Harbor Freight _Limb-Gamblers._ However ... you HAVE caused me to consider a rather sturdy GROIN GUARD! :wink:

I will post photos and videos of the project (which will commence in mid-September) and if it doesn't work ... it doesn't work. I will simply build or buy four individual router tables and separate the quintuplets.

As I stated, this is an EXPERIMENT in making a five-router table,* just* to make something different, and MAYBE wonderfully handy! I'm betting that when it is completed and the concept is proven, _you guys will rush off to build your own multiple router tables._


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## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

I am agreement with others. While I have seen 2 and 3 head router tables, which are great for raised panel door making, only ONE router should be powered up at a time. Accidents can happen even with quality built tools. Lets be clear, I am not downing the idea of innovating, and can see the benefit of having more than one router setup and READY to go to complete multi-step tasks in bulk more easily. BUT still only ONE router should be running at any given point. A simple kickback could send your fingers into one of the other spinning bits, and that can happen even if you are doing everything right. 


Also, it sounds like you are doing some weird work with your breaker panel. PLEASE consult an electrician before attempting this, as there are a lot of variables that if you don't account for all of them, you are risking a fire. If you only run one router at a time, this type of modification shouldn't be necessary.


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## Duane Bledsoe (Jan 6, 2013)

```

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Joe Jones said:


> Where is your sense of adventure?! People used to start airplane engines by hand!


There is a reason they stopped doing it also. :grin: I just happen to live not too far from where Matt Sellers conducted his early flying experiments in eastern KY. His assistant, Linc Binion, was killed while starting the plane this very way. The propeller hit him in the head.


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## Duane Bledsoe (Jan 6, 2013)

These kind of machine designs are used in factories, where a cutter makes multiple cuts in the same piece of material at once. But when things like this are done it is not by human hand. Robots do the handling of materials. I would not dare feed wood, with its unpredictible characteristics, into multiple bits at once by hand. Even just using one bit or blade, when I cut wood sometimes it releases internal pressures and causes it to bind on a blade. Also, unless you are cutting panels or boards wide enough to have all five bits in the wood at once, then as it passes from bit to bit some of the bits will become exposed as they exit, or be exposed prior to the board contacting them. You will have to watch all the bits at once to make sure you do not contact one with a hand or clothing which will be a huge disaster. 

This is crazy.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I have seen multiple head shapers in furniture factories,but they have power holddowns and power feeds. They are also heavy cast iron units with heavy steel cutter heads and BIG motors,so there is lots of mass, and power combined. 
In the saw mills they have the multicutter head planers that plane all 4 sides of a board,so the concept is not new. But these machines are engineered for the stress put on them and are all power fed.

Use a lot of caution, only one router at a time.
Herb


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

One concept that hasn't been picked up on here is that the _routers_ themselves slide back and forth?! 
That sounds interesting. I'm assuming they're mounted in plates and the whole plate slides front to back?

_"EVEN IF all five bits protrude above the table surface, simply sliding four of them back BEHIND the fence will allow me to instantly access the ONE router I need at the moment, already set up, and positioned at the front of the table with the fence behind it, and only in need of setting the distance from the fence."_


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Joe Jones said:


> * I'm betting that when it is completed and the concept is proven, you guys will rush off to build your own multiple router tables.*


*I DOUBT IT *

My biggest concern when I'm using power tools (ANY POWER TOOL) is safety. Your idea of safety seems different from mine.

Are you in a production shop where TIME IS MONEY? Even at that, not sure how much extra time is required to set up another router.

At the very least, I'd like to see you have 4 of the bits below table top height and raise/adjust as necessary - that would eliminate the possibility of accidentally running your hand into one - even a stopped carbide bit can bite you.

In any event, your arms, hands, fingers - treat them as you like.

Since you asked "are you crazy?" IMHO, yes

Vince


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

DaninVan said:


> One concept that hasn't been picked up on here is that the _routers_ themselves slide back and forth?!
> That sounds interesting. *I'm assuming they're mounted in plates and the whole plate slides front to back?*


That is correct. Ther will be five Rout-R-Lift II mechanisms in the table, and any single router can be slid forward to be used, while the others are slid to the rear, BEHIND the fence. :grin:


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Dan3103 said:


> There is no way that I would want 5 router heads all turning 20000 rpm at the same time, I have enough to do to keep track of the one!
> 
> It will be the one head I wasn't watching that would fling my work across the room, or manages to take a bite out of my hand...
> 
> I do hope it works out for you if you do this...


