# Router table . . . maybe I'm nuts?



## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

Maybe I've already got a table mostly built?
Decades ago I built a long bench in my basement. Unfortunately, I am unable to post a link due to my newbie status on the board.

It occurs to me that I could mount a router plate in the existing top and have a router table? 

This brainstorm just came to me this morning. 

The bench top is a double layer of 3/4 inch MDF. I am unsure how I would begin cutting a neat hole to support a router plate though. 

Is this a totally stupid idea?


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## rauch808 (Nov 14, 2009)

Why couldn't you? Just make sure the area is flat though. Take a look at how you would go about mounting a fence. (if you need one for what you want to do)

~JR


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

That dog will hunt

take a look at the last link on this post 

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dawziecat said:


> Maybe I've already got a table mostly built?
> Decades ago I built a long bench in my basement. Unfortunately, I am unable to post a link due to my newbie status on the board.
> 
> It occurs to me that I could mount a router plate in the existing top and have a router table?
> ...


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> take a look at the last link on this post
> 
> =====


Thanks John and Bob. I'm gonn'a take a go at this. The video makes it look so easy. 

The fence will come later . . . pretty sure I can manage that. Maybe rout a T channel into the table too. But I gott'a get a start on this. I'm off to find a plate.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

You could get to 10 posts by saying hi to new newbie's in the introduction forum it will just take a couple of minutes. Then you could post some pics.


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

jlord said:


> You could get to 10 posts by saying hi to new newbie's in the introduction forum it will just take a couple of minutes. Then you could post some pics.


Guess I'll get up to ten soon enough. 

Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to find an insert table locally, except for the Veritas system from Lee Valley which seems markedly different from the usual 11 1/4 x 9 1/4 plate . . . and outrageously expensive too ($175).:sad:


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

Ditto to what James said.


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

Ooops, forgot to add...any Canadians here who can suggest a source for table inserts that take on-line orders at reasonable cost? I don't want to get involved with cross-border hassles for this.

Also, is there no editing capability on this forum? Can't correct typos and add afterthoughts to a post?


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

DO NOT BUY FROM BOSS TOOLS! That's just asking for torture. 
How about Oak Park - located in Manitoba
Workshop Supply
All-In-One-Wood Tools
Busy Bee Tools
Handyman Supplier


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Terry, I think you will be able to edit your posts after you reach the 10 post min.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

One more, Terry.. you're almost there!


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

Thank you Deb for pointing out these CDN suppliers. I see there is a Busy Bee in Dartmouth. While I certainly will be visiting them, it is unfortunate that they don't have an insert plate . . .only a complete top. The top is interesting and the price is right but it does seem on the small side.

In the interim, the plan evolves. It occurs to me that it will be a bear to change bits and adjust bit height if my workbench top remains fixed. I think I could cut a section and hinge it to allow it to swing up for access. It'll be pretty heavy but a rod to prop it open should work . . . sort of like the hood on my van.

Link to the workbench is here. http://danks.netfirms.com/Workbench.jpg

It is 16 ft long and 33" wide and is frequently even messier than it appears in the photo. I plan on putting the router insert in a section with an open cabinet below. Of course it is not possible to put the router in the drawer section.

All suggestions are welcome as I don't really know what I am doing . . . but my enthusiasm increases after a recent project where I settled for panel inserts rather than the raised panels which were called for.
The unfinished doors in question are shown here: http://danks.netfirms.com/Doors.jpg
I am happy with them but doing the stopped rabbets on a radial arm saw was not fun, and not neat. The chewed up parts are hidden by the mouldings . . . but I know it's a mess under them at the corners. :sad:


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## RustyW (Dec 28, 2005)

dawziecat said:


> In the interim, the plan evolves. It occurs to me that it will be a bear to change bits and adjust bit height if my workbench top remains fixed. I think I could cut a section and hinge it to allow it to swing up for access. It'll be pretty heavy but a rod to prop it open should work . . . sort of like the hood on my van.


