# Yet another router table build ...



## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

Greetings! Yes, I know. Everyone and their brother (or even sister) posts pictures of their router tables.

But I did have some questions about my project when I made my introductions. So, I thought I would post some of what I'm doing.

First, here are my requirements. I need this to be collapsible. And it needs to be sturdy. And it needs to be moderately inexpensive.

Why collapsible? Well, it's in our garage and I intend to continue to use it as a garage. When I'm not doing a project, the router table needs to be stowed away so TWO cars can fit in the garage.

Sturdy and moderately inexpensive are both pretty obvious. I sure don't want the final results to be anything other than very, very stable. But on the other hand, I simply can not afford a full blown table top and stand.

Ouch! Anyone know anything about project management? There's an old tale that President Truman was shown some of the problems of bring a project in on time and budge and at the quality desired. He noted that you can have any two of the three objectives (speed, cost, time), but not all three. It's known as the Truman Triangle.

Well, I just described a Truman Triangle in the wood working shop. It needs to be collapsible and sturdy and moderately inexpensive. Can you actually accomplish all three?

Yes! But you need to have the mindset of a hacker. Not a destructive individual, but someone who can take pieces not normally associated with this approach and put together a solution.

Of course, I've been working on this project for the past 20 years. No, really! I've always loved fancy joinery work. Many, many moons ago I purchased an Incra Jig. They now call it the Original Incra Jig. Well, mine is the original Original Incra Jig. But my work life overtook any spare time I might spend on it. Now that I've retired and I need some moderate activity, I decided to complete this project.

So, after a LOT of research, I decided to make my own table and stand. The table is made from a 3/4" melamine board. Yes, I know it's not as stable as it should be. So, along the long sides and the short front and back, I glued (using a polyurethane glue) and screwed 1x4 boards underneath. Melamine boards have the advantage of having a slightly pebbled surface, which improves the ability for things to slide over it. I'll use a silicone spray to enhance that slick feeling.

Along the two long sides, I routed channels for two Hart Designs Utili-Track T Tracks. This allows me to accurately measure placement of the fence from the center of the router plate. Here's this T Track:










Along the front of the table, near the router plate, I decided on a Kreg Combo Track. This provides the T Track or Miter slot, depending on the needs of the project.










And then I decided that I wanted an Incra Router Plate. I went with the plate predrilled for the DeWALT DW625 plunge router.










After doing research, I found that I could purchase a used DeWALT DW625 router, the Router Raizer, and the eXtreme eXtension and end up with essentially a router lift built into this table.

Here's a photo of a modified DW625:










Cool! If all goes well, I'll end up with a router table that will perform as well as one that cost hundreds of dollars for MUCH less.

Because the melamine board is only 3/4" thick, it needed some reinforcement under it. And to make it easier to route out the opening for the router plate, by using the Incra Clean Sweep adapter, it's possible to route the opening with a straight cut bit following the Incra router plate template. I used the Kreg Plate Levelers to help better support the plate in the corners.

Here are a couple images of the Clean Sweep adapter and the Kreg plate levelers:



















Note that I cut down the bolts holding the Combo Track in place. Since this is near the front of the table, I didn't want to cut my hand reaching under the table.

And here's the router table top, mostly completed:










Unfortunately, I measured and measured and still got the measurements wrong for the combo track. I'll need to add a shim in front of the combo track. Sigh!

Here's what the Utili-Track looks like, with the rule added to it:










The T-Tracks on the side will allow me to mount the Incra Jig on a board that I can readily move and reposition. The rule in the T Track will allow me to reliably reposition it whenever I want.

Though I found lots of router legs, their problem was both expense and the fact that they were not designed to be collapsed. I finally found work table legs at the Home Depot that should fit the bill:










Additionally, they include the ability to include an outlet built into the legs:










Using a switched outlet, a small appliance cord to connect the router table to power, and a small extension cord with multiple outlets to power the router and shop vacuum, I can create a single switch to drive both my router and ShopVac:










There's still a lot more to do:


Cut stringers (using a piece of 1x6 and one 1x2).
Cut and mount the board on which I will mount the Incra Jig
Mount the Incra Jig
Add the fence to the Incra Jig
Fabricate and mount a dust collection box

And of course, in order to do this, I will need to modify some of my other tools to make them more accurate and usable. I will add a Drill Press Table jig. And I will add a Zero Clearance Throat Plate to my table saw.

