# Where to position the baseplate



## Calvin222 (Feb 15, 2006)

Hi All - I have decided to build myself a basic router table based loosely on the design of the table used on the RWS. After having seen a few episodes of the show I became hooked on the simplicity of that table and what it could accomplish. 

I was thinking of building a top sized at either 18" x 24" or 18" x 30". I have an aluminum baseplate that is 9" x 11" which I would like to use. What are your thoughts on the placement of the baseplate? I am particularly in interested in where the center of the plate should be located (dead center of the table or offset to one side) and how I should position the plate given that it is rectangular and not square.

My thought was that if I go with the smaller table I should center the plate at 12 inches on the long edge and 9 on the short (basically centered on the top). If I go with the larger table I was thinking that the plate would be centered on the short edge and placed 12 inches in from the left side on the long edge, leaving 18 inches to the right. 

I noticed that the table in the RWS has the plate set to the left of center on the long side and it appears to be centered on the short side. What is the benefit of offsetting the plate vs. centering it on the table?

Thanks in advance for helping guide a newbie in the right direction!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Calvin222

That's a good question,,,I think they set it up that way to leave room for the bit storage/storage for parts/tools etc. on the right side...if I was going to use a 9" x 12" plate I would run it the long way on the short end on the top...but I would not use a Alum.plate they do put marks on the wood that are hard to get out..  plus you can use a short fence that will save a buck on the fence..total...
Just as note,,, you can get a 9 x 12 phenolic plate for only 20.oo bucks with the snap in rings.......

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94331
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Calvin222 said:


> Hi All - I have decided to build myself a basic router table based loosely on the design of the table used on the RWS. After having seen a few episodes of the show I became hooked on the simplicity of that table and what it could accomplish.
> 
> I was thinking of building a top sized at either 18" x 24" or 18" x 30". I have an aluminum baseplate that is 9" x 11" which I would like to use. What are your thoughts on the placement of the baseplate? I am particularly in interested in where the center of the plate should be located (dead center of the table or offset to one side) and how I should position the plate given that it is rectangular and not square.
> 
> ...


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

I would agree with BJ, get your plate from HF. My table is 32"X46" why so big? I had a top that wasn't doing any thing so I put it to work, same with the cabinets. I use this table for a run out table at the table saw or as a work station. My router comes out so easily and then I have a plain phenolic piece I put in the hole.


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

Since you have a plate, I doubt you'll be wanting to buy another one soon. I prefer to put mine on the left side of the table, about in the middle from front to back. That leaves room to support the stock in the front and infeed side, and the fence in the back.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

I'd suggest giving some thought to the nature of the work you'll be doing on the table before deciding on the table size and location of the mounting plate. You'll want good support for the size of work pieces you'll be most frequently dealing with, and on both infeed and outfeed sides. And, you'll want enough table to the back side of the plate to accommodate the fence guides. Although a lot of work positions the bit in, or near the fence, there are operations (dadoes, for example) where the bit is well in front of the fence. 

So, while a larger table is more versatile (to a point), the bit-to-front edge distance should allow you to reach the fence line without stretching or straining too much. That aspect, along with whether the router table will also be used as a table-saw outfeed surface, should govern the height of the table surface.


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## kolias (Dec 26, 2008)

Although I don’t have a lot of experience with routers, I would say that the location of your plate is not that critical. From the practical point of view I would say that it’s better to locate the plate a couple of inches off center towards the front; this way you will have the bit closer to you for final adjustments. Regarding the left / right location, it depends where the fence will be located; if you like to have the fence on your right, then locate the plate 2” to 4” off center to the right. This way you will have more room on the left side of the fence – where all the work will be done. The space behind the fence is a wasted space and I will keep it to the minimum.

The snap-in rings a phenolic plate provides are indispensable. Latter on you will find that you need these rings to adjust the opening around the bit. You did not mention the thickness of the 9”x 11” aluminum base plate you have. Is this a leftover plate from other projects or is made for routers? If not you will have to think how you will center your router over this plate and accurately drill the required mounting holes.

