# My first self-built Router Table - In Progress (Help needed)



## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi out of South Africa!

Over the last 2 years I have been watching, reading and contimplating building my own router-table. Being a South African and working for a NPO (Non Profit Organization) I had a VERY limited budget. (I work for the Bible Society of SA).

So, with this in mind, I wanted the best my limited budget could afford, with the best feature. I found a second-hand Triton router (I think it was used 4 times!) and decided to start my project with this machine. (I have had it about a year now, never used it  I also could not find a propper router-plate for under $300 in South Africa and can get no company to ship out of Anerica, so decided to go without.

So, my budget in total (After getting the router) was about R400 ($28). This morning I purchaed some MDF (Called Superwood in SA), and did the measurements from my head in the shop. (You will see from the picture following I have made a small mistake ) I also wanted a fence that moved easily, so with this in mind here follows the pictures of where I am so-far...

1. MDF cut to size.
2. I used roller-ball drawer sliders as choise to mount my fence on.
3. Removing the rubber-bit will stop the slider from clicking into place.
4. a picure of one of the rubbers removed.
5. I glued the MDF part where the slider will be secured into.
6. oops, an overlap that I will have to cut off once done.
7,8,9,10. Waiting for the glue to set I start to assemble the fence.
11. behind the fence I will eventually have a knob to secure the fence down.

So far, everything is looking like it is going to plan. Tomorrow I will drill a big hole into to top square that the router will be secured onto. The bottom of the table will be cut to insert the router into, thus only using one layer of MDF as my Router-Plate. (At a later stage I could always route the table to fit a plate...) I will also, once complete take the table to my local wood cutting shop and re-cut a 3mm (I don't know how much this will be in inches) to get a real smooth edge. To protect the edge I will then stick a thin beam of pine onto it.

Questions:
1. Do I have to paint or treat the MDF?
2. Will the MDF be strong enough to hold the Router for a fair amount of time?
3. I wanted a 'sled' effect to enable me to cut real nice looking box-joints. Is this the best way of doing it with my budget in mind?

I know over time I will end up with problems using the ball-bearing drawer sliders, but can (1) clean them or (2) replace them They were cheap enough...

Kind regards
Aubrey Kloppers
Cape Town
South Africa
ps - I did not know how to post the picture inline...
ps2 - I will keep you updated with pictures as I go along...
ps3 - I have never worked with a router, but am very envious of good box-joints


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Hello : Aubrey, Welcome to the forum! Glad you found us. If You Came up with that plan at work, and cut it out by memory, You have a great memory. I think that I would have two layers of MDF for the top. You want it to stay flat. I have never seen the drawer slides used on the top before. My guess is that You are trying to make a fence that moves easy for cutting the box joints? I hope that it all goes well for You. Do You have a way to isolate the fence? It must not move at all when doing edge work or any routing operations. I am going to give You a shortcut to MLCS which has a lot of videos on it. Hope that helps. http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/ You may have to look for them, but there videos that will help You see the use of the table, and jigs,etc. Have a great day.


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi Howard. aks for the reply.
(I see you ar from Holland, Congrats on the Socer 2010 world-cup so far!)

Yes, I decided the fence needs more stability and will add another piece of mdf to the bottom of the fence. Once done, I will add stability for fence-work. I have decided to go the 'screw-route' and will add a threaded bar with nuts to secure the back ro an upright, which will give me very fine-tuning of the fence. I will add pictures as I go along, as the entire top is getting very interesting (In my head. )

Kind regards
Aubrey


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

PS - I am using 2 layers of MDF, one to mount the router onto and one to mount the router into.

(I hope this makes sense...)


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi Triton users.

To mount the router onto a table, do I remove the black plastic plate? (See picture)

Kind regards
Aubrey


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi Guys,
Here is the next bit of the fence about to be glued.

Cheers
Aubrey


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## xvimbi (Sep 29, 2009)

First, interesting idea to use drawer slides as guides for the router. You may indeed find that wood chips and sawdust get into the mechanism over time and clog it up. The deep channels in the table top may also cause your work to snag. But if the table is designed for specific purposes, this might work just fine.

In any case, I think, the cheapest option for a sled would be to use a design that utilizes the edge (or both edges) of the table as the guide. You'd have to make sure though that the table is perfectly square. Next would be a sled that uses a guide bushing on the router as a tracking mechanism. The advantage here is that it's not dependent on the direction of travel. Similar would be to use the fence itself as the guide for a sled. The most common (but not necessarily the 'best') approach is to have a miter track on the table top and to use a sled that engages the miter track. Again, the miter track needs to be absolutely square.

Yes, I would treat the MDF. Use sanding sealer, some left-over polyurethane or similar, or certain kinds of wax to treat both sides and all edges; essentially anything where moisture could enter.

Do remove the base plate. It would further limit how high you can move your bit up through the top.

To make the top more stable, you can screw a frame or a full-fledged torsion box to it. This thread will show you lots of designs that you could use for inspiration. http://www.routerforums.com/table-mounted-routing/17212-wanted-pictures-your-table.html

Cheers! MM


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Thank You for replying. I have to correct where I live. I live in Holland Michigan, USA ! Thank You I am sure that I still have relatives living there. I think You will be glad that You will be making the fence more stable. A much better idea


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

In the following pictures, 
1. The table is about to be married with the top.
2. The underside of the table where the router will fit into.

