# Cast iron router table top vs others?



## bigarm (Nov 12, 2014)

Just dreaming at the moment. Have a rifle for sale. If it ever does I may upgrade my benchtop router table. Bench Dog makes a cast iron router table (don't know if others do). Seems like that would be the top of the line router table material, but let's hear your ideas. Are other types of equal quality or better? Pros and cons of types?


----------



## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

Cast iron is kind of the "gold standard" in stationary tool tops. Lots of reasons to like it. It looks like those are going for a bit less than $500. Note that the rockler (they own BD) opening size is specific to them. So you will need to get a rockler insert and/or a rockler lift. Not that it's bad but it does somewhat restrict your choices.

Considering that you can build a really nice top for less than $100, it may not be the most economical choice out there. Personally, if faced with your choice, I would build my own and put the extra into an Incra LS.

My RT set up is a shop made table, Incra/JessEm Mast-R-Lift II, Incra LS positioner, PC 7518 and a wixey height gauge. After more than a year of frequent use, I am still very happy with my choices. I especially am happy with the LS as it has allowed me to significantly improve my skill level and produce some pretty professional looking results. I don't think a cast iron table top would have made a difference for me.


----------



## MikeMa (Jul 27, 2006)

The benefits of having a cast iron top are the flatness, weight, and durability. The drawback is the cost. This has been debated to death, but where you need the flatness for a router table is the insert, the rest of the table simply just holds the work piece up. In fact some table designs have had the router plate sitting above the table surface by a small amount.

My table is one I made, and is 2 layers of 3/4" MDF. Many of the commercial ones are a single layer. The benefit you get with MDF is still relatively flat, you get the weight and the cost is lower. When it comes to durability, yes the cast iron top is probably going to last decades longer than an MDF top, but that doesn't mean an MDF top router table is junk either. With my top, I edge band it with hardwood, and make sure it is well supported so it won't bow down over time.

For me, another benefit of an MDF top is it is easily modified for upgrades to fences and plates/lifts, where the cast iron, you are options maybe more limited.


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

I think cast iron is a poor choice unless you have a climate controlled shop. It is just too easy for rust to take over. Even after careful prep and application of a rust preventative product I found some minor rust on this Excalibur deluxe cast iron table. My old overarm router was a constant maintenance nightmare to the point I got rid of it. I went with the Steel City deluxe 14" band saw for its granite table. I do maintenance on my old Craftsman table saw a couple times a year and the Johnson's paste wax is the best treatment I have found for combating rust.

Now if you have a climate controlled shop it eliminates a large amount of the problems I have. Even so I can not justify the expense of cast iron for a router table. My economy router table works just fine for any task. It is based on the Router Workshop table and neither of them has warped or sagged over the years.


----------



## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

Interesting observations Mike.

Presently, the bulk of my tools are under a roof, but otherwise accessible to outside air. I'm going to have to check and see if there is any rust starting to accumulate anywhere.

Things will improve dramatically once that area gets properly closed in and heated.


----------



## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

cocobolo1 said:


> Interesting observations Mike.
> 
> Presently, the bulk of my tools are under a roof, but otherwise accessible to outside air. I'm going to have to check and see if there is any rust starting to accumulate anywhere.
> 
> Things will improve dramatically once that area gets properly closed in and heated.


^^^ 
Hey there's two of us here guys . No need to direct all the insulation jokes at me :grin:


----------



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

@Mike ...how dooo you keep them things so clean... even when I don't use mine it seems the sawdust just comes out of the "woodwork"... :surprise:


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

TheCableGuy said:


> ^^^
> Hey there's two of us here guys . No need to direct all the insulation jokes at me :grin:


his is work in progress and it is getting done...
no malingering in sight...


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

@Nickp

Dust collection Nick. 

Look close and you will see some sawdust; nothing works 100%.


----------



## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

I have the Bench Dog lift with Porter Cable's big boy and a Frued fence. It's all on my own table and I think it's gold. In fact, I wouldn't switch to the cast iron table on a free trade, simply because my table is bigger.