Down the line you will definitely need one or more base plates. I just started in routing and I already have 3 base plates. One phenolic and 2 clear acrylics. One of my acrylic plates is just a round base and it helps me see my work under the plate. The other one is an offset base plate which helps you to balance your router along edge work.

Hope the above will provide you with some guidance in your work

Nicolas


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Don't the RWS guys have their plates in the center of their fenceless table tops?

This will be your 1st table and from this you'll decide what to improve on the 2nd table a few yrs down the road.

A couple things to consider when placing the base plate.

There's a point where the size of your project will be too big for safe and easy handling on the table, so a table size of 24X32 is common.

If your building from scratch is the table supported by a big empty box or are you constructing a cabinet with drawers or shelves? Placement of the base plate will be regulated by the confines of the box/cab.

There are few logical reasons to place stock between bit and fence, so if there are no front to back limitations within cabinet or box the edge of the plate could sit 5 or 6" from the back

Table height is just as important, It should be regulated by your height not some square peg dogma.


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## kolias (Dec 26, 2008)

Jerry, you have a very nice table but it’s not clear to me which is the front side……

Picture #2 shows the miter track on the right hand side and 3 drawer handles on the front left

Picture #4 shows the miter track on the left and 3 drawer handles on the right

Do you have half drawers on both front & back ends of your table?

Just curious


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## Calvin222 (Feb 15, 2006)

Thanks to all of you for your input.

I hadn't realized that the aluminum could cause marking of the wood. That would drive me nuts so back it goes! I'll most likely get the plate from HF.

The reason I had been shying towards a smaller table was because I have a severe lack of space in which to store it. Most of my work is done in the backyard rather in a dedicated shop and the table needs to be portable since I will move it from the shed to the work area when needed and it will not serve as an outfeed table. However, it seems as if a top in the 18" x 24" range would provide much less flexibility than something larger. That being said, I now find myself leaning towards a larger top (18x30 or 24x32) with an overall height of about 20" or so.

Right now I am still feeling out what my needs are which is why I had been focused on the simplicity of the table on the RWS. I was thinking about adding a bank of drawers on the right side (which would give more weight to the argument for the larger table, I guess). Ultimately I would like to take a shot at making some file cabinets and storage for the office, including some frame and panel doors.

Lets assume that I decide to go with the 24x32 table top with a bank of drawers on the right side. It seems as if I would be okay setting the long edge of the plate parellel to the short edge of the table with the middle of the plate centered along the short edge. What about the positioning from left to right? What would be a good distance to position the center of the plate from the left edge? Would 12" suffice or should there be more/less? I realize that the final placement is a product of how wide I decide to make the drawers.

Also, are there any benefits to having a square plate mounted in the table vs a rectangular one?


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Calvin222


" are there any benefits to having a square plate mounted in the table vs a rectangular one?"

Yes , many routers have handles and it can be a PITA to get them to drop in a 11" x 11" hole without taking the handles off the router..you can always just turn them but a pain..

I can't say to much about the size of the top, that's up to you  

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Calvin222 said:


> Thanks to all of you for your input.
> 
> I hadn't realized that the aluminum could cause marking of the wood. That would drive me nuts so back it goes! I'll most likely get the plate from HF.
> 
> ...


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

Here's what I did with mine.
This gives me room to use the fence on the back or side, plus I have room to position stock before cutting. The area on the right also makes it possible to have my push blocks immediately available ny leaving them on the table top.


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

A couple of additional thoughts with respect to minimizing storage space. There's nothing in the rule book that says the top needs to be permanently affixed to the cabinet. it just needs to be solid once in position. Since it's a good idea to remove the plate-mounted router from the top when not in use, that also makes it easy to either hinge the top or make it removeable for storage. You might, for example, have little arms extending from the base of the cabinet upon which the top could rest in a vertical position.

In my view, plate material and thickness is a function of the size and weight of the router. Thicker plates will resist flexing under the weight of the router better than thin ones. Raw alyuminum will mark the material, but powder-coated or annodized aluminum typically won't - as long as the surface treatment isn't worn. Waxing the plate can also help. Naturally, one must also pay attention to the maximum bit size the plate will accommodate - especially if you might be doing rail and stile joints with the huge horizontal bits. A large hole with adapter inserts is good.


