# Table mounting questions for a Craftsman router.



## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

I bought the Craftsman Combo router back in June and have been using it some since then. The first project was using the plunge base to create a table for the fixed base. Since then I have only been using the router in the table with the table setting on saw horses. With it setting on the table it's easy to reach under the table top and turn the router on. 

After Christmas I am going to start building my work bench and I am mounting the RT top into the bench. I am going to have drawers and doors on the bench so I am not going to have that easy access anymore. 

First Question -- Is there a problem with running the power cord to a switched outlet and just leaving the switch on the router in the ON position? 


Second, I have the fixed base mounted in a JessEm plate. I drilled and countersunk the mounting holes and while I was at it I added a hole for above table adjusting. However, I can't seem to make any adjustments unless I reach down and open the motor locking lever. This has been just while testing with an allen wrench since I don't have a long tool that will reach from the table top. 

It might just be that everything is dirty right now. I have been using the router and now it's getting hard to adjust the bit. If I want to raise or lower the bit I have to open the lock and then bump the router while turning the adjustment knob. I am going to blow it all out and try it again. 

But... with that said, should I be able to adjust the height of the bit without having to open the locking lever?

Tim


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Yes you can leave the switch on the router & use an auxillary switch to turn it on & off. i use this in my tables. For the bench I would put a door in front of the router compartment so you could still get to the router. I would not block the router with drawers in front of it to make it inaccessible. Some routers you need to push the pin to lock the collet to use the wrench to loosen nut. I reach under the table to lock the collet in position when set.


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

jlord said:


> Yes you can leave the switch on the router & use an auxillary switch to turn it on & off. i use this in my tables. For the bench I would put a door in front of the router compartment so you could still get to the router. I would not block the router with drawers in front of it to make it inaccessible. Some routers you need to push the pin to lock the collet to use the wrench to loosen nut. I reach under the table to lock the collet in position when set.



Well, the router will be in a compartment with a door on it. Nothing like drawers or anything in front of it.

Most of the time when I am changing bits I have just been pulling the router and insert out of the table and do it more eye level. My big issue now is wanting to adjust the height of the bit without having to open the door every time.

Tim


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

BJ should be along soon.. In addition to his well-earned nickname of Mr. Jigs, he knows about as much as anyone about Craftsman routers. If someone else hasn't told you a way by then and one exists, he'll explain it to ya.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Jim


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## gregW (Mar 14, 2007)

tdsapp said:


> But... with that said, should I be able to adjust the height of the bit without having to open the locking lever?
> 
> Tim


No..you need to open the locking lever to adjust the height and then close the lever to lock it in place..I know it sort of defeats the purpose of having the above the table height adjustment in the first place, but after a while you do get used to it and it's not really that big of a deal.


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

Bob, 

Thanks for the input... It's a big help.




bobj3 said:


> JessEm. I don't know if you are using one if so they don't need to locked but if you are using the Craftsman you should lock in place..


I am using the JessEm insert plate like the one seen here. 

Buy Rout-R-Plate at Woodcraft.com

I am assuming that you were saying that if I used this plate I am OK but if I use the Craftsman plate that I needed to lock it into the table. Or were you saying that if I was using the Craftsman router in this plate it has to be locked to the table.




bobj3 said:


> I'm not a big fan of doors on the front of the cabinet,,they look nice but a real PITA , not to say anything about the heat from the router, it's a motor and it will get hot if you enclose it..it's not made to run upside down and in a small box..


Well, I was going to put a door on it and then mount in some dust collection into the compartment. It would probably be around the size compartment that Norm has in his NYW table. I figured that as long as I kept the air flowing in the compartment while using the router it should be OK. 

Thanks for the info!


Tim


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

gregW said:


> No..you need to open the locking lever to adjust the height and then close the lever to lock it in place..I know it sort of defeats the purpose of having the above the table height adjustment in the first place, but after a while you do get used to it and it's not really that big of a deal.


Greg,

Ahh... it kind of does defeat the purpose but I guess that's the price of buying a $119.00 router vs a $300.00 one . I can live with that. Anyway, it's still much easier to open the locking lever without looking than trying to adjust the height without looking under the router. 

This also helps me decide on what I want to do with my bench. I know know that I need easy access to the router while in use and a door might not be the way to go. Then again, I might just put a door on the cavity that opens all the way, flush with the front of the bench and keep it open while using the router. That way things are hidden when not in use and has good air flow and access while in use. 


Tim


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> That's fine but make it easy to pull the plug b/4 you work on the router in any way,, bit change.etc. you don't want it to power up ...the easy way for me I put in a switch in with a outlet in the same box, I always pull the plug when changing anything on the router, it's habit you must get in..I know it sounds like over kill but things just happen so quick ..


