# U.K router tables



## ggroofer (Apr 29, 2011)

Hi folks, i've been looking at various router tables recently with the intention of buying one.I was having a look at the Axminster table with the sliding table and was tempted,however further research lead me to A charnwood model and A record model and all three look exactly the same ,does anybody know if these are the same tables with different brand names?..what attracted me to the table was the router clamp system,the sliding carriage and the weight.Does any one out there own one of these tables?...are they any good? Thanks..Philip p.s this will be my first router table!


----------



## devil2456 (Feb 9, 2009)

*router table*

i had a record table, it was nice to use ,but a lot of wasted space underneath.so i made my own,its a cabinet on wheels,draws and a cupboard.and cost less than £50.now im going to make a new one, google router table made easy and look under youtube ,mine is going to be like this with my own top.


----------



## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

I have a Trend Pro at school. I think most U.K router tables are really lacking. I dont mean that they don't have a "Norm" cabinet. Make your own. Kitchen top and router plate, plus fence, either home made or bought, avoid Axminster stuff. I have 2 nice tables, they both use the Jessem router lift, one has an Incra fence system, the other has a vacuum extracting fence.


----------



## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Philip, I have no direct knowledge about the tool scene in the UK. But, if the commercially-made tables you are looking at are "affordable", they are almost certainly made in China by one of several manufacturers there. If they look similar, they are likely simply re-branded versions of the same product. We see the same sort of similarity between brands here in the U.S., since almost nothing is made here, either. 

The sliding table design looks interesting at first glance, like the sliding-table cabinet saw. If part of the table slides, however, there has to be some tolerance to allow for movement. That movement has to translate into stock movement (relative to the bit), as well. 

The components that make a router table most useful or convenient are the plate design, the lift (if any), and the fence. The rest is just a flat surface into or onto which the other components are mounted.


----------



## ggroofer (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks for the info Ralph,I think I am gona buy a straight forward model(without all the frills),good solid top,regular size insert plate and solid straight fence!. . . will prob' be making my own table 6-7months down the line anyway,once i've got the hang of things,most of you more experienced guys seem to make your own that suits your own individual needs..seems to be lots of plans available for me to draw on when the time comes! thanks again.Philip


----------



## crazycol (Feb 13, 2007)

philip, i aint a router expert. but i bought 3 tables in three years and found all commercial tables crap. i ended up making my own with cupboard and drawers. total layout excluding the plate,,






£25.00

i am in the process of making another, where in the uk are you based ?.


----------



## ggroofer (Apr 29, 2011)

*3 tables in 3 years*



crazycol said:


> philip, i aint a router expert. but i bought 3 tables in three years and found all commercial tables crap. i ended up making my own with cupboard and drawers. total layout excluding the plate,,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hi,Col I live at the foot of the mourne mountians in N.Ireland...'no router expert either,in fact I have never owned A router table! Just today I bought A 'Bench dog pro router table',the last one from rutlands clearance line at a nice price,so waiting for delivery.It seems most guys with a bit more experience make their own.I've only really used a router for installing mortice locks and chamfering or rebating,so thought i would go for an of the shelf model for my first!....I only own A small 1/4" makita router and A 'cheapo' ryobi,which i'm not too impressed with..what router/routers do you own? and would you recomend a particular model? Philip


----------



## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

That router table should be OK. Later you can make your own cupboard type base for it, so that you can store all your bits, jigs, etc.

It is worth getting something beefy like a Triton or DW625 for a table. I picked up a s/h DW625 on eBay quite reasonably. Just keep watching out, set yourself a limit and don't be tempted to go above it. There will always be another one, particularly with the DeWalt. Whilst a clapped out one is always possible, most seem to have been bought and hardly used. The clapped out ones usually look a bit battered anyway !

I've both and they perform well. I've even got a Ryobi, mostly because it came with two fences that fit everything else and was silly money. It isn't the same quality though.

Cheers

Peter


----------



## crazycol (Feb 13, 2007)

hiya philip, i have 2 elu mof 177e's , a dewalt 625, dewalt 613 a freud ft 2000, and a elu mof 96 i have one of the elu 177e's in my table and i am using a car scissor jack for adjusting the height.the bast router i have used, for build quality is the 1/2 in elu177e. they are about 15 years old and still in great condition. i did have three of them but let one go on ebay last week. your very lucky to be living in such a beautiful part of n ireland.


----------



## ggroofer (Apr 29, 2011)

*scissor jack for adjusting*



crazycol said:


> hiya philip, i have 2 elu mof 177e's , a dewalt 625, dewalt 613 a freud ft 2000, and a elu mof 96 i have one of the elu 177e's in my table and i am using a car scissor jack for adjusting the height.the bast router i have used, for build quality is the 1/2 in elu177e. they are about 15 years old and still in great condition. i did have three of them but let one go on ebay last week. your very lucky to be living in such a beautiful part of n ireland.


Hi Colin,'great idea using a scissor jack,i've never heard of that method before,does it work well? I was toying with the idea of buying A router lift system but they're very expensive (those U.S.A guys don't know how good they have it with price of power tools).'Dont know much about 'elu' the major brands over here seem to be trend,de-walt,bosch.Thanks for the heads up.Philip. p.s There's not a day goes by that im not greatfull for where I live!....of to google elu now.P


----------



## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

The ease of use with my Jessem lift is great. Accuracy and repeatability are critical for me. Loaded with a DW625. The Elu 177e is for hand use, a great machine.


