# Finished my table saw extension router table.



## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

Hi everyone, I am new to posting but have been browsing for some time. Thanks to all the information that I found on this forum, I finally completed my router table. I attached it to my table saw, primarily because of the space issue in my garage. However, I am happy with the final result. It took a lot of head scratching. It is 1 1/2 " mdf (2- 3/4 sheets glued together). The table base is 20 x 27. I used angle iron to extend the rails to accomadate the weight of the table. There's a couple of personal signature marks (oops) on it, but for my first trial I think it will do the work.


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## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

Very nice job! and welcome to the forums.


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## Gap_308 (May 2, 2009)

Well done. I'm working that direction also. Does it feel stable out there or are you going to add legs ?


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

I've used it a couple times so far and it feels stable. However, I have considered legs, and probably will add them, just to be on the safe side.


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

WOW nice job that is outstanding. Where did you get the components? I really like the fence. I like the way you did the front edge with wood, which gives it such a finished look. I am kind of partial to the finished look as I have all my tops finished that way.


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## Gap_308 (May 2, 2009)

I've looked into the store bought stands for mine also and they are pricey. The build your own from Delta looks pretty good, check this out.

"SuperStation - Chapter 4 - Making the Mobile Insert Table"                                 Page 10


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Nice job Mike. A great looking table. Give yourself a pat on the back.


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## Mike Wingate (Apr 26, 2009)

Nice job! Where did you get the fence extrusion from? Details please.


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

xplorx4 said:


> WOW nice job that is outstanding. Where did you get the components? I really like the fence. I like the way you did the front edge with wood, which gives it such a finished look. I am kind of partial to the finished look as I have all my tops finished that way.


Thanks, for the compliment. I ordered the plate and tracks from Rockler. The found the fence hiding beneath some other stuff at Harbor Freight. I really wasn't expecting much, but it turned out to be pretty decent. There's also a on/off bump switch that's hiding under the table. I found that at Sears.

The wood edge was put on for a couple of reasons. First, I saw so many tables on thsi site that had them trimmed out with wood, and liked it. On the practical side, I figured it would help me keep from chipping the corner of the laminate. Also, I thought it would act as a stiffener, to help prevent the table from sagging, over time. I also added a couple of stiffeners on the bottom of the table as well. The bottom of the table is not laminated, BUT, I put a couple coats of polyurethane on it to keep it from moisture and humidity.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Welcome, Mike! Very nice job on the table. I used the Harbor Freight fence on my drill press table and it worked out really well.


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

Looks seckseh' !


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Very nice. Professional job.
Looks to be very versatile also.
Great job!


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Great job, Mike.

Welcome to the land of the posters.

James


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## Noob (Apr 18, 2009)

bygolly said:


> Thanks, for the compliment. I ordered the plate and tracks from Rockler. The found the fence hiding beneath some other stuff at Harbor Freight. I really wasn't expecting much, but it turned out to be pretty decent. There's also a on/off bump switch that's hiding under the table. I found that at Sears.
> 
> The wood edge was put on for a couple of reasons. First, I saw so many tables on thsi site that had them trimmed out with wood, and liked it. On the practical side, I figured it would help me keep from chipping the corner of the laminate. Also, I thought it would act as a stiffener, to help prevent the table from sagging, over time. I also added a couple of stiffeners on the bottom of the table as well. The bottom of the table is not laminated, BUT, I put a couple coats of polyurethane on it to keep it from moisture and humidity.


I'm confused.  

Xplorx4 replied to magicman, the thread starter. Then bygolly replies to xplorx4 as if bygolly is magicman. Bygolly only has 1 post at the moment, the reply in this thread.

Are you magicman's alter ego or what? Just curious...


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Mighty fine job. It looks great, and you should get great service from the table. You can be real proud of that Looks boughten


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

Noob said:


> I'm confused.
> 
> Xplorx4 replied to magicman, the thread starter. Then bygolly replies to xplorx4 as if bygolly is magicman. Bygolly only has 1 post at the moment, the reply in this thread.
> 
> Are you magicman's alter ego or what? Just curious...