Ok Bob, I get what you are saying here. But I have to admit that I hate the idea of pulling the plug on an electrical device in a high dust environment. Even with pulling the dust with a fence mounted collection there will still be a ton of dust in the cabinet area. Have you ever heard of a problem with fires or anything if the plug creates a spark in the area? 

What I was thinking about was a two switch system with one being inside the cabinet like you say with an outlet and switch in a single box, and a second switch on the outside of the bench on the other side and outside of the cabinet. 

So during use the inside switch is on and I can turn the unit on and off with the outside switch. Then when doing bit changes and other work with the router the outside and inside switch are turned off. This would require both switches to be turned on by accident to power up the router. 

I had also been thinking about putting the outside switch behind the cabinet door so it could not be accidentally turned on. But with what I have read in this thread I might be using the router with the door open and only have it closed when not using the router.

I guess what would really be cool would be finding a safety interlock that could be incorporated into a cabinet door. As long as I was able to provide good air flow for the router I could use it with the door closed and when open the interlock could make sure power could not be applied to the router. 

-----

Yeah I know.... KISS... Most of my great and expensive ideas normally never come to pass and I will probably just put the plug close to the front of the cabinet and switch the entire outlet. That way I can unplug fast and change my bits. 

I might even make it easier and just drill a hole in the cabinet and run the cord outside to a switched outlet. That way I could kill power to the outlet, unplug and not worry about it being in a dusty environment.

If I can find a switched outlet that will switch both of the plug-ins I can use the same switch to turn on the shop vac at the same time as the router. 

Not that I am lazy or anything... :sarcastic:

ok... Enough hanging out here on Router forum... Time to go Christmas shopping.

Tim


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

tdsapp said:


> Bob,
> 
> Thanks for the input... It's a big help.
> 
> ...


In my opinion If you were going to put a door on the compartment & use dust collection then the door would have to be closed to create a good vacuum to clean out compartment good. I like the vacuum idea better than just leaving the door open while in use.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

tdsapp said:


> Ok Bob, I get what you are saying here. But I have to admit that I hate the idea of pulling the plug on an electrical device in a high dust environment. Even with pulling the dust with a fence mounted collection there will still be a ton of dust in the cabinet area. Have you ever heard of a problem with fires or anything if the plug creates a spark in the area?
> 
> What I was thinking about was a two switch system with one being inside the cabinet like you say with an outlet and switch in a single box, and a second switch on the outside of the bench on the other side and outside of the cabinet.
> 
> ...



I have a remote switch mounted on the outside of my tables. I leave the router itself in the on position. It is plugged into the remote switch along with the dust vacuum. It's switch is also in the on position. When I turn on the remote switch both the router & vacuum turn on at same time. The remote switch is plugged into the wall. If changing bits, working on router, etc I just unplug the remote switch at the wall plug. I don't unplug from under table.

ON SALE! - Safety Power Tool Switch - Rockler Woodworking Tools

Dust Collector Remote Switch - Rockler Woodworking Tools


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

hi


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi
> The only time you would have a spark is if the tool is under a load or to say running..
> 
> here's a shot of what I mean..put the outlet and switch on the outside of the cabinet.
> ...


I'm not a fan of the big red bump switches either, but I'm also not a fan of the regular wall switch made for house. To easy to break if bump by other equipment. I prefer to use a switch made for the remote application. there are different styles. Below is a couple of pics of the type I use. They are mounted on my tables. The routers are plugged into the box & I do not unplug the router from the box so no need to reach under & fumble with plugs. 

The power for the remote box is on the outside & since most leads are no more than 6' the power source to the remote on/off switch if very accessible by either wall plug or extension cord. I use extension cord since I have to roll table out to use. That's were I unplug so the remote on/off switch has no power to it which makes it impossible to accidentally turn tool on if switch did get bumped.

Tim stated he has a JessEm plate, so I don't see how the Oak Park dust collection setup will work. The Oak Park Table is a bench top table so I can see having no doors. He said he was going to mount into work bench & add dust collection. So for it to be efficient the compartment would have to have a door. 

I have one table on a cabinet that is not finished yet so there are no doors or drawers yet. Even with my dust collector hooked up to the fence dust collection port it still leaves quit a mess. Most of the other below mess will be picked up by dust collector when finished. I'm not a fan of sweeping either.

There are many styles of tables used to do the same type of work. You have open stands, enclosed cabinets. open cabinets, table mounted, saw mounted, even plywood on two saw horses with a 2x4 as a fence.

I have seen many Pros use a cabinet with enclosed compartment for router & dust collection hooked up. This style is seen all over, even on these forums.

