Router Tables

[Blake Barr]

Is there a cost effective way to put together a router table top that is up to the quality of say (link removed) but much lower in cost? It seems like the fence and the router plate would be hard to reproduce without spending way too much time on it or coming up short in quality. If not does someone have an example of a simple way to mount a router (I have the $100 freud that was on sale) and setup a fence system cheaply? The stand and work surface are not an issue since I will be incorporating it into my outfeed table.

[Jim Kountz]

Well if you're only looking for an inexpensive way to mount the router you could always get a piece of 3/8" think Lexan and make your own. People did this for years before all the lifts and plates became vogue.

[James Phillips]

I think it is hard to beat a package deal like that. I bought this one and really like it mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/tabletop.html

[Keith Outten]

Blake,

The absolute best router table "on the cheap" is Dupont Corian. You should be able to find a piece of scrap Corian in your local area for free. You may have to search for awhile but you will find something at one of your local top/cabinet shops. Try to find either white or beige colored Corian because you can write on it with a pencil to keep your job notes handy. When your done you can clean the pencil marks off with Windex, they wipe right off and Corian won't ever rust.

Corian is very smooth, easy to drill and properly mounted will remain flat. It is easy to reinforce it so the weight of your router won't ever cause it to bow or deflect. I have one at CNU that I made a couple of years ago. I glued a square piece of scrap Corian to the bottom at each end, these provide a surface for my Black and Decker Workmate to clamp onto the bottom of the table. I drilled an appropriate size hole for the router then the mounting holes for the screws. The result is a one hour build and a table that is very high quality and portable.

If you don't own a Workmate you could easily make a small torsion box frame, add legs if you prefer or let your own design ideas dictate the project.

If you can't afford cast iron or steel then Corian is impossible to beat in my opinion. A little paste wax on the surface periodically and you will have one of the smoothest working router tables possible. The good news is that you can build a better router table for free if you are willing to search for one piece of scrap Corian.

If you want a drop in router raiser that is easy to accomplish as Corian routes easier then wood IMO. Build the fence that suits you, use Corian or whatever material suits your fancy and your in business. I have routed literally thousands of sign blanks on the one I built at CNU. I have also clamped eight foot aluