# Router selection help needed



## robdunstan (Feb 5, 2008)

I am needing advice on purchasing 2 routers for my shop table.

I have a 5'x10' work table that I want to install 2 routers to(one will have a flush trim bit and the other will have a 1/4 round over bit). I work with 1/2" bc plywood (hence the 1/4 round over bit) mainly and also use MDF patterns to make specific parts( hence the need for the flush trim bit). I need the routers to be able to drop completely below the table surfaces when not needed, but, here's the catch,, i need the routers to have the ability to be raised to a preset height when needed. The height of the 1/4 bit will ALWAYS be the same.

Brand is not an issue. I could care less. I am tired of swapping the two router bits out and then wasting time trying to get the height just perfect.

Thanks in advance to all!!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi robdunstan

How about two routers and two mouting plates for about 260.oo bucks, and if you buy the routers on line on SUNDAY from 6:00PM to 6:00AM you can take off -10%...

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...BV_EngineID=cchfaddkdkhdelgcefecemldffidflk.0

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94331

http://www.routerforums.com/lobby/7077-sunday-night-deals-sears.html

Plus they have what you want plus some...

" I need the routers to have the ability to be raised to a preset height when needed"

If you use the plunge router base in the router table It has the depth bar and all you need to do is push the router up in place and lock it into the preset height....then your set to run.



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robdunstan said:


> I am needing advice on purchasing 2 routers for my shop table.
> 
> I have a 5'x10' work table that I want to install 2 routers to(one will have a flush trim bit and the other will have a 1/4 round over bit). I work with 1/2" bc plywood (hence the 1/4 round over bit) mainly and also use MDF patterns to make specific parts( hence the need for the flush trim bit). I need the routers to be able to drop completely below the table surfaces when not needed, but, here's the catch,, i need the routers to have the ability to be raised to a preset height when needed. The height of the 1/4 bit will ALWAYS be the same.
> 
> ...


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Welcome, Rob.
If one of your requirements is constant depth setting then plunge routers are what you need for the table. With a plunge you can set the depth stop to your desired setting and the stop will let you return to that depth easily. The Sears router that Bj mentioned is a good buy and you will have the plunge base as well as fixed.


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## robdunstan (Feb 5, 2008)

i'm not interested in using a plate if i can get away with it. these routers will be single purpose routers dedicated to the bit installed. The bit will only be removed for replacement as needed, therefore the benefits of a plate is null.

also, i am needing a router that can go from dropped below table height to raised to a preset height quickly. Once the height is set initially, that will be the height it must always raise to. 

Can you do that with a plunge mount? i've only used fixed base routers, so I was just wondering.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi robdunstan

You want to use the plates,,,it will let you lift the router out the top side to set the bit and change the bits...

"Can you do that with a plunge mount?" = yes


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robdunstan said:


> i'm not interested in using a plate if i can get away with it. these routers will be single purpose routers dedicated to the bit installed. The bit will only be removed for replacement as needed, therefore the benefits of a plate is null.
> 
> also, i am needing a router that can go from dropped below table height to raised to a preset height quickly. Once the height is set initially, that will be the height it must always raise to.
> 
> Can you do that with a plunge mount? i've only used fixed base routers, so I was just wondering.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

> Can you do that with a plunge mount?


Yes. That is why I recommended a plunge. Once you have the plunge stop set to the desired height you can then drop the bit below the table and return to the set height easily. The stop will not allow you to go any farther than what it is set to.


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## robdunstan (Feb 5, 2008)

Thanks for the help. I dont really feel the need for the plate as the bit will be installed prior to mounting the routers and only one size hole will ever be needed. i will have access to the routers from below for swap outs and initial setup. i do understand your recomendation and i appreciate it.

also, any idea on a more industrial type router. i've already went through 3 Craftsman routers. I have a Frued on my saw table but even that is straining. Plywood is murder on a router bit. Looking for a high HP motor that is sealed as much as possible.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Rob, I have a 2 1/4 Triton mounted on my table and they also have a 3 1/4 model. These machines are made to be mounted on a table and allow above table bit changes. That way, once you have mounted the router, you don't have to remove the router to change the bits when needed. I might suggest that you clean the router with compressed air to get the dust out of the motor every once in a while. That might help a little in the longevity department. Either of these routers should have enough power to handle what you want. They run about $200 so it won't break the bank too bad.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Rob

It almost sounds like you should take a hard look at a pair of shapers and use them on the outside edge of your 5' x 10' work bench .. or build a new bench around them..or one at each corner of the work bench............you can get one for as low as 360.oo ea. for a 3/4HP one..
http://grizzly.com/products/3-4-HP-Shaper/G0510Z

Good Luck with your quest..