The JessEm get good reviews too. That may be because of differences in raising and lowering the two, but that's just a guess. I suspect it's as much a Ford/Chevy thing. Regardless, either will outlast both of us, even under heavy use.

I made the jump after growing tired of dealing with the plastic things that can break relatively easy, when pulling the corners down. I could have built one, but it still wouldn't be comparable in quality, and the labor made the price tag more attractive, at the time.


When I hook my collector to the top and bottom ports, not much dust escapes.

I don't worry about rust, I just deal with it, but not much, even though my band saw, table saw, ocilating sander, drum-disk sander, jointer and router lift are made of it. I've used a product call Corrosion-X and I'd set a can of pop on any of them treated with it. Some of them I only treat yearly, others a couple times a year, or as a problem "pops" up. Corrosion-X won't leave the surfaces pretty, but it will make them, in terms of water, nearly bullet proof.


----------



## BOjr (Dec 1, 2012)

I have a router cabinet, my design, and a router extension table to the TS. Both are cast iron and I love them. I mounted rare earth magnets to the above table portion of the dust collection and now I can place that any place on the table that I want. I do live in a dry climate, Colorado, and my shop is enclosed, insulated and heated and so I don't have the rust issues that a lot of you have.

Buck


----------



## bobrose60 (Jan 29, 2016)

Cast iron can be a maintenance nightmare. My early sixties craftsman table saw, and '40's vintage band saw have stood the test of time, but the iron has to be constantly gone over. While my router table top is shop made, the cabinet will never rust as it started as the carcass of a discarded stainless BBQ my neighbor was done with. A little tougher to drill, but welds nicely, and maintenance free!


----------



## Dejure (Jul 27, 2009)

Seriously, look into the Corrosion X. People have sat cans of pop on my saw and lived, only because of it.



bobrose60 said:


> Cast iron can be a maintenance nightmare. My early sixties craftsman table saw, and '40's vintage band saw have stood the test of time, but the iron has to be constantly gone over. While my router table top is shop made, the cabinet will never rust as it started as the carcass of a discarded stainless BBQ my neighbor was done with. A little tougher to drill, but welds nicely, and maintenance free!


----------



## krondek (Aug 2, 2017)

I recently upgraded from a flimsy stand alone MDF router table (wolfcraft) to a cast-iron table saw extension. This ended up being a massive upgrade, because the vibration of the MDF table made it inaccurate and frankly a bit scary to use. Even though it was bolted down, the router was louder and felt like it was almost too powerful for that table. 

Since I went to cast iron, I find myself using the router a lot more. It's quieter, and there's no vibration so I feel like I have a lot more control over the workpiece. Also, since it's part of the tablesaw it saves a bit of room.


----------



## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum.


----------



## GeordieStew (Jul 31, 2017)

krondek said:


> I recently upgraded from a flimsy stand alone MDF router table (wolfcraft) to a cast-iron table saw extension. This ended up being a massive upgrade, because the vibration of the MDF table made it inaccurate and frankly a bit scary to use. Even though it was bolted down, the router was louder and felt like it was almost too powerful for that table.
> 
> Since I went to cast iron, I find myself using the router a lot more. It's quieter, and there's no vibration so I feel like I have a lot more control over the workpiece. Also, since it's part of the tablesaw it saves a bit of room.


Is it something off the shelf? Or custom made? 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


----------



## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

@krondek Welcome to the Forum. This is a pretty old string, but discussion of router table choices are always interesting to this crowd.


----------



## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Every winter I spray the router table, band saw, jointer and the wood and metal lathes with RP7 and a quick wipe has them ready for use.


----------



## Steven Owen (Aug 14, 2017)

Cast Iron is great as long as you take care of it. There's lots of people with Cast Iron pana that are over 100 years old. It's just a matter of having someone who takes care of it. 

If you maintain the surface with a coating of paste wax, you'll be fine.


----------