Bygolly, your right. Evidently, I did not remember registering as "magicman" in Jan., so I registered as "bygolly". However, when I went to the forum at my work computer, it recognized me as "magicman". That is where I started the post. When I got home, I went to check my post, and my home computer recognized me as "bygolly". And the story goes on from there.
Sorry, for making things confusing by registering twice. From now on I will sign in under "Bygolly". In llight of what I did, I don't think I merit the name "magicman" quite yet.


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## hardwoodjoint (Feb 12, 2009)

Really nice work,

When I get the time I'm going to copy your ideas.

Cheers
Tony


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## Billat908 (Jun 25, 2009)

Really nice looking table! 



bygolly said:


> I also added a couple of stiffeners on the bottom of the table as well.


Good idea. MDF needs all the help it can get, particularly where the gorrve for the tracks weaken it. 



> The bottom of the table is not laminated, BUT, I put a couple coats of polyurethane on it to keep it from moisture and humidity.


Another good idea. MDF really sucks moisture out of the air in some environments if you let it.


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## Billat908 (Jun 25, 2009)

Gap_308 said:


> Well done. I'm working that direction also. Does it feel stable out there or are you going to add legs ?





magicman said:


> I've used it a couple times so far and it feels stable. However, I have considered legs, and probably will add them, just to be on the safe side.


I am considering mounting my table on my elderly Rockler 12" Contractor saw, as well. My saw is on the old Rockwell Acme threaded casters for mobility. When I raise the wheels, it is pretty stable, owing to its great mass. But I am considering running a diagonal tubular brace from each outer corner of the table to a bottom corner of the saw base for rigidity. But, that could be overkill. 

Any thoughts on that?


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## falk (Jul 24, 2009)

Very nice. I made one from plans in Woodsmith, but it didn't come out nearly this nicely. I also had trouble making it level with the rest of the table saw.


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

falk said:


> Very nice. I made one from plans in Woodsmith, but it didn't come out nearly this nicely. I also had trouble making it level with the rest of the table saw.


When I drilled the holes in the angle iron used for the extension, I drilled them slightly larger so I would be able to adjust the height slightly. It took alot of head scratching to figure everything out, and would have done a couple things differently. However, the slightly larger holes allowed for enough adjustment to have the table flush with the saw table.

Here's one problem I am having that I haven't figured out a fix as of yet. Maybe someone could help. I noticed that the weight of my router is causing my baseplate to be slightly bowed. I am not sure how to remedy this. It's not much, but I would think that it shouldn't bow at all. Any thoughts. It's a standard 1/2" thick plate.


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

P.S. - All the comments about the good ideas and such. Actually, I got all of those good ideas from this forum. Thanks guys, you are a wealth of good ideas and information.


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## Billat908 (Jun 25, 2009)

bygolly said:


> I noticed that the weight of my router is causing my baseplate to be slightly bowed. I am not sure how to remedy this. It's not much, but I would think that it shouldn't bow at all. Any thoughts. It's a standard 1/2" thick plate.


1/2" thick Plexi? Micarta? Phenolic? Lexan?

The obvious (but expensive) answer is a metal plate. Next is support the plate on each side of the router base. A pair of adjustable threaded things, perhaps. Or, a compression spring that would support the router itself. Not all of its weight, just most of it. The spring would still allow the router to go up and down, and be easily removable.


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

magicman said:


> Hi everyone, I am new to posting but have been browsing for some time. Thanks to all the information that I found on this forum, I finally completed my router table. I attached it to my table saw, primarily because of the space issue in my garage. However, I am happy with the final result. It took a lot of head scratching. It is 1 1/2 " mdf (2- 3/4 sheets glued together). The table base is 20 x 27. I used angle iron to extend the rails to accomadate the weight of the table. There's a couple of personal signature marks (oops) on it, but for my first trial I think it will do the work.


Well done! I like how you did your table. I will be doing my in the near future.