I'll update this post as I make progress.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Wow John thanks for sharing this build . I will be watching your progress closely as I too want a foldable router table to save on room when it's not in use . Looks like you have a great game plan so far.

John being the noob that I am , I'm not fully understanding the need for miter slots in both directions but I guess it can't hurt


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## Semipro (Mar 22, 2013)

Well John I for one like all the pictures so post away, looks like you got a good handle on what you want.


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## boogalee (Nov 24, 2010)

JohnBFisher said:


> I'll use a *silicone spray *to enhance that slick feeling.


IMHO I would not use a silicone spray. It has the ability to mess up a finish.



JohnBFisher said:


> Using a switched outlet, *a small appliance cord *to connect the router table to power, and a small extension cord with multiple outlets to power the router and shop vacuum, I can create a single switch to drive both my router and ShopVac:


Dewalt 625 is rated @ 15 amps and a shop vac can be rated @ as much as 12 amps. I think a small appliance cord to be to small (wire gauge wise).

Other wise you seem to have it all together.


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## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

There is a photo of a folding router table design on wheels floating around on this forum. I will look for it and post it, if I can find it.

It was a pretty slick design.

Good luck with your project and keep us posted.

And ditto on the silicone. No bueno for wood surfaces\finishes.


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

RainMan1 said:


> ... John being the noob that I am , I'm not fully understanding the need for miter slots in both directions but I guess it can't hurt ...


The Miter slot (part of the Combo Track) is only along the front of the router table. The two T Tracks along the side as well as part of the Combo Track are designed to help with hold down clamps, feather boards, etc.

Additionally, since I like to have a tool do dual duty, this table will also allow me to clamp down and hold together wood projects as glued joints "set up". So, having the T Tracks along the side and front will give me a lot of versatility for holding those projects.

The Miter slot will allow me to use a miter gauge with the router. For example, if I want to create some small tapered legs for a box, it can actually be easier to use my router rather than a table saw for such small parts.










Or the miter slot can allow me to use a coping sled with the router. 










Since I want to work on small boxes the ability to precisely handle the boards becomes very important.


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

boogalee said:


> IMHO I would not use a silicone spray. It has the ability to mess up a finish. ...


Thanks for the heads up! No point in learning a lesson the hard way!!



boogalee said:


> ... Dewalt 625 is rated @ 15 amps and a shop vac can be rated @ as much as 12 amps. I think a small appliance cord to be to small (wire gauge wise). ...


Sorry. I used "small appliance" in the post, when I had searched for and used "power tool" when searching for the cord. I did take the load into account and used a heavier gauge (12 gauge, 3 conductor) cord. I used a search on amazon to find such a cable: "power tool replacement cord 12/3".

But thanks for the caution. I will keep an eye on it.


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

timbertailor said:


> ... There is a photo of a folding router table design ... It was a pretty slick design. ...


If you find the pointer, before I find it, I would be interested.



timbertailor said:


> ... And ditto on the silicone. No bueno for wood surfaces\finishes. ...


Thanks also for this caution!! I will avoid, since I don't need to learn a lesson by repeating mistakes others have already made. I try to not just learn from my own mistakes, but also learn for the experiences of others.


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## firstmuller (Aug 28, 2014)

Looks very nice so far. Please keep the pictures coming.
Allen


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Brad I tried to find that folding router table last week and couldn't for the life of me ? It's not a very old post either


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## timbertailor (Oct 4, 2009)

RainMan1 said:


> Brad I tried to find that folding router table last week and couldn't for the life of me ? It's not a very old post either


I looked on google, I went through my threads, and I can not find it either. Its like someone erased all traces of it.

It sure would be nice to have a projects folder like LJ's and be able to "favorite" someone's project. That way, you have a way of tracking back to those really good projects\designs.

P.S. Well, perseverance pays off, this is not the same one but built basically the same way. The only major difference is the one we saw had a hinged support that folded out and up rather nicely.