Dan I don't think that his plan is to have all five cutters running at the same time, he just wants to have some permanently set up so that any one of them could be run to do the job that one does, I don't see how you can do that as one cutter sticking out past the fence would have to clash with wood passing a different router cutter, a plan to have five routers all on the same fence, set up for different jobs, it can't work and wont save time, I have worked in many professional workshops and no one does this. I am leaving the thread, the whole idea is a waste of time. N


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Think 6 shooter..............


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

TwoSkies57 said:


> Think 6 shooter..............


antagonist...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> antagonist...


:x


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## [email protected] (Mar 13, 2014)

I love a good brainstorm! This is something that I might try, UNTIL I took a walk and thought about how others before me might have accomplished the same thing.

Personally, I think it would be very time-consuming to keep 5 router bits adjusted, aligned, guarded, dust-ported and feather-boarded, suspect you would likely also end up trying to add a power feeder to get consistent results.

I love my routers, but in this case, i believe a wood molder should be considered. Their single rotating assembly could do all 5 router shapes at once, safely from one position, and it rotates with the grain of the wood. I think that you would have a hard time competing with one for safety, quality, ease of use, and cost-per foot.

The really good news is that one wouldn't take as much space, leaving you with room for MORE router equipment! You might need it if your CNC grows larger or has puppies!


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Ron I agree, no need to reinvent the wheel, there are machines out there to do the multiple cuts safely.
Herb


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## Duane Bledsoe (Jan 6, 2013)

I think at this point Joe has decided to keep 4 of the 5 routers behind the fence while a single router is used based on recent posts, although the video did state that up to 5 routers may hit the material in a single pass. Now it just becomes a table of convenience to keep a certain bit always in a router and set up for use. My thinking is, how will one router slide forward for use and the other back behind without fence removal? If this is done by lowering the bit below the table then all you've really done is keep from changing bits. Depth still needs to be reset every time. If removing the fence is the answer, will removing and reinstalling a fence that long be cumbersome? Will a fence that long remain straight? What about vac ports in the fence? Dust collection below the table, that is moveable, and covers all 5 routers? Will you simply have to keep moving a single hose from router to router as you switch? The design seems to answer one question and create ten more in doing so. The whole thing seems unnecessarily complex and all the actions that may be needed to move from one router to another seems it will take more time to do than simply changing a bit to start with. Not to mention, I know some of you do leave bits already set up but my experience has been that leaving a bit installed means it becomes semi-stuck and hard to remove later. If I left one in for weeks or months, I can only imagine the hassle of removal. I can tell a difference the next day if I don't remove it after use the same day I put it in. I'm even worried right now because I have two routers with bits in them that I didn't remove because I'm not yet finished with the work that I need them for.


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

I would most likely install a feeder, so that my hands are minimally at risk.


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

*They're Heeeeeerrrreeeee!!!!*

Now I have to start building it!


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

Duane Bledsoe said:


> I think at this point Joe has decided to keep 4 of the 5 routers behind the fence while a single router is used based on recent posts, *although the video did state that up to 5 routers may hit the material in a single pass.*









> Now it just becomes a table of convenience to keep a certain bit always in a router and set up for use. My thinking is, how will one router slide forward for use and the other back behind without fence removal? ... If removing the fence is the answer, will removing and reinstalling a fence that long be cumbersome? Will a fence that long remain straight?


The table TOP *with the attached fence* will hinge up, allowing all five routers to be slid forward or rearward at will.



> What about vac ports in the fence?


I am playing with an idea for a hollow rectangular tube fence that is hooked to a vac system. The FENCE would be the vac tube.



> Dust collection below the table, that is moveable, and covers all 5 routers? Will you simply have to keep moving a single hose from router to router as you switch? The design seems to answer one question and create ten more in doing so.


Ain't experimentation FUN!? :laugh2:



> The whole thing seems unnecessarily complex and all the actions that may be needed to move from one router to another seems it will take more time to do than simply changing a bit to start with.


Tip up the top, slide one router rearward. Slide another one forward. Lower the top.

I may put all five Rout-R-Lift II units on electric linear actuators. A simple ruler and indicator needle would allow me to quickly position them in relation to the fence WHILE the top is raised. We'll see how this thing develops!