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

Billat908 said:


> 1/2" thick Plexi? Micarta? Phenolic? Lexan?
> 
> The obvious (but expensive) answer is a metal plate. Next is support the plate on each side of the router base. A pair of adjustable threaded things, perhaps. Or, a compression spring that would support the router itself. Not all of its weight, just most of it. The spring would still allow the router to go up and down, and be easily removable.


It's a phenolic plate. I was thinking about backing it up with a sheet of 1/4 inch plexi to stiffen it up. Not sure if it would work.


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

The next TS extension Table you build you may want to consider using Baltich Birch 3/4" and use 2 layers giving you 1 1/2" thickness. Next I would consider then adding both to the top and bottom laminate to protect the table from moisture. Do not forget about the sides either.

Just my thoughts hope you don't mind me adding my two cents.


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

TRN_Diesel said:


> The next TS extension Table you build you may want to consider using Baltich Birch 3/4" and use 2 layers giving you 1 1/2" thickness. Next I would consider then adding both to the top and bottom laminate to protect the table from moisture. Do not forget about the sides either.
> 
> Just my thoughts hope you don't mind me adding my two cents.


Comments are always welcome. Two cents worth of good ideas can make a man rich.


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## Billat908 (Jun 25, 2009)

bygolly said:


> It's a phenolic plate. I was thinking about backing it up with a sheet of 1/4 inch plexi to stiffen it up. Not sure if it would work.


WOW...1/2 inch phenolic bends. Whose is it? How heavy is the router? Now you've got ME worried about my own phenolic plate.  ............I wonder if the manufacturers who drill them full of _fit-everything_ holes could be weakening them a little. 

I'm gonna guess your plate is supported at four corners. How about an adjustable support in the middle of each long side? You would just snug it up after the others were adjusted. Or, with the corners adjusted, wax the plate and lay it in a gob of epoxy putty there. 

Since that is not a corner, there would have to be a little strengthening of the table lip there to take the sag force. Saturating that area with thin CA really makes a difference if it is MDF. I did a little break-it experiment and found that CA-soaked MDF was quite a bit stronger. I didn't have any phenolic to compare, but the difference was astounding. I use Kwik Bond 1 from Hobby Shack/Lobby/People. 

The plate could be strengthened a couple of ways. I don't know what router you use, but I'm gonna guess that the base mounts to the plate by three screws, relatively inboard. If your base has four outboard screw holes, using them for extra screws to the plate would allow the base to strengthen the plate. ......Another way to strengthen the plate would be to JB some metal angle on one or both sides along the long dimension, close to the router base. That could interfere with bit changing, depending on whether or not you remove the motor for that operation now. 

How about making your own aluminum plate? I used to cut up to 1/2" 7075T6 aluminum plate on a table saw with a carbide blade and a very slow feed. I jury rigged a screw feed to my fence using threaded rod and a knob to assure a smooth, even and slow feed. Anything else hurts the blade. Chips fly everywhere, so do it outside, wear a heavy shirt and good goggles. And earmuffs.


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

I'm not sure what brand plate it is. I bought it a while back. I was going for price when I bought it...hmmm, me thinks I'll have to remember this when I get my next plate. I have a Ridgid router. I guess it could be considered heavy. 
The plate is 1/2" thick, however, the area that rests on the support rail is only 1/4" thick. Sort of like a lap joint, I guess. Like I mentioned, it only has a very slight sag, but it is too much for me. Initially, It was supported by the adjustment screws at the corners, but I did away with that, and used shims. 

I like the idea of running some angle iron rails along the length. As a matter of fact, I picked up some 1/2" aluminum angle iron earlier today. I don't think it should interfere with bit change out since I remove the motor from the plate to do that.


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

Well, the mystery with the plate is solved. It ends up that the plate itself was warped. I removed everything and put a straight edge across the plate and it still had a bow in it. I went with the idea of running two 1/2" aluminum angle irons across both side of the length and now it is totally flat. I never thought to check it out of the package. Must of been a manufacturing issue.

Now it's time to finish my project (doors for my wife's storage cabinets).