Terry, a fixed top should not be an issue if your using a plate. Check out the link below. Click "videos" at the top of the page(you do not need to sign up). Scroll over to The Router Workshop, and watch any episode. You will see what I mean.

The Woodworking Channel


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

Shoot yeah......that bench would be perfect for a table mounted router with removable plate if you ask me. You can avoid any pains when adjusting bit height by doing it above table with the help of an above table hex wrench. You wont have to worry much about 
changing bits from under the table top. Just don't bolt down the plate. I was skeptical when I heard this as well , BUT as long as you make a good fit the plate wont budge while routing. Even if you do make the opening a bit wider in one direction or another.. just shim it out. ( I had to mine ) Add a Miter track, and maybe some T-track for a fence to ride in and your set.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

You can do that or do as many do and lift the router and plate out of the table, make the adjustment and return. This is the reason why plates (and lifts) are generally not attached to the table, but held in place by gravity in the recessed top.


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

Glad you guys got back to me as today was the day I was going to cut the table. I still don't have an insert plate. I am hoping Busy Bee in Dartmouth have one in stock and I will get it in the coming week.

In the meantime I have received some very exciting news. All this resurgence in interest has been prompted by the need for furniture in our retirement home in FL. Turns out there is a woodworking club there that is a woodworkers dream come true, fully equipped with just about every WW tool known to man . . . including two Sawstop cabinet saws, two Bench Dog router tables, and a Grizzly woodshaper.

So, my router table "needs" have been markedly alleviated. But I still plan to put a router into my bench here too . . . and the King 3 1/4hp router, at $100 is cheap enough that there is no reason not to get it even if the "need" for it is really no longer great.


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## smc (Dec 19, 2008)

What I did with my first table is cut out a plate using 1/4" hardboard. "Handy panel," I think it was called. Stronger than ordinary MDF. I couldn't find an insert to suit my needs and at the time I didn't have money for many of my projects. I still have the table and all the plates and circle jigs I made. In fact I just dug out a circle jig last week to cut some speaker holes.

While the production toys are nice and convenient, I still can't verify some of the prices. Why buy what you can build? I need bits more than toys!


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

smc said:


> What I did with my first table is cut out a plate using 1/4" hardboard. "Handy panel," I think it was called.


Strangely enough I have been wondering about that very thing. Have been eyeing a piece I have had lying around for a year or two and thinking, hmmmm.
I am a bit leery though as the 3 1/4hp router weighs 13 lbs and there won't be much of the "hard," tempered side of the board left after countersinking the mounting screws so they are flush. 

Busy Bee list a 3/8" phenolic plate with inserts for $24 (until Jan 16). For that price I won't quibble. I just hope they have one in stock.


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

Buy a 1/4" aluminum plate. IMHO you will be much happier in the long run. Especially with a 3 1/4 hp 13 lb router. I think it would just make mince meat out of 1/4" hard board.


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

Handy panel isn't strong enough for a heavy router. Go to a window repair shop and see if they have a piece of 3/8" plexi or lexon. 9"x12" is a good size.


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

Duane867 said:


> Buy a 1/4" aluminum plate.


Ouch! I just felt a sharp stabbing pain in my wallet pocket! :laugh:

I appreciate you are probably correct. (In my heart, I guess I KNOW you are.)


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

AxlMyk said:


> Go to a window repair shop and see if they have a piece of 3/8" plexi or lexon. 9"x12" is a good size.


Wouldn't a 3/8" phenolic with center hole and reducing inserts (at a mere $24) be a better idea even if the salvaged plexi/lexon were free?


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

dawziecat said:


> Wouldn't a 3/8" phenolic with center hole and reducing inserts (at a mere $24) be a better idea even if the salvaged plexi/lexon were free?


Yes.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

+1 on the 3/8" phenolic plate


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

dawziecat said:


> Ouch! I just felt a sharp stabbing pain in my wallet pocket! :laugh:
> 
> I appreciate you are probably correct. (In my heart, I guess I KNOW you are.)