----------



## wizzkid (Jun 10, 2010)

Hello Philip,
I have a Woodstar BS52 which I have had for over two years. I was attracted to it because of the cast iron table and it incorporates router so you dont have to fix your portable router to it. The fence that came with it was twisted and useless but this was replaced promptly by the supplier. The second fence had to be packed up with washers to get it square to the table but it is fine now. The most tricky thing I had to do was to replace the raise and lower slider by doubling its length. This is a top hat shaped piece of aluminium which a friend machined for me. This ensured that the bit stayed vertical as it was raised and lowered. Since then the machine has served me well and produces accurate and consistent results.


----------



## ggroofer (Apr 29, 2011)

Hi Robin,'have just bought the 'Bench dog pro router table' it just arrived today so it isn't, even out of the box yet.I read quite A few good reviews about it and when i went searching on the net for suppliers I found that Rutlands were selling them on their clearance line reduced from £369 to £169 ,when I checked on stocks there was only one left so I thought it was meant to be!...hope i'll not be eating my own words next week...'will let you know how it goes when i get it set up.Philip.


----------



## devil2456 (Feb 9, 2009)

*which router*

i looked in to many routers and router lifts, very expensive, look at triton routers, one come with a handle above the table, all have a handle that you can use one handed which is cheaper than router and lift, i now have two , one is 3 1/4 hp the other 2 1/4 hp both were cheaper than a router and lift, best thing i ever done. they handle any thing that i chuck at them.they are used two - three hours a day most days.


----------



## ggroofer (Apr 29, 2011)

devil2456 said:


> i looked in to many routers and router lifts, very expensive, look at triton routers, one come with a handle above the table, all have a handle that you can use one handed which is cheaper than router and lift, i now have two , one is 3 1/4 hp the other 2 1/4 hp both were cheaper than a router and lift, best thing i ever done. they handle any thing that i chuck at them.they are used two - three hours a day most days.


Hi Ray,'have been looking at the triton brand and thinking of buying the 1400w model,i think u can buy an above the table height adjuster for around £30,they do seem to be well priced! The only peice of Triton kit that i own is the 'Triton jaw horse' and after 2 years use i'm still very impressed with it.Thanks for the recomendation. Philip.


----------



## farrier (Nov 1, 2010)

*Close to you in Northern Ireland*



ggroofer said:


> Hi,Col I live at the foot of the mourne mountians in N.Ireland...'no router expert either,in fact I have never owned A router table! Just today I bought A 'Bench dog pro router table',the last one from rutlands clearance line at a nice price,so waiting for delivery.It seems most guys with a bit more experience make their own.I've only really used a router for installing mortice locks and chamfering or rebating,so thought i would go for an of the shelf model for my first!....I only own A small 1/4" makita router and A 'cheapo' ryobi,which i'm not too impressed with..what router/routers do you own? and would you recomend a particular model? Philip


Hi Philip,
I live near Larne and would welcome you to come and see my workshop. I have built a table saw and table router. Would you like to see my workshop? email me [email protected]
Colin


----------



## [email protected] (Nov 25, 2014)

*Best router*



ggroofer said:


> Hi,Col I live at the foot of the mourne mountians in N.Ireland...'no router expert either,in fact I have never owned A router table! Just today I bought A 'Bench dog pro router table',the last one from rutlands clearance line at a nice price,so waiting for delivery.It seems most guys with a bit more experience make their own.I've only really used a router for installing mortice locks and chamfering or rebating,so thought i would go for an of the shelf model for my first!....I only own A small 1/4" makita router and A 'cheapo' ryobi,which i'm not too impressed with..what router/routers do you own? and would you recomend a particular model? Philip


Hi, I have had a Ryobi 1/2" router for ten years or so and it has never let me down. The only gripe with it was the lack of adjustment for cutter height being as it came with its own table. I have solved that by mounting the screw part of a g-cramp under the base of the router. I cut the rest of the thing off. The table is fixed to the table so the screw just lifts the router up for final adjustment.

As for the best router I have just bought a De-Walt DW 625E which has a 1/2" and a 1/4" collet. You have a router table so this would be fine and can be fitted with an optional height adjuster.
Any router with a 1/2" collet would be ok but if you get a cheap one you may not be able to get the spare parts. This may be important in the future, I can no longer get spare parts for the Ryobi. I can get every spare for the DW 625 down to screws.

The downside to a router table is the fact that you move the wood by hand. This is usually ok but not always controllable.

That is why I am planning to buy a Woodrat. The wood is clamped and the router moves to cut the wood and you can see it cut, you can not do that in a table- the cutter is hidden under the wood.

totallyhornby


----------



## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

You won't be disappointed with the Woodrat. Keep an eye open on eBay. Most ask too much, but occasionally one goes at a more reasonable price, particularly if several go around the same time that have mopped up the current buyers.
Regarding spares for cheap routers, so many are similar that parts, particularly collets, are interchangeable between manufacturers. They may well be just badge engineered from the same factories.
I bought one cheap 1/2" router, new, off German eBay, that came in a fitted cabinet with 50 cutters and 1/2", 1/4", 12mm and 8mm collets that all fitted the deWalt for IIRC 25 quid. It was a give way ! The cutters are disposable and the router is useful if I'm doing something and don't want to change the cutter in another router. A couple of spare collets for the deWalt would have been more than that.

Cheers

-- 
Peter Ellis

Porec Sales Office
Croatia Property Services

Selling in the new Tuscany!

Tel +385 (0) 92 247 5879
+385 (0) 91 400 3784

[email protected]
[email protected]

http://www.croatiapropertyservices.com
http://croatiaproperty.proboards.com


----------