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

AxlMyk
Nice looking table, is that a gate on the vac line entering the cabinet?

My table is removable, I use 1" dowels at the top of the 4 corner legs of the frame, (cabinet enclosure), with matching holes on the underside of the table. The table, cabinet and frame can be separated and used individually or in combination. I have cleats and dense rubber hold downs on 3 ext. sides and 2 int. 

In case I misunderstood Mr. Barker, I lift or lower the unit without messing with the table, I push up from inside the cabinet to free it. When I had the 7539 in the table I lifted it out when not in use to relax the plunge spring. Since I moved to the Bench dog lift I leave the motor in the cabinet .


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Ghidrah said:


> AxlMyk
> In case I misunderstood Mr. Barker, I lift or lower the unit without messing with the table, I push up from inside the cabinet to free it. When I had the 7539 in the table I lifted it out when not in use to relax the plunge spring. Since I moved to the Bench dog lift I leave the motor in the cabinet .


Sounds like your setup works well for you, Ronald.

Since Calvin is concerned about the storage space that the (usually assembled) table will consume, I thought I'd point out that having the table removable from the cabinet might solve part of his problem. Remove the router and plate, remove the top, and he has a flat board that can be stored against the front of the cabinet. The router and plate can go in the dust chamber.

When the router is mounted in a lift, that complicates things, of course.


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

here is a sketchup of the router table im building

its based on a cabinet i found at a garage sale and im using the RWS table as a guide on where to locate the plate and type of fence ill be using. my motto is keep it simple (and cheap!) i like the way the RWS table has extra room on the side to use to change bits or whatever. i dont understand why more people dont use the RWS set up instead of buying high dollar tables and fences

top will be about 22x42 and it will be about 43" tall
top right hand drawer will be for router bits and tools and bottom left drawer is for extra storage for whatever


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## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

In the past the only time I took the table off the frame, (which wasn't often) was to bring it to a job site and set it between 2 horses.

Mr. Gager,
The cabinet image doesn't show any wheels. The cabinet looks very stable with lots of storage


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

Ghidrah said:


> In the past the only time I took the table off the frame, (which wasn't often) was to bring it to a job site and set it between 2 horses.
> 
> Mr. Gager,
> The cabinet image doesn't show any wheels. The cabinet looks very stable with lots of storage


yeah no wheels. i wont be needing to move it around too much but when i do ill just use muscle power


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## Calvin222 (Feb 15, 2006)

I should clarify a bit - I do not intend to build an entire base cabinet on which to place the router table (at least not yet!). Rather, it will be a portable table (if that makes sense) no more than about 20" tall which I will place on top of a workbench/table when needed.

Ghidrah - I like the dowel idea. The more I think about it, the more I would prefer to have a knockdown style table because of the storage issues I have. That way, I could easily put the unassembled carcass in any number of places until needed.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Calvin

Think WorkMate,,, it can support your router top and double as a work bench as well and it will fold up when you don't need it...all that's needed is some blocks on the bottom side of your router table top to lock it in the WORKMATE,don't buy one of the knock off's get the real thing for this job..


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Calvin222 said:


> I should clarify a bit - I do not intend to build an entire base cabinet on which to place the router table (at least not yet!). Rather, it will be a portable table (if that makes sense) no more than about 20" tall which I will place on top of a workbench/table when needed.
> 
> Ghidrah - I like the dowel idea. The more I think about it, the more I would prefer to have a knockdown style table because of the storage issues I have. That way, I could easily put the unassembled carcass in any number of places until needed.


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## Calvin222 (Feb 15, 2006)

Bobj3 - That's EXACTLY what I had been thinking! Especially since I already have one. In fact, I was going to mount my vise and grinder to a plywood base so that I could use them on the workmate as well.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

HI Calvin

I have router tables but I use the workmate all the time for plunge router jobs,, some scrap plywood with block on the back side for clamping and I'm set..then off to the corner with the plywood when I done  it's hard to beat the workmate.. 

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Calvin222 said:


> Bobj3 - That's EXACTLY what I had been thinking! Especially since I already have one. In fact, I was going to mount my vise and grinder to a plywood base so that I could use them on the workmate as well.


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