I feel ya', but it really is worth it. 
I went with the Rockler blank plate my self and haven't looked back. 
You don;t have to worry about scalding, or melting from heat generated by chip buildup during any dado or cuts surrounding the bit ( I got that all the time when routing MDF on the stock plastic / phenolic ryobi plate. left permanent makings. Would rather ruin a bit or an insert then my plate). The insert is another story but they are all plastic for every make though and all replaceable. Work pieces glide like glass over it, and you can drill it to accept your router. 

The only draw back is what I am going through right now.
Which is they only sell a 1 1/4" bushing insert. The thing with that is no one makes a 1 1/4" bushing. Not even Rockler ( makes a lot of sense huh ? ).
The solution is to insert a blank insert and raise an 1/8th " bit through it with your router to find true center. remove the insert and take it over to your drill press. Use an 1/8" dowel of some sort or even an 1/8th inch drill bit to center it up and dog it down. Then use a forestner bit of the correct diameter to bore the correct size hole of the bushing set you want to use.
It sounds much more complicated ten it really is. 
The easier solution would be to spend $70 or more on another brand of plate ( like an aluminum MLCS ) that comes with the inserts ( the MLCS comes with a 1 3/16" bushing adapter insert / AKA Porter cable style ).

Over all I am very happy with the plate. It was easy to drill and is nice and flat.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Duane,

This isn't a huge thing. BJ made a post on increasing the size of a guide bushing holder used in a plate. It was written to change a plate with a 1-3/16" through hole (1-3/8" nuts) for Porter-Cable Guides to accommodate the 1-1/2" through hole (1-3/4" nuts) LV / OP guides. Using a 1-1/4" Forestner in your DP instead of a 1-3/16" bit you could make the same change. 

The link is http://www.routerforums.com/project-plans-how/10818-bogydave.html

Just a thought... 



Duane867 said:


> I feel ya', but it really is worth it.
> I went with the Rockler blank plate my self and haven't looked back.
> You don;t have to worry about scalding, or melting from heat generated by chip buildup during any dado or cuts surrounding the bit ( I got that all the time when routing MDF on the stock plastic / phenolic ryobi plate. left permanent makings. Would rather ruin a bit or an insert then my plate). The insert is another story but they are all plastic for every make though and all replaceable. Work pieces glide like glass over it, and you can drill it to accept your router.
> 
> ...


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

Jim,
I know. I was just forewarning Terry before he discovered the hard way like I did.
I assume he has to order everything living in rural Nova Scotia Canada. Now he can order every thing he need at once with the plate if he goes that route.


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## dawziecat (Dec 8, 2009)

Duane867 said:


> Jim,
> I know. I was just forewarning Terry before he discovered the hard way like I did.
> I assume he has to order everything living in rural Nova Scotia Canada. Now he can order every thing he need at once with the plate if he goes that route.


This is getting painful now. :sad:

Burning the plate?:'( 

I had no clue THAT was a pitfall!

The MLCS Al plate is looking better and better but the cost of having it shipped here is, as usual and as Canadians here will know, punitive. The plate delivered here will be about $100. And then there will be taxes on top of that. :angry:

An Incra AL plate is available here from All In One Wood Tools but, again, for $99 plus taxes and shipping.

I will be in Florida later this winter and getting the MLCS plate delivered there is a far better deal. But, I am rarin' to go on this project and loathe to wait . . . but maybe I should.

This King 3 1/4 hp router is heavy! I'd feel more confident hanging it from Al than plastic.

I had given no thought at all to the need to accommodate bushings. Not sure I understand their function. I thought a fence would make them unnecessary? Could someone point out a link or explain their use?


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

Bushing are used to trace contours in patterns and jigs such as dove tail jigs.
You'll definitely need them sooner or later as your skill grows.


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## tiguydo (Nov 27, 2009)

I just found out al those canadian place to order from ,great!


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## tiguydo (Nov 27, 2009)

from canucksgal on page one ,all those adresses.


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

You're Welcome!


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## AUFAITHFUL (Nov 30, 2009)

I agree


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