# best material for the router table top?



## youngwoodwork (Mar 18, 2013)

Im building my own router table and I was just wondering what would be the best material to use as the top and why? Any help would be great thanks


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Connor, two methods are commonly used and they are 1-1/2" thick MDF or 3/4" thick Baltic birch plywood, either way covered top and bottom with a high pressure laminate like Formica or Laminex. I have both types and they both work well. The Formica surface adds rigidity, wears very well, lets your material slide and cleans up with a spray of window cleaner. You can also make reference pencil marks on it that clean right off. Here are two examples.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

I agree with Mike.

I have both the router tables in his post.....


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## cagenuts (May 8, 2010)

Yep, Laminate the surface but _also_ the bottom creating a sandwich of sorts. Try and use the flattest substrate you can find (MDF or good Ply) but not chipboard (particle board) as this does not mill nicely.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Hi Connor

To translate Mike's response to English English, _"Connor, two methods are commonly used and they are 1-1/2" *(38mm)* thick MDF or 3/4" *(18/19mm)* thick birch plywood, either way covered top and bottom with a high pressure laminate like Formica or Laminex (*Laminex is not sold in the UK so far as I know, but the material is generally referred to in the trade as "decorative laminate")*."_

As 38mm plywood can be a bit hard to come by making-up a top from two layers of 18mm MDF (to get a total thickness of 36mmm) works well. If possible go for the green MDF, called MR-MDF (or moisture resistant MDF). It is denser, machines to a better edge and doesn't swell anywhere near as much if left in an unheated shed or garage outdoors for a while

Regards

Phil


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

" best material " = If you can swing it I will suggest Phenolic Router Top With Insert you can use it in the rain or snow and it will stay true, I have two of them are they are dead on and have been that way from the get go...plus you can hang ANY router from it and it's only 3/4" thick...

CMT 999.501.09 Phenolic Router Top With Insert - Amazon.com

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youngwoodwork said:


> Im building my own router table and I was just wondering what would be the best material to use as the top and why? Any help would be great thanks


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## timjea (Mar 28, 2013)

The phenolic sounded good until I saw the price tag!
I found some melamine covered boards at home d then I realized the core was particle board and not mdf. Nither the orange store nor the blue store carry formica sheets that I can find. So I'm guessing I'll need to locate a cabinet shop for that?
Dane


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Dane, ask at the counter where they sell kitchen makeovers. Both stores carry laminate sheets. If you find one that is damaged they will often mark the price down by as much as 50%.


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## timjea (Mar 28, 2013)

I'll do that, thanks for the guidance.


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## Everend (Mar 15, 2013)

I'll be building a new table top soon too. My plan is to use two layers of 3/4" MDF, frame the sides in solid birch edging then laminate both sides with Wilsonart laminate. The laminate I've installed before with contact cement so I assumed that's what to use here too, right? For putting the two MDF layers together and the edging, use regular wood glue, right?

thanks


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## Everend (Mar 15, 2013)

My plan is to build just the top, not a full table. Much of my work is done on the jobsite, so my 'table' needs to fit into the van. Also my garage is short on space so there really is no room for a proper router table. I do have two heavy duty saw horses and 8'x12" torsion boxes that I use for my workspace. The torsion boxes slide around on top the rigid saw horses (the top of each saw horse is 12"x40"). The router will hang down between the torsion boxes when I'm using it in the garage. On the job site the table will set on top two fold up saw horses I keep in the van.


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## johnjbullock (Dec 11, 2010)

I have checked with Home Depot and verified at multiple stores that they no longer carry sheets of formica or wilsonart high pressure laminate. However, Loews does care 4x8 sheets of HPL for approximate $42.00 per sheet. Smooth laminate flooring is considerably cheaper and remnant sizes are available at both stores. Has anyone tried using solid surface, uncushioned, smooth floor laminate for a router table top? This would seem to be a much more available material, which might serve the same purpose as counter top laminates. I am considering this alternative, if someone can confirm that they have successfully used flooring laminate on their router table.


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

johnbullock said:


> I have checked with Home Depot and verified at multiple stores that they no longer carry sheets of formica or wilsonart high pressure laminate. However, Loews does care 4x8 sheets of HPL for approximate $42.00 per sheet. Smooth laminate flooring is considerably cheaper and remnant sizes are available at both stores. Has anyone tried using solid surface, uncushioned, smooth floor laminate for a router table top? This would seem to be a much more available material, which might serve the same purpose as counter top laminates. I am considering this alternative, if someone can confirm that they have successfully used flooring laminate on their router table.


My local HD does have Wilsonart in stock. Whether they will still stock when that sells out I don't know. $68 per sheet though!


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

johnbullock said:


> I have checked with Home Depot and verified at multiple stores that they no longer carry sheets of formica or wilsonart high pressure laminate. However, Loews does care 4x8 sheets of HPL for approximate $42.00 per sheet. Smooth laminate flooring is considerably cheaper and remnant sizes are available at both stores. Has anyone tried using solid surface, uncushioned, smooth floor laminate for a router table top? This would seem to be a much more available material, which might serve the same purpose as counter top laminates. I am considering this alternative, if someone can confirm that they have successfully used flooring laminate on their router table.


Before I went that direction, I would just coat the MDF with Zinsser SealCoat and forget about the laminate. The laminate won't be that durable (relative to formica) and you'll still have the potential moisture/swelling issues in the MDF and the laminate flooring.


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

That set-up worked for me. Later, I mounted two door hinges (with removable pins) on the table that allowed me to temporarily mount the router table to the wall of my garage.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

I just bought a sheet of Formica from my local HD. Store inventory varies by location.


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## Oldmcst (Jun 15, 2013)

I use a 2' X 4' piece of kitchen counter formica that I purchased from Menards. They have various lengths. Lowes and Home Depot may have leftovers too. The top is 1" thick and I back that up with 3/4" MDF. I'm building a new one soon to replace and update my old one. My new 3-1/4 HP Hitachi deserves a new table.


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## Oldmcst (Jun 15, 2013)

OOOOOPSSS. I said 1" thick. It is 3/4" thick!!!


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## tvman44 (Jun 25, 2013)

Most real lumber yards will have Formica & I don;t mean the blue or orange big box store, granted real lumber yards are few and far between now a days thanks to the big box stores. Fortunately we still have one left around here where as we used tu have a dozen or more.


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## JI808 (Aug 7, 2013)

I saw a 1 1/2" birch benchtop (60" x 27") at Woodcraft and chose that for my top, but I wanted a larger, more versatile unit that just a simple router table. 

Woodcraft has a sale on them for $113. Normally $163. 

I was going to make a top from either MDF or ply and use maple on the edges but once I saw the birch top it was cheaper and easier.


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