=============


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## Drugstore Cowboy (May 17, 2007)

robdunstan said:


> Thanks for the help. I dont really feel the need for the plate as the bit will be installed prior to mounting the routers and only one size hole will ever be needed. i will have access to the routers from below for swap outs and initial setup. i do understand your recomendation and i appreciate it.
> . . ..


With all due respect to the people who make and sell and use and love router table plates ---
- I don't see any reason in the world you would need one 
- or even want one - for what you are looking to do.
The only benefit I see to plates is making bit-changing easier -- and you said that was something you specifically were not going to be doing.

After you pick your routers -- just go under your tabletop and route out a circle just large enough to fit your base and handles -- leaving about 3/8" thickness.
Then bore your screw holes and center hole --- and you are good to go.
With the exception of those few small holes -- your top remains solid.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi DC

You crack me up     

When I read your posted items,it makes me recall the wood shop class in high school, the teacher would always run a movie called " Primitive Pete" he was the guy that would use a screw driver and a hammer to chisel out a hole for a lockset in a door jam. 
Or use a hand wood saw to cut some steel tubing  


Primitive Pete

http://www.bobsokol.com/PrimitivePete/
http://www.mrbalihai.com/goof/2006/05/dont_be_a_primitive_pete.html



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## Drugstore Cowboy (May 17, 2007)

Glad I make you smile - life is to short to be taken seriously -

But I have never done - nor suggested - either of the things that you mention -
*or anything remotely like them*.

And there is nothing primitive or inappropriate about my suggestion that a router plate is not essential. I've bought two tables that didn't use a plate and built a third one based on plans found in several good sources -- again that did not use a plate. They all work fine. 
Plates have a use -- in fact -- 
I'm getting lazy in my old age -- and about to add a plate to my table to see if it really does make bit changing easier.
But for someone who wants to mount a router for one specific purpose as in the original question -- I see no point in them at all.
If you do -- that only means we have different opinions -- not that either of us is wrong or ignorant or primitive. 

*Actually* - since you mentioned laughter  
- I get a bit of a giggle myself when I read posts on here from various people who mistake their own personal preference for being the only 'right' way to do something -- and feel the need to belittle anyone who chooses to do things differently. Reminds me a lot of Junior High.

So -- I guess we both get a smile out of the deal --


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## Hamlin (Dec 25, 2005)

I understand what DC is saying.

If one intends to use 2 routers for 2 bits only, ok, this is fine. But, take in consideration of mounting the router(s) to the table then having to unscrew them just to change out bits as a replacement. Or having to route a hole large enough to get wrenches in to change bits. If you're thinking that "time" isn't going to be a consideration, well, then ok. I do agree with the use of the plate. Look at OP's table. The principal is the same. Only difference is, you pop the router and plate out from underneath, then change bits, pop back in and you're ready to go. As I've always said, "each his/her own". You have to do what is right for you.


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## Stree (Feb 5, 2008)

But expect no accuracy or consistency in such a set up.
Why ask advice if you make decisions against received knowledge when you hear it?

The plate system is cheap in the short mid and long term.... its turns an bench top into a machine component, there is no other way to mount a router to a composite board sayisfactorily for all but the lightest and briefest duties.
Get a pair of woodpecker or similar plates and a couple of Triton TRA/B001 and then you can tell us how flawlessly your setup performs. Because it will. and it won`t doing it your way


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## Stree (Feb 5, 2008)

Bit heavy for only a second ever post,I know, but hey, it shows a willingness to be involved *S*


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## robdunstan (Feb 5, 2008)

i'd like to thank everyone for their feedback on this topic.

as for those still persistant on me to use a plate for this setup, i ask why do i need one? these routers will be single purpose machines. raise the bit when i need it, drop it when i don't. if i have to change the bit, the table is designed to allow easy access from the bottom and the changeout will occur during downtime. if it takes 8 hours, who cares? the bit will always raise to a set height so there is no need for further adjustment. with what i am doing, if the roundover bit is a little off, it won't be a large factor. the flushtrim bit is solely used to make wheels out of the 1/2" plywood following the pattern jig. as long as the trace bearing is raised at least 3/4", then i am good. again, no need for final adjustments.

as for stree's post, i have to disagree. i am not expecting extreme accuracy with this setup. i have a setup for my detail work that has a digital lift system and a table made of aircraft titanium honeycomb structure that i picked up while in arizona. as for the mounting of the router, how is using a plate better than directly attaching it to the tabletop that happens to be made using a 5x10 sheet of 1/4" thick T-6 aluminum? i guess that you assumed the top was made of standard particleboard, huh? I build things to last. Besides, how would you mount a plate when
the top is only 1/4" thick to begin with?

i agree with DC's last post, just because people use different techniques to do things, those that may differ from your own, doesn't make it the wrong way to do it. if you stop to think for a minute, 20 years from now, i can guarantee that every router setup, mount, and practice used today will be obsolete and vastly different. it's called innovation and progress. it doesn't make how we do things differently today wrong. everyone has to assess on their own what they need in order to do the job at hand in the most effective manner possible.

still, i really appreciate all the help and suggestions. i could use a few more routers to consider. needs to be plunge, sealed motor and gears, and powerful. i cut ALOT of wheels for the projects i do.


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## karateed (Feb 7, 2006)

Folks, the beauty of this forum is that we can share ideas with each other. It makes for a stronger ability to make decisions for whatever we might be working on or thinking about.

When we have a differing of opinions, in my opinion, it means we are stretching our horizons. I've seldom seen in almost any other practise where you can do a thing so many different ways and it is still right, no matter who's idea it is.

I really appreciate the very many perspectives and points of views you all give me, for I believe it's impossible for me to have every perspective by myself.

I remember a movie once where the line went something like this...."you complete me".

Well, if we look carefully, we all complete each other quite nicely by permitting our perspectives to be aired. We may or may not choose to use another's idea or methodology but there it is, we are free to choose what best suits us and really, isn't it great we can have such a wonderful, wide variety of choices?

Thank you all for inspiring me in so many ways in doing and creating in ways I could never have thought of myself.

This is an awesome forum with awesome folks in it.

Ed......


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## George II (Nov 8, 2007)

Well said Ed, you voice my sentiments perfectly.

George Cole




karateed said:


> Folks, the beauty of this forum is that we can share ideas with each other. It makes for a stronger ability to make decisions for whatever we might be working on or thinking about.
> 
> When we have a differing of opinions, in my opinion, it means we are stretching our horizons. I've seldom seen in almost any other practise where you can do a thing so many different ways and it is still right, no matter who's idea it is.
> 
> ...


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## cbsjoez1935 (Mar 14, 2007)

Hi Robdunstan,

If I understand your setup, you have a 5' X 10' aluminum table that is 1/4" thick and you want to semi-permanently mount two routers to it to do a specific job each. OK, let's take it from there. You would need to make the appropriate clearance holes, in the table, to accomodate the bits being used as well as the holes to attach the mounting screws/bolts to the router(s). You do not seem to have a problem with dismounting the router to change bits, so a mounting plate is not justified, considering the 1/4 thickness of your table. I hope I have described your situation. As for the routers, it appears you would require the 3-1/4 HP ones and I would opt for the plunge type for reasons stated in the other posts. The brand is a personal choice and I would suggest looking up back copies of various woodworking magazines that have run reviews on them. Hopefully I have offered some help.

JoeZ


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## Stree (Feb 5, 2008)

I think you have to bear in mind that lots of router table tops are constructed from particle board. so 3/8" is not a great deal of structural strength. Plus the 1/3 of thsi approx that is removed for countersinking. Does not leave a lot of material of any substance to take the strain of working a 3 1/4 HP motor...Thats really where a plate comes in to spread the load and make a repeatable mount dismount possible for those that need it.
I use a Triton which is 3 1/4 HP and it inverts particularly well for table mounting, no upward facing vents, dust shroud around the cutter/ collet interface,easy height adjust with a micro adjust height trimming adjuster, lots of positives for this machine..worth an in depth look up....... Have you considered this one Rob? Model No TRA001 or TRB001
I also run an Elu177, and a Makita 3612 plus smaller trimming duty routers but none of these have the same design advantages of the Triton for table mounting


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