Very impressed with myself, as I have said I have never worked with a router and the bottom bit of the table I routed myself! The first cut!


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

ps - My next thing is to have all the edges cut square and then, my friend is the owner of BushCraft Trading - Africa under one Roof and he said he will spray the top for me with a kind of varnish, that will give it a better finish/life-span.

ps2 - Thanx dutchman  I am called a dutchment in South Africa because of me speaking a dialect of Dutch/Netherlands


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

ps2 - sorry my friend is the owner of Bushcraft - have a look, most interesting furnish designs...


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

cyber7 said:


> Very impressed with myself, as I have said I have never worked with a router and the bottom bit of the table I routed myself! The first cut!


Hey Aubrey:

Wonderful feeling, isn't it?

Welcome to the forums!

Cassandra


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

cyber7 said:


> Hi Triton users.
> 
> To mount the router onto a table, do I remove the black plastic plate? (See picture)
> 
> ...


I would remove the bottom plate and use this as a template to set the position of the mounting screws.

You will have to find the screws in a longer length as they will have to go through the table (countersunk from the top)

So they will need to be at least 20/25mm long.

James


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi James
Thank you very much for your reply. I did go and buy some screws (after much hunting, as we use metric not imperial) today.

My question is, after drilling the holes out, do I then re-attatch the black plastic plate as part of the assembly or do I leave it out?

As an update:
I took the top this morning to a friend of mine who has a woodworking firm to neaten the sides and then to give it a varnish finish. Can't wait for it  (as it has been almost a year since I found my router!)

Cheers from a nice and warm Cape Town (It is winter in South Africa)
Aubrey


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

cyber7 said:


> Hi James
> Thank you very much for your reply. I did go and buy some screws (after much hunting, as we use metric not imperial) today.
> 
> My question is, after drilling the holes out, do I then re-attatch the black plastic plate as part of the assembly or do I leave it out?
> ...


Hi Aubrey,

I would leave the plate off.
1. you don't want a slippery surface between your router and the table when you screw down the router.

2. depending on the thickness between the bottom of the router and the top of the table you may have reduced bit exposure and also may have difficulty in bringing the bit high enough to expose the collet for above table cutter changes.

This is why most members, and myself, seem to recommend a router plate in the table.

I attach a photo of my Triton in the Oak park table, with their plate. You can see what exposure you have with even a 1/4" plate. You may not have enough.

James


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi James.

Thank you for the reply.

I was wondering about the black-plate and will leave it off. I have done some prelimanary testing and I will have just enough exposure of the nut to change the bits. I must say, the Triton is a very nice machine. I have seen some bosch and makita machines that do not come close to the strenth and quietness of the machine.

The first time I switched it on, I thought I would have to get some kind of ear-muffler, but it is much quieter than any other machine I've heard 

Have a great day
Aubrey


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Hello cyber7 
I am impressed by the post that You have made. That is an excellent thing to do. I would recommend that You use a camera, and post Your progress on a project on the Project plans and how to. It is located on the forum jump on the bottom of the page. That way, people will be able to see Your work, and Your progress, and it is a great way to teach us all about Your work! Thanks for all Your post!


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi Howard (And others following this project)

I got my top back last-night. The excess was trimmed then it was cut (2mm) on all the sides to get it square, then it was sanded and the edges was taken-down (I know there is a word for it, but can't get to it now) to make them dull. All and all looking good.

This weekend I am starting to design my work-bench. It will be in 2 pieces, 2meter (6foot) then a space to add my router-counter then 2meter.

I will send pictures as I go along.

Kind regards and thank you for all the interest.
Aubrey
Cape Town
South Africa


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## dougop (Jul 2, 2010)

the nice thing about using a Triton router in your table is the above-the-table height adjustment ( your Triton came with the crank, didn't it ? ) Definitely remove the original bottom plate ! Also, as MDF is not very strong, watch closely your fastening bolts/ screws for breakout/pull through. Check your MDF top regularly for sag from the weight. I hope you sealed all the MDF surfaces-otherwise some shape change is inevitable. Keep your eyes open for an old cast iron table saw top...it would be a serious upgrade from MDF. I'm using a triton router, a cast iron pioneer table, and an old craftsmen split router fence. Compared to my old homemade top and fence, results are amazingly accurate- finger joints at 48 per inch, no prob ! If your fence is rigid enough, add a finger board to the fence for holding work down.


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## cyber7 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi Doug
No, what is this çrank'you are talking about?

UDATE:
Over the last two weeks I constructed my work-bench to mount the router-table onto. I also sealed the MDF and here is the mock-setup of the table(s).









You will notice that the entire workshop has to fit into a garage, so space is very limited. 

Yesterday I installed the two tables and I will start the mounting of the Router Table.

I can't wait for the completion to start my first project!

Kind regards
Aubrey


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## dougop (Jul 2, 2010)

sorry for the late reply, on a trip right now. My Triton came with an aluminum and plastic crank long enough to reach through a router table, connecting to the height adjustment mechanism. Though I had to drill through the cast table to use it, the ability to make quick accurate height adjustments is invaluable. If your router has a hole through the base, off center, about 3/8" diameter, that's probably for the crank. As the end of the crank has a simple slot in it, making your own would be straightforward. To get an accurate location for the table access hole, use a transfer punch.


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