> Not to mention, I know some of you do leave bits already set up but my experience has been that leaving a bit installed means it becomes semi-stuck and hard to remove later.


Every router will be equipped with a MuscleChuck.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I was wondering what kind of slide mech will you use. I like the idea of the hinged top and a separate attachment for the routers, just interested how to pull that one off.

Herb


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

Herb Stoops said:


> I was wondering what kind of slide mech will you use. I like the idea of the hinged top and a separate attachment for the routers, just interested how to pull that one off.
> 
> Herb


I'm not sure what you are talking about. The Rout-R-Lift II units will each slide forward and rearward individually, in a slot that has a support lip beneath it. I will use (???) to lock them in place. Then when the top comes down, the fence will drop down with it, the bit will protrude through the table top, and the routers will already be the correct distance from the fence.

This is all experimental, and I have a lot of issues to work out. :nerd:


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

That is what I was talking about, how do you propose to slide the routers in and out ,on drawer slides? dadoes? cleats? The box and lid and fence are simple, this is what is going to be interesting. Also the way you are going to set the routers for distance from the fence that is consistent in relation to one another and accurate. 

I am not criticising you in any way , but it seems these details are more important and should be worked out before any routers are ordered. 

Kind of like building a house and ordering the carpet first, as I have seen done.

Herb


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

I may put all five of them on fine threaded worm gears and put a graduated dial on the end. Knowing where a fence will fall, I only need to put a bit ( D=Fence position - (n") ) from the front edge to achieve the proper setting. Since the routers move front to back, the FENCE only needs to have a few known locations, which could be holes in the table top that pegs drop into. So if the fence is in hole set #3, which may be 12" from the front edge, and my cut is 3" from the fence, then the bit will be set 9" from the front edge before the table top and fence are lowered.

I can place a 1/4" round rod into each router and have it protrude up through the table top. Now a fence is put into place, and the routers are slid backward until that round rod contacts the fence surface. This will establish a ZERO mark for the router lift plates. now I only need a tic mark, and a ruler glued to the router slide rack. Each router could be set to a specific distance from the fence, without the fence being in place.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Now that that problem is solved how do you propose to move the routers? It seems to me that you will have to have positive "ways" that are precision fitted for the router plates to ride on. There has to be minimal lateral movement in all directions for this to work. and to be locked down when cutting to eliminate all vibrations.

Herb


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

Herb Stoops said:


> Now that that problem is solved how do you propose to move the routers? It seems to me that you will have to have positive "ways" that are precision fitted for the router plates to ride on. There has to be minimal lateral movement in all directions for this to work. and to be locked down when cutting to eliminate all vibrations.
> 
> Herb


Golly, Herb! I haven't even taken the routers out of their cases yet! I will work out all of these issues as the project moves forward.

The Rout-R-Lift II aluminum plates are all the same. The slots that they move bi-directionally in will all be the same. They will lock down when in position.

I already said I would probably put all five routers onto worm gears, or fine-threaded rods, with a crank that is graduated. Or maybe I'll invest in electric linear actuators with digital readouts! I may have to make changes after some experimentation, but I am certain that when all of the "bugs" are worked out, the table will be a source of pride!


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I sincerely wish you the best on this project, Keep us up to date on the build. Very interesting concept.
Herb


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## 4DThinker (Feb 16, 2014)

I'm hoping it is extraordinarily useful. Thinking back over all the years I've been using routers I can't see a time when such a table would have made things easier, but then I didn't have such a table to put to use. There may be wholly new procedures you employ with such a tool at your disposal. I have tools that never inspired original use, but the router in a table or in a CNC or hand held is one tool that begs to be exploited. Crazy is exactly what is needed.


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

4dthinker said:


> crazy is exactly what is needed.









I don't understand why I can post some You Tube videos, and not others.

What is the secret?


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

4DThinker said:


> I'm hoping it is extraordinarily useful. Thinking back over all the years I've been using routers I can't see a time when such a table would have made things easier,


I can imagine it. now ... I do not have a lot of router experience, so perhaps I will discover that it IS overkill. However, I am one of those _"Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it"_ kind of guys!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Joe Jones said:


> video


video does not exist...


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## The Hobbyist (Apr 25, 2015)

It does now.


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