If you are using the router so much that you have heating problems then either somethings going wrong with the router or you should invest in a shaper which can handle the duty of running all day.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

hi


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

tdsapp said:


> If I can find a switched outlet that will switch both of the plug-ins I can use the same switch to turn on the shop vac at the same time as the router.
> 
> Tim


Tim,

Here's a way to get there. I've been eying them, thinking I'd plug the "tool power" plug into a panel-mounted switch. It caught my eye because my Shopvac is 11A and should run on a different breaker than my router. This provides for that.

For $40 it's not *cheap* but considering it provides electrical isolation there must be some form of (relatively) high-power switching device inside to switch the vacuum.

The link is 

Automatic Vacuum Switch - Lee Valley Tools


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi James
> 
> Most routers come with a dust pickup tube,it's not big job to push on the hose on that tube and it will suck out 95 % of the dust right down the hole..and the pickup tube on the fence will also pickup most of the dust..  no need to have a box around the router the norm.. to choke the air flow..
> 
> ...


Hi Bob;
The Triton I have in one of the tables does have a guard around the collet with a provision to hook up a hose for dust collection. But I have a Hitachi M12V in the other table & it has no port to attach a hose for dust collection at the base of the collet like the Triton. I have a Bosch plunge router that has no port either, several Porter Cables that I have do not have this feature. 

With the vacuum or the dust collector hooked up to the fence port you still get chips that fall below the table thru the center where the collet is. 

I don't see how having a compartment with door for access will will hurt air flow around router as the compartment should not be 100% air tight. Your dust collector will draw air from outside compartment usually from the door area or a port and create a vacuum flow into the dust collection tube. The air flow in the compartment becomes moving air. My dust collector flows at a rated 1200cfm which is much more air flow around the router than if I had it mounted in an open space.

If you were to mount a router in an enclosed cabinet with a door for access & did not use some dust collection into compartment, then I can see you will have stagnant air in compartment with no air flow. That would not be good for the router. But I think most people that mount router into enclosed compartment do it with noise & dust collection in mind. The dust collector running will create plenty of air flow into compartment.

I don't mean anything negative by my view, I'm sorry if it comes out that way.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

hi


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## gregW (Mar 14, 2007)

Hi Tim,

I've been using a sears craftsman auto switch for a while now and it's been working out great. It allows you to hook up two accessories and have them automatically come on when you switch on the power tool. It has a built in lag time to keep from overloading the circuit, so when you turn on the router it waits a few seconds before powering on the vacuum, and then when you turn the router off it waits a few seconds before it powers down the vac. 

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00924031000P?keyword=power+switch

I use it to switch on the vacuum when I'm using the router in the table and handheld, and I also use it to switch on a light and the vac when I'm using the bandsaw or the sander.

As far as the door on your router cabinet is concerned...the good thing is if it doesn't work out you can always remove it


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

gregW said:


> Hi Tim,
> 
> I've been using a sears craftsman auto switch for a while now and it's been working out great.


Hey Greg... How long have you been using the switch? On the site most of the reviews are saying that after two months or so they quit working. 

Am I correct that you can't turn the router on and off with the plug in?


BTW, good point on the door...

Tim


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## gregW (Mar 14, 2007)

tdsapp said:


> Hey Greg... How long have you been using the switch? On the site most of the reviews are saying that after two months or so they quit working.
> 
> Am I correct that you can't turn the router on and off with the plug in?
> 
> ...



I’ve been using the sears auto switch for more than three years now and I haven’t had any issues with it.

It's basicly just a load sensing relay..when it senses a draw on the upper "power tool" outlet it engergizes the lower two "accessory outlets" after a short delay to prevent overloading the circuit...and then when you turn the power tool off and it no longer senses a draw on the upper outlet it cuts the power to the lower "accessory outlets" after a few seconds delay.

So on a switched power tool like a sander or a router you plug the tool into the upper outlet and when you flip the switch or pull the trigger the tool starts like normal and then after a few seconds the lower outlets are energized...so if you plug your vac into one of the lower outlets and leave the vac's power switch in the "on" position it turns on and off automatically whenever you run the power tool. 

But a couple of things I should probably note… 

I think it’s only rated at 15 amps so the switch that Jim linked to that runs off of two separate circuits would be a better choice for a large router or table saw, but I haven’t had any problems running my 12amp pc router and a shopvac using this switch.

You will still need to use a separate switch in addition to this one if you don’t want to reach into the cabinet to turn on your router. I have a 20amp switch in an outlet box mounted on my router table. I plug the router into the switched outlet box and then plug the outlet box into the auto switch…and on my band saw I use a foot switch plugged into the auto switch. 