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

By the way .. here is a photo of the 1x6 stringer between the back legs. There is a smaller 1x2 stringer between the front legs. It's down on the front to back cross braces. That keeps it out of the way of any access I might need to the router.


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

And here's a mock up of the completed table. I need to get the permanent nuts and bolts and such that I will use to hold all of this together. My project for tomorrow will be to make the jig on which the Incra jig will sit. Then mount the Incra jig to it and the fence to the Incra jig. Then I will want to handle dust collection. Then it should be ready to use. Many more fun hours out in the garage.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Originally Posted by JohnBFisher...
I'll use a silicone spray to enhance that slick feeling.

plain furniture wax.....
or go for the big bucks...
Surface & Tool Market Products - Bostik Woodworking Lubricants for Product Assembly


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

Cool! Thanks for the suggestion. Wax is probably the easiest and safest product. Cheap, too. That's always good.

Here's the almost completed table. It still needs correctly sized nuts and bolts and such.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Looking good John . Bet you can't wait to make some dust 

I see you got a nice fit with the Incra plate . Took me many tries to get it right on a test piece. So much in fact I'd just buy the dam jig from Incra if it was available threw Amazon


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

RainMan1 said:


> ... Looking good John . Bet you can't wait to make some dust  ...


Amen!

In fact, once I get the nuts and bolts I need to tighten everything up a bit, I'll run a couple dados for T Tracks in a piece of wood that will become a small drill press jig. I can either use my miter fence or create a small wooden fence. I'll probably mostly use the small wooden fence, but the Incra miter fence will provide a good tool when precision matters.

I may also make a dust collection box. I will try using just the dust extraction kit that works with the DW625 router. If that does the trick, it will be a LOT easier than creating a dust collection box.



RainMan1 said:


> ... I see you got a nice fit with the Incra plate . Took me many tries to get it right on a test piece. So much in fact I'd just buy the dam jig from Incra if it was available thru Amazon ...


Exactly! Using the template seemed a better choice than the time it would take (not to mention the cost of material for the two or three attempts at fitting it).

So, I just bought the template from Incra. Woodpeckers also makes a template, but surprisingly the Incra template cost less.

Ah, I also found one from Woodhaven through Amazon:


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

By the way, I found that Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape is a GREAT way to mount a template to a surface to be routed.



I found that I could (using a wedge) remove the template (or a straight edge) and reposition it without problem. When done, the mounting tape peeled right off (by rolling it up, starting at one corner).


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Great info thanks John . I didn't know that was the same template . I'm going to check Amazon.ca and see if it's available on there site as some companies won't ship across the border .
I should try LeeValley to ?


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Well no such luck in Canada John . Why couldn't I have been born in Cali !


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## JohnBFisher (Sep 3, 2014)

RainMan1 said:


> Well no such luck in Canada John . Why couldn't I have been born in Cali !


Incra ships to Canada. They seem to recommend using Postal Mail, rather than UPS, which apparently charges some serious fees for the delivery of items in Canada. See:

Buy INCRA Tools Online - www.incrementaltools.com :: INCRA Precision Woodworking Tools, INCRA Fence, TS Fences, Router Tables, LS Systems

If you call them, you will be surprised at how VERY helpful they can be. I found them very responsive and more than willing to help me.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

JohnBFisher said:


> Incra ships to Canada. They seem to recommend using Postal Mail, rather than UPS, which apparently charges some serious fees for the delivery of items in Canada. See:
> 
> Buy INCRA Tools Online - www.incrementaltools.com :: INCRA Precision Woodworking Tools, INCRA Fence, TS Fences, Router Tables, LS Systems
> 
> If you call them, you will be surprised at how VERY helpful they can be. I found them very responsive and more than willing to help me.


Yes I've chatted with them and there very nice to deal with . What I'll do is wait for a sale on one of there other products and get a few things sent at once . I had to get there V2 router lift directly from them as it was not available anywhere in Canada . Should have done the template then to darnit


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## Rogerdodge (Apr 24, 2014)

Hi John. I fitted my shop made table top onto a modified B&D workmate ; it will easily strip down and fold away for space and or fit in the back of my car. It works for me .


Rog


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## papasombre (Sep 22, 2011)

Very nice table.


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