# Making your own base plate - Question??



## mountain monkey (Aug 17, 2008)

Goodmorning everyone! (Good Afternoon/Evening/Night elsewhere) Ok, a buddy gave me a whole sheet of 3/8" Lucite acrylic, and I'm ready to make my very first sub bases for my routers. The only problem is that I don't have a drill press. Any suggestions for getting it right on the center hole and recess cuts? Maybe I can cut the 1 3/16" first and then make a rabbet cut for the recess instead of using two hole saws or forstner bits. Whaddaya think?

Thanks in advance,

Josh the Marine


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Josh

Ask a mate if you can use a drill press they have, it's a quick job on the drill press but without one you are going to make some real nice scrap.

The holes MUST be dead on not to say anything about the mounting holes to bolt it to the router....
You can buy a a desk top drill press cheap,not a high end one but they are OK for the small jobs like this...
The last time I checked on one it was 60.oo bucks...

Think of it as one tank of gas..  but you will still have it in a year or two.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44506

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Just a NOTE***

This is how I make them,,, 
Cut you stock into a 8" x 8" square, then draw a line from corner to corner, this will give you a center point,then put some scrap on the drill press and chuck up a 1/8" drill bit, drill the 1/8" hole then take off the router base plate, pull out a 1/4" brass guide, then pull out a drill bit that just fits the inside of the guide,, now chuck up the drill bit a drill the center hole out with the same bit.
Once you have the hole drilled out put the base on top of the new base plate with the guide in place.
Push the bit down in to the guide and masking tape the base plate to the new plate.
Now remove the drill bit and drill out the mounting holes, then put the drill bit back into the drill press and line up the holes with the guide still in the hole and reclamp the parts down to the drill press, then remove the bit and the brass guide, and the old base plate then drill the bigger holes 1st,besure to set the stop, the hole must be dead on and flush,,, then remove the big bit and drill out the 1 3/16" hole......

You now have made a new base plate and you can do it the same way to make a new router table base plates.

The router base plates can be square and they are the best to bolt on the router base...other than round one...you will need to take my word for that until you use one a time or two...

Hope this helps.. 

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mountain monkey said:


> Goodmorning everyone! (Good Afternoon/Evening/Night elsewhere) Ok, a buddy gave me a whole sheet of 3/8" Lucite acrylic, and I'm ready to make my very first sub bases for my routers. The only problem is that I don't have a drill press. Any suggestions for getting it right on the center hole and recess cuts? Maybe I can cut the 1 3/16" first and then make a rabbet cut for the recess instead of using two hole saws or forstner bits. Whaddaya think?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Josh the Marine


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Josh, you have no idea yet of the value of this forum. Members here help each other. Drill a 1/4" hole centered in your material. Put a piece of 1/4" bar stock in your router then into the hole and lower your router to the material. Carefully mark the sub base OD onto your material and cut to size. Remove the sub base plate from your router and using the holes as a template transfer them to the material. Drill and countersink the holes as needed. Now everything is done except for the guide bushing holes. One of our members will cut the holes for you on a drill press. Get their address, make a label and put it on a padded shipping envelope. Visit the post office and buy postage for both ways; one on the outside and the other inside for the return trip. This will be a couple dollars well spent. If nobody closer volunteers I live just outside of Detroit and will be happy to help you.


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