# Looking for router fence plans



## jnbrown (Apr 14, 2013)

I am nearing completion on building my router table top and need to make a fence.
I was looking at buying a Woodpecker Super Fence but need to save the money for other tools like a new router. Looking for some good plans on building a fence. I have looked at few on Youtube but having no experience with this I don't know which ones are worthwhile. I don't mind paying a reasonable price for some plans, in fact I would prefer to work from plans instead of figuring it out myself, I would rather save the creativity for projects. Here is one example of what I found:

Router Table Fence


Thanks


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## Quillman (Aug 16, 2010)

See Taunton's "Working with Routers", pgs 103-109, e.g.


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

I would suggest you look through the various plans on the net (google "router fence plans"), pick one that looks easy to make and build it. Get some experience using it and then you will have a much better idea what fence number 2 should be. Your first fence could just be a straight length of maple and 2 clamps. Maybe add a DC port.

There is a strong desire in most people to "get it perfect the first time." But that doesn't often happen. Too often what appears to be good on paper doesn't meet your needs or work the way you do. I've bought or built tools that I was sure would help me only to realize that they just don't work that well for me. I'm a fan of going in at a low cost or effort to better understand my needs.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

PhilBa said:


> There is a strong desire in most people to "get it perfect the first time." But that doesn't often happen. Too often what appears to be good on paper doesn't meet your needs or work the way you do. I've bought or built tools that I was sure would help me only to realize that they just don't work that well for me. I'm a fan of going in at a low cost or effort to better understand my needs.


You sure got that right. 
That said, I don't use a fence, because I don't need one for what I do. But if the day ever comes I think I need one, I'll just be clamping a piece of 2X4 down and viola, instant fence.


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## jnbrown (Apr 14, 2013)

PhilBa said:


> I would suggest you look through the various plans on the net (google "router fence plans"), pick one that looks easy to make and build it. Get some experience using it and then you will have a much better idea what fence number 2 should be. Your first fence could just be a straight length of maple and 2 clamps. Maybe add a DC port.
> 
> There is a strong desire in most people to "get it perfect the first time." But that doesn't often happen. Too often what appears to be good on paper doesn't meet your needs or work the way you do. I've bought or built tools that I was sure would help me only to realize that they just don't work that well for me. I'm a fan of going in at a low cost or effort to better understand my needs.



*"get it perfect the first time."*

Yep thats me, I am an engineer and I am paid to do that, but in woodworking I am striving to be less than perfect and just good enough. It seems most people use MDF for fences but like others I detest the stuff and I like your idea of using maple. A piece of that size wouldn't cost all that much and I have access to jointer and planer and I could get some practice which my hand plane.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

We have a tendency to make things a lot more difficult than they usually need to be. On the Router Workshop, the TV show that spawned this site, Bob and Rick just clamped their fence down with C clamps and used a claw hammer to make "fine adjustments". I don't know if there is anything that can be done with a router that they couldn't figure out and I don't ever remember them making anything more complicated than it needed to be.

If you check out my uploads there is a couple of pictures of my last router fence and I found it very functional and easy to use. It only took me a couple of hours to build. I used biscuits to assemble it because the mdf doesn't nail or screw that well.


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

jnbrown said:


> *"get it perfect the first time."*
> 
> Yep thats me, I am an engineer and I am paid to do that, but in woodworking I am striving to be less than perfect and just good enough. It seems most people use MDF for fences but like others I detest the stuff and I like your idea of using maple. A piece of that size wouldn't cost all that much and I have access to jointer and planer and I could get some practice which my hand plane.


truth be told, that's me too. Though, I built lots of software systems in my career. Perfect is the enemy of good and good is the ally of cash flow! As an engineer, I can't bear to take someone's money for a flawed product. But then, in my shop, I really do need to get my projects done so all my errors become features...

ps, MDF is the spawn of satan...


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

A good straight 2 X 4 or some other straight piece of wood with a notch for the router bit and two clamps to hold it in position on the router table is all I used for years. It works fine, although it isn't quite as fast to position accurately. One way to speed this up is to only loosen one clamp and move just one end of the board when you need to make slight adjustments. This gets you a "fine adjustment" for zero cash.

Charley


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## Peter Harrison45 (Aug 26, 2013)

Try looking at woodworking for mere mortals , and watch his youtube video on router table build


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

I get a kick out of this guy . I don't agree with all his methods but a lot of what Steve does I find interesting . You may want to skip to the middle where he starts the fence 

Router table top and fence - YouTube


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## phillip.c (Aug 9, 2012)

PhilBa said:


> There is a strong desire in most people to "get it perfect the first time." But that doesn't often happen. Too often what appears to be good on paper doesn't meet your needs or work the way you do. I've bought or built tools that I was sure would help me only to realize that they just don't work that well for me. I'm a fan of going in at a low cost or effort to better understand my needs.


Listen to this man!

You would be wise to keep it simple. You may find that you want something better. More than likely, you'll find that it's all you ever wanted.


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## jnbrown (Apr 14, 2013)

So I have gotten off to a good start.
Bought a piece of rough maple for $25 and milled it on the jointer and planer.
Now I have an appreciation for how hard this wood is, tried to take too much off on the first run through the jointer and blew the circuit breaker.
Running through my whimpy Craftsman table saw I had to feed it slow and ended with a a lot of saw marks which took more than the normal effort to clean up with a hand plane.
After sitting overnight it seemed to develop a twist in it, so I had to run through the jointer and planer again and now it seems stable and flat. Now I know why people use MDF for this but I am getting some good experience and think I will end up with a nice robust fence. I have one question though:

How wide and tall should I make the opening in the fence? My largest bit right now is a 1" diameter planing bit. I don't plan to use any large bits soon such as a raised panel but who knows what the future holds.


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## masonsailor (Sep 20, 2013)

The simple answer to fence dimensions is to make a two part fence. The outer fence which is attached to the subfence can be easily detached and a new one attached to fit the need of whatever job you are doing. This also allows you to shim out the outfeed side to use the router table as a jointer. Inserting a third smaller piece in the middle allows for a sacrificial insert to match whatever bit you are using. I will attach a picture of my table to give you an idea. ¾ melamine works great for all of this. I can elaborate more on this if you need more info. 
Paul
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