# Granite Router Table in a Sawstop, need your input on plate position



## jeff niehenke (Feb 3, 2011)

First Post but I'm more of a reader and have gotten lots of good info off of here in the last few months. 

I'm planning a granite table extension in my sawstop for a router table and need some input on my layout and cabinet design. 

I realize granite may not be the best material (especially the large flake stuff i currently have) but i acquired 8 slabs so why not try. I will start another post on my lessons learned and tools used on working with the granite as i have found next to nothing on the topic. I've had great success so far with some test cuts and cheap boxstore special blades but have a more professional blade on the way. I am only using a cheapo skillsaw with a custom guide rail and water. 

attached is my sketchup plot of my draft cabinet plan and a picture of where I intend to place my woodpeck router lift. 
The thing I am most concerend with is the location of the cutout in the top. You can see my fence is pushed as far right as it can go and will just allow me enough room for an auxiliary fence with dust collection and t-track for attaching featherboards. I am slightly limited by my 6" dust collection piping at the back corner limiting me from ideally working at the end or side of the extension table. I can however roll my saw away from the piping with a little work for cuts i couldn't perform from the left side. 

so for you out there that use a router table in the right side of your tablesaw, would this work for you? or any advice on my router plate placement?  

On to the cabinet....
My cabinet will fully rest on the mobile base and be adjustable to dial the granite top flat with my saw. The central cabinet is 13.5" deep to fit PC 7518 and woodpeck lift. Dust collection will be from back of cabinet and from center of fence. 
On the right, the top drawer is 5" for wrenches, and other necessary tools, followed by two 4" and a 5" drawer for bits. 
Middle row has another drawer on top, bottom drawer is 11" tall to accomodate tablesaw blades. 
on the left the top cubicle is open for the auxiliary fence and other larger jigs. Below it are two more drawers for jigs, tools, etc. 


Link to my photobucket album http://s261.photobucket.com/albums/ii69/jniehenk/


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Jeff:

Ok, first, take a look at the router workshop videos at this url:

www.woodworkingchannel.com

Follow the tab to videos, then look for "the router workshop" and then start watching them like you've found a new religion. 

I say this because there are two philosophies when it comes to router tables, "The Router Workshop" and everyone else. I espouse the RW philosophy simply because of simplicity and elegance. It is simple, works like a charm, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Now, I'm on my 5th standard base plate table and I'm working on my last two table tops. There are five in all, standard, torsion, ski, template/vertical and pivot frame. I'll post a few pictures of placements in the next day or so.



jeff niehenke said:


> I realize granite may not be the best material (especially the large flake stuff i currently have) but i acquired 8 slabs so why not try. I will start another post on my lessons learned and tools used on working with the granite as i have found next to nothing on the topic. I've had great success so far with some test cuts and cheap boxstore special blades but have a more professional blade on the way. I am only using a cheapo skillsaw with a custom guide rail and water.


I did the same sort of operation using a skil circular saw and diamond blade on concrete. My suggestions:

1. take an old nylon stocking and fit it over the motor on the circular saw. 

2. use a segmented diamond blade.

3. I used a garden spray can to keep the blade wet.

4. There are also diamond reciprocating saw blades that you can use.

5. disassemble and clean the circular saw every few hours. The swarf gets stuck in the saw like glue and it doesn't come free easily.

6. when you've burnt out all of your saws, go rent a specialized one, connect a hose to it and do the job in a fraction of the time. I hated the Hilti but found the Makita not bad to manhandle.

7. Good luck and keep us posted.

I burned up two scrap circular saws in the process: the skil and a Porter Cable. I cried when the skil died and laughed when the PC quit. Too bad too, the PC was my only left-handed saw. I liked the idea but the PC implementation was problematic and became dangerous to use.



jeff niehenke said:


> so for you out there that use a router table in the right side of your tablesaw, would this work for you? or any advice on my router plate placement?


What kind of work are you going to do? My table tops are all 2'x4' (except ski and pivot frame, of course) and the baseplate seats are located in various locations around the top. For small stuff you want to look down on the top of the bit so you want it close to the edge. For big stuff, you want lots of infeed and outfeed so you locate it more to the linear centre. If you're doing large panel stuff you want lots of support so you locate it to one side and in the linear centre.



jeff niehenke said:


> On to the cabinet....
> My cabinet will fully rest on the mobile base and be adjustable to dial the granite top flat with my saw. The central cabinet is 13.5" deep to fit PC 7518 and woodpeck lift. Dust collection will be from back of cabinet and from center of fence.
> On the right, the top drawer is 5" for wrenches, and other necessary tools, followed by two 4" and a 5" drawer for bits.
> Middle row has another drawer on top, bottom drawer is 11" tall to accomodate tablesaw blades.
> on the left the top cubicle is open for the auxiliary fence and other larger jigs. Below it are two more drawers for jigs, tools, etc.


Where are you going to store your routers? You don't buy just one, you collect them for a variety of purposes. I use milk crates for mine.


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## jeff niehenke (Feb 3, 2011)

I'll be making mostly larger furniture pieces. have plans for bed, dresser, tv center in the near future. my thought was push the router as the lose to the front edge as I dare and not crack the granite so I could see over the bit for small stuff. for the larger I could roll the whole saw out and feed it from the back of the table. 
I too like the simplicity of the routerworshop approach but don't have room for a dedicated table. ill get into those videos for sure and see what else I can pick up.

router storage would be in the bottom right drawer or the left drawers. may need to look at the height so I can stand them up instead of wrapping the chords and laying them in my drawers as I currently do.

on the cutting of the concrete. Im assuming you were cutting on the upcut side of the blade as you would do in wood. the test cuts I've made PULLING the skillsaw through the granite on the downcut have left my saw spotless. I've also mounted a flexible plastic cooling hose you find on lathes to really cool and flush the cut. all the water and swarf is shot out the bottom of the cut this way. my very first cut pushing the saw made a mess of my nice PC saw before I found the youtube video on the "blue ripper" from omega diamond. I have a continuous rim j-slot blade on order that I believe would perform similar to the segmented you suggest with as much water as I will run.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Jeff:

Interesting observation on the use of the circular saw. Keep us posted. I'll try to upload a few table pictures soon.

Ron


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## penaddict (Jun 13, 2008)

Here's what I did. I can route with the direction of the table saw for shorter pieces or the other direction for longer ones. With an incra fence I can also do dovetails, box joint...


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## jeff niehenke (Feb 3, 2011)

penaddict said:


> Here's what I did. I can route with the direction of the table saw for shorter pieces or the other direction for longer ones. With an incra fence I can also do dovetails, box joint...


awesome work and you're using exactly how i was envisioning it. But do you ever wish you moved it closer to the front of the saw? centered in the table (front/back) looks like a little bit of a stretch for some work. I will be working from the right side of the table if needed for longer parts since my saw is backed up against my work bench.


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## penaddict (Jun 13, 2008)

jeff niehenke said:


> But do you ever wish you moved it closer to the front of the saw? centered in the table (front/back) looks like a little bit of a stretch for some work.


Yes when I use my incra positioner fence to do dovetails or box joint because I am short at 5'7 :sad:, however, I also have a separate standalone router table that used to have a granite top and a bench dog router plate. I switched the top out to MDF when I upgraded to a lift which did not fit the smaller cutout for bench dog plate.


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## mr500 (Mar 27, 2012)

*webbb*



allthunbs said:


> Hi Jeff:
> 
> Ok, first, take a look at the router workshop videos at this url:
> 
> www.woodworkingchannel.com


WWC has let there web page domain expire. Nothing to see but a splash screen..Says it is pending or up for deletion


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

jeff niehenke said:


> awesome work and you're using exactly how i was envisioning it. But do you ever wish you moved it closer to the front of the saw? centered in the table (front/back) looks like a little bit of a stretch for some work. I will be working from the right side of the table if needed for longer parts since my saw is backed up against my work bench.


Hi Jeff:

I promised some pictures showing placement. Here are my placement experiments:

Each top is 2'x4' except the very early ones. I wouldn't recommend the diagonal placements. It puts the safety pin in the wrong place. 

The latest version puts the bit immediately under the eyeline without having to bend over the table (like with the ones located in the middle). My constraint was the frame of the table underneath. 

All were made with the same template. I'm going to replace the OakPark baseplates with my own. They will be copies of the OakPark except they will all be the same size.


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## jeff niehenke (Feb 3, 2011)

Thanks for the great information, 
Just picked up the plywood i need to start constructing the cabinet and still waiting on my new granite blade. Will get after this next week for sure.


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## chabor (Aug 20, 2009)

*Awesome base*

Hi Jeff,
The base you designed is what I've been thinking of doing for some time, but haven't made the jump. I have the ICS w/ the mobile base, but putting any weight on the extension table torques the entire system. 

I was wondering if you'd be willing to share the exact plan? I'm not a welder, so I'd have to hire someone to do the work for me. I'm curious if you did this yourself or if you hired it out? If you did have to pay someone, any ball park on the cost? 

thanks for any guidance you might provide,

Charlie


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