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## Duane867 (Oct 25, 2008)

That's what I would have suggested


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## TRN_Diesel (Feb 24, 2009)

bygolly said:


> Well, the mystery with the plate is solved. It ends up that the plate itself was warped. I removed everything and put a straight edge across the plate and it still had a bow in it. I went with the idea of running two 1/2" aluminum angle irons across both side of the length and now it is totally flat. I never thought to check it out of the package. Must of been a manufacturing issue.
> 
> Now it's time to finish my project (doors for my wife's storage cabinets).


Well done on solving your problem. It is amazning what a person can do when they sit down and analyse a problem to come up with a solution. 

P.S. Usually is a really simple solution lol like you found out. I never take anything for granted I always check thisngs out that are new and make sure they are correct. (i.e. buying a new hand plane you would think the sole would be flat and true but not true- unless you buy the expensive ones like a Veritas or Lee Nielson)


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## Pigpopper (Sep 20, 2009)

Very nice and functional without using up valuable space. Do you know a good source to buy mounting plates to fit various routers?


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## hardwoodjoint (Feb 12, 2009)

Nice job Dane.
Happy routing!

Tony


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## pacodelrio (Sep 15, 2009)

excellent idea, congratulations, a request to provide more data as you used material, the weight your router, such as supporting the table, and more pictures please elaborate thanks and congratulations


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## Old_Chipper (Mar 30, 2009)

Good job!
I'm pretty sure your plate is from Harbor Freight  Yours looks just like mine. And same colorfull inserts, Mine was cupped too. 
Harry


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## ArTrvlr (Aug 22, 2009)

bygolly said:


> Thanks, for the compliment. *I ordered the plate and tracks from Rockler*. The found the fence hiding beneath some other stuff at Harbor Freight.


According to this post, the plate came from Rockler...


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

If I recall Rockler sales the Rousseau plates as well,it looks almost the same as the HF one..

Rousseau plate

Amazon.com: MLCS 9338 All-In-one Router Plate Kit: Home Improvement
Amazon.com: Rousseau 3509 9-Inch x 12-Inch x 3/8-Inch Deluxe Router Base Plate: Home Improvement
Amazon.com: BOSCH RA1250 Router Mounting Plate for RA1200 Router Table - Undrilled With Hardware: Home Improvement
========


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

To tell you the truth, I can't remember if I ordered the plate from Rockler or Harbor Freight. All I know is that at the time I was trying to get what I needed, while keeping the the cost down. Well, I opted for an inexpensive plate that I got online. And as you can tell from my previous posts, that was the thing that caused me the most problem, since it ended up having a slight convex bow in it.
Moving to the present. The other day I removed my router and plate to change out a bit (this is the way I do it). When I placed it back in the hole, one corner of my router plate cracked. I couldn't figure out how this could have happened, since I've never dropped it or anything. The only thing I thought of was..."That's what I get for sacrificing quality to save a buck". Anyway, I ran over to Rockler and picked up one of their aluminum plates: flat a a piece of glass, and I'm sure better than the one I had. However, it did not measure the same as the one I had, so I had to do some modifications on the table. Oh boy! It wasn't too bad. Anyway, the end result was that I ended up with a better table than I originally had.

The moral of this post. If you want quality...buy quality.


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## bygolly (Jan 4, 2009)

Oops, I made a slight error in my previous post. I said my old plate had a convex bow in it. I meant to say that it had a "concave" bow.


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## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

Nice job!! Space can be at a premium for a lot of us and your solution is a good one.

And I agree with you. Sometimes it is just better to bite the bullet and spend a little extra to get it right.

I hope you get years of service from your project and enjoy every minute doing it.


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## Melvin (Oct 30, 2009)

Nice job, this looks very simular to what I want to do. I want a 36" long table between a biesemeyer fence with a cabinet uneder the router and on casters. Did you use a router lift, if so what kind and are you happy with it. Thanks, Mel


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## curlie jones (Feb 2, 2012)

'area with thin CA really makes a difference if it is MDF. I did a little break-it experiment and found that CA-soaked MDF was quite a bit stronger. '

I know it's an old thread, but what the heck is CA? I don't expect mdf to be spelled out, but some clarification helps... and help is the ideas here right?


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