I didn’t notice the reviews on the sears website before, but it looks like out of 10 reviews 6 of the reviewers’ rated it at 5 out of 5 stars


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

I think that you will have to lock it anyway, The only way that i can see around that is to have a lift that only uses your motor, with out the base. otherwise, the router will still have a bit of play. I could be wrong, If any one has a self locking lift mount, Then you could always leave it locked.


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## tdsapp (Apr 23, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> hi



Hi back... 



So, Bob thanks for the advice on this. With the info in this thread I think I know what I may be doing. You are correct that my router has one of the plastic covers with a dust collection port on it. I have not been using it since I got the router in the table. 

After this thread started I really started to look at the router and the design. I noticed that without the cover the dust and debris ends up falling into the height adjustment gears and knobs. I think this is the reason that I am having some trouble adjusting the router now. I am going to put the covers on the router and find out what it's going to take to connect my shop vac to it. I think this is also going to be better for dust collection than trying to keep the entire cabinet under a vacuum. 

I am still going to add a cabinet door to the compartment and keep it open when the router is in use. I think for noise though I am going to add some kind of baffles in the compartment to kind of break up the sound. (Like a muffler on a car) I might have to keep the door closed at times when I am working late and the garage door is open. I am not as worried about heat since most of the time I use the router it's for about 3 to 5 minutes at a time and then around 10 minutes before it's on again.



Greg and Jim,

Thanks for your input as well. You gave me a few things to think about as well. I had not thought about the power requirements of running the equipment at the same time. While working on the bench I am also going to have to be running more power into the garage. The house circuit breaker is in the garage and has plenty of open spots in it. I was planning on adding two circuits with two or three outlets each. Now I am thinking that I will add three circuits. 

I hate the power that I currently have in the garage. I currently have a total of 4 outlets in the entire three car garage. One is 7' off the floor and has a wall wart for the sprinkler system in it. The transformer is so large that even if I wanted to get to the second plug-in I could not use it. Two of them are 6' off the floor with one of them having the man-fridge and the freezer plugged into them. The last one is at a usable 4' from the floor but it is behind a set of shelves. (The only spot I could put the shelves..) 

So needless to say... I have been using extension cords and a high amp power strip. I plug the router and the table saw into it and make sure that I never try and run both at the same time. I then run another extension cord from across the garage to run the shop vac. 

So, as I am building my bench I am adding about 10 to 12 outlets across two of the walls.   I am also considering adding a 220v outlet while I have everything open. 

I am also thinking about adding one extra circuit to the breaker panel and then putting a few outlets into the front of the bench. I hate having electric cords running all over the floor. While I am sure that I will have to use them from time to time but this would reduce that need. Since I am building the bench to take it with me when we move, I will put a cord with a plug-in on the bench and just plug in the bench. 


Oh well... enough rambling for now... type at y'all later.


Tim


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Tim

I have a mate that has a wood shop in his Apt. and I talked him to using some egg crate stuff in his cabinet ( the paper ones 12" x 12" from the food store ) he staple them on the inside and now he can run his router without the neighbors knocking on the walls , not great looking but it sure works..  the DB was about 80 and now it's so low you can hear the TV in the back ground..

I also talked him into a roll type cabinet door,,the stuff you can buy from Rocklers, not much room in his shop and with the door open, most of the time,when it was running, well, he now has more room to work...and to help keep the DB down..


=====





tdsapp said:


> Hi back...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## gav (Oct 12, 2009)

Just curious bobj3, why did you edit out most of your replies on this thread ?


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

tdsapp said:


> Hi back...
> 
> Two of them are 6' off the floor with one of them having the man-fridge and the freezer plugged into them.


I recommend dedicating the breaker for the freezer to that job and nothing else. Should something else trip that breaker, you have a freezer full of formerly frozen stuff. A good friend had that happen just before his vacation to Hawaii. He came home to a large chest freezer full of formerly frozen salmon and halibut that had spent about 2 weeks fermenting. It was on the lower level of a split-level house and I guess it was quite a job <pew> emptying it out, not to mention the loss of a couple thousand of dollars in meat and a significant part of their winters food supply.


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## AUFAITHFUL (Nov 30, 2009)

Just getting through this thread and thought I'd chime in.

I picked up a remote control for my shop vac and don't know why I didn't get one when they first came out. It was like crazy cheap 7.50$ at Harbor Frt. This thing is great.
I have tons of outlets in my garage, but mister intelligent here put them all on the same 20A breaker. I have to run my shp vac off an outlet on the other side of the garage.

The remote is the way to go. I like the instant-on outlet job, but didn't solve the amp overload problem that I run into when my compressor kicks on.....


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