# Making a mounting plate?



## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

I've done nothing but fight the Rousseau mounting plate. So I'm ready to build my own, since the cut-out in the table is made for a 9" X 12" - 1/2" rounded corners.
Yesterday I spun the center gray ring & it melted to the outside red ring.
I had just got ready to drill it out for the 1-3/4" TGs, the center hole (1-3/16) was not cut in right & the counter bore was not centered in the thru opening. thought I could use the router to true up the hole so I could find center. WRONG & probably something only a rookie would do.







I was going to order new rings from Woodcraft but they quite carrying this mounting plate. Wonder why??

Probably a good thing since the plate was & has never been level. Wrote the factory & never got a response. About 1/4" over the 12" length of plate.







So live & learn. Call the dogs when the time comes & move on.

? Is there another plate that will fit into the rousseau opening or a slightly larger one I can make fit?

Is there a procedure to make your own?
Recommended material?


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 6, 2006)

Dave,
Have you checked out the one from Harbor Freight?

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


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Thanks George
Looks like the one I have & is the same size.
Do you have one of them? 
Is it flat?


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## rwyoung (Aug 3, 2008)

Bogydave said:


> Thanks George
> Looks like the one I have & is the same size.
> Do you have one of them?
> Is it flat?


I just got mine on Thursday. It has a very slight bow to it but the bow is UP, that it to say with the router installed it will pull it flat. 

At least that is the result of a quick test. I'm in the process of upgrading my router table and all I did was prop the plate across two 2x4s on the bench then set the router on TOP of the plate to mimic the weight load I expect it to have. Took out the little bow (less than 1/16 to begin with).

The new table will be 1 1/2" thick and at the same height as the table saw so I can take advantage of my outfeed table during routing or by removing the fence, have a table to the left of the saw for ripping support.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Dave, I can't imagine why you are having all these problems with the best selling router plate on the planet. I have installed several of them and they have all been trouble free. I can see part of your problem is lack of information so let's work on that.
The Rousseau plate is not supposed to be flat, it is slightly convex. This is a patented feature which guarantees when the wood passes the bit it will always be at the same height. This is the only plate like this, all others should be flat, including the many clones like the HF plate *which will fit your opening.* Norm used a Rousseau plate in his first router table for 10 years on the NYW. There are installation kits for most routers which have the centering disk you place in the opening and a short shaft you chuck in your router to guarantee perfect alignment. You use the included allen transfer screws in place of your mounting screws to transfer the hole location to the mounting plate. Did you use one of these kits to center your router when you mounted it? All of the clone plates use this same method for accuracy.
I would order the replacement rings and start over. You are headed in the right direction. Instead of trying to drill out the grey ring make a replacement the size of the red ring and drill that for the larger Oak Park style bushings.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Dave

I like the HF plate, I have two of them.and they are flat 

Here's a small tip how to drill it out for the bigger guides..

You need 3 forstner bits , a 1 3/16, 1 1/2", 1 3/4" stick the ring to some scrap plywood, with some double sided carpet tape and use some masking tape for some extra hold down,,,go all the way around the ring, it must NOT move..

Once you have it stuck in place chuck up the 1 3/16" bit and pull it down in to the ring then clamp the scrap board down to the drill press ,, now check it 2 or 3 times in must be on dead center of the 1 3/16 " hole once your sure it is chuck up the 1 3/4" bit and drill down about 1/8" deep then chuck up the 1 1/2" bit and drill out the center hole, go down into the plywood then put the 1 3/4" bit back in the drill press and clean the hole out just a litte bit then put the guide in place to make sure it's flat with the ring, if so your done now just remove the tape... you now have a ring that will take on the bigger OP type guides..

++++++


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Mike
Good idea, I like the idea of making a replacement for the red ring to fit the 1-3/4" TGs, good solution, I should have gone in that direction before all this happened. Well I can do that now so I have one till I get a new one, that I'll keep the way it is in case i get TGs that size. Just has been frustrating. Mostly the "learning curve", I hope. 

I followed the instructions that came with the plate. That is when I noticed the counter bore was not centered on the thru hole, I mean it was obvious to my eyes without glasses. With glasses you could see the machine marks in the counter bore, one side of the lip was wider than the other side. I did not measure the difference but when it's obvious to the human eye, it's off (like the drill pulled it to one side while drilling). I centered the router to the thru hole with the alignment gizmo that came with my router, Bosch 1617 evs. I'm not saying I couldn't have aligned the router a little off but when I put in a bit that just cleared the thru hole, it seemed fine to the thru hole, the counter bore was off though. The thru hole was not 1-3/16" though, I bought that drill bit specifically to have for base plates, just got it & it did not touch any of the the sides of the thru hole. As mater of fact, the thru hole seemed a little oval when the 1-3/16" drill bit was in the hole. I must have just got a bad one that was made on a Monday morning. I was going to order more rings but woodcraft (that's where I bought it) don't carry them, or I couldn't find them in their online catalog (nor the rousseau mount plate now). Maybe they are made for a heavier router than mine to help take the crown out.
Who else carries them?

Bj: without a round hole to start with, finding center is difficult. That is why I was trying to make a round hole. the 1-3/16 bit was the wrong size to fit in the oval hole! I could not get exact center because the bit did not touch any side of the hole. the gap between the bit 2 ends of the hole were wider than the sides of the hole. A hole don't have length & width, it is supposed to have diameter & radius. I was following your directions to the letter till the bit was too small & the hole was an oval.
However, I was able to pop the center ring out, & for practice, drilled for the 1-3/4 leevalley TGs. I put it in & a 1/2" bit fits squarely up thru the 5/8 TG which the inside diameter is just a little larger than 1/2" (by my micrometer). The center ring just don't sit level in the red ring now. (& is loose & has some red plastic embedded in it) 

Good learning experience but I used some not politically correct language at the time.
Thanks for you guys help. I'll get there.


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## RustyW (Dec 28, 2005)

Dave, The first plate I bought when I got into "real" routing was the one from MLCS. It is a copy of the Rousseau and has the slight rise at the center. As Mike has stated, this is a feature, not a flaw. After setting the bit height, your stock will run true with every pass. I also have the Harbor Freight plate, it is dead flat. Some here have reported that theirs had a dip. Since they are both inexpensive copies, I think it's hit or miss as to what you will get. Either way they should fit the opening for the plate you have. It should also be mentioned that the "rise" in the plate means that the cut height is different at the bit, than at the edges of your table. This wont make a difference when running stock by hand. But, If your using an Incra (or similar joinery system) with the stock clamped to a carriage that rides on a straight fence, you dont want the cutting height to change as you approach the bit. So you would want a flat plate.


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

OK
I found out my router is not centered.
Now what?
Center the plate you DA. OK, How? I screwed up the rings!
New, home made, 1/4" Plexiglas drop in & I carefully ran a 3/8" bit up through it.
If I spin the drop in ring, it hits the router bit. It is only good in this location so the router is not centered on the mounting plate.
Help


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Dave, stop where you are at. You need one of the Rousseau centering rings to make life simple. 1/4" rod about 4" long chucks in your router and fits the through hole.
As an alternative if you make the replacement for the red ring with the hole to fit the Oak Park style guide bushings you can use the inlay bushing and pin for alignment. It will work exactly the same way. If you have any problems send me a PM and I will help you get this done. By way of encouragement I included a shot of my first table with a 1617 mounted in a Rousseau plate.
Here is a link to the centering kit: http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=142168&FamilyID=3803
Here is a link to the replacement rings: http://www.woodcraft.com/product.aspx?ProductID=141940&FamilyID=4958


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Dave

Start Over 

Yep I know what you are saying,,more money hahahah, get "2ea. " Two HF plates, they are only 20.oo bucks each...then you will have two rings ,one for the PC guides and one for the OP type rings..once you rework one of the rings...

The router must be bolted on dead center, many ways to do that but the best way I have found is to use the base on the router to do that..
Not the screw on base plate.. all you need is 3 or 4 screws the same size as the router you have, cut off the heads off the screws and grind them to a sharp point, then screw them into the router base so the sharp points are sticking out....then once you have that done make a plastic ring that is a press fit in the center ring hole with a 1/4" hole in it...then sit the router on the plate with the center plastic ring in place, and a 1/4" dowel pin or drill bit using the shank on the drill bit as the guide,,,once it's down on the plate tap the router base with a hammer ,it will make the mounting plate dead on...then dril a 1/8" in the plate for the mounting holes...

Then drill hole the holes to the right size diam. for the screws on your router and then flip it over and counter sink the holes...

Then to the 3 bit and masking tape to rework the center snapin ring for the bigger OP type guides..

You may say OK what about the extra mounting plate,,, you can use that one for a Horiz.setup or for a bigger base plate for the plunge router jobs you will have down the road... 

You can cut it down to a 8" x 8" one that works very well for the plunge way of routing...

Note don't trash can the old plate you can still use it for other jobs that don't need the router to be on dead center..
Like the ski jig setup for just one of them..

========






Bogydave said:


> OK
> I found out my router is not centered.
> Now what?
> Center the plate you DA. OK, How? I screwed up the rings!
> ...


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Thanks,
Rusty, Mike, George & BJ
Ordered parts for my, black hole to throw money into, router & table.
2 weeks +.
Next time maybe I'll do a step, post, do another step, post etc so this time I do it right.  
Should be getting the OP box joint jig soon. That & snow will keep me busy for a while. Waiting on it to build the bottom drawer. Other ways to do it I know how to do those.
May go outside for a few days & shake off winter frost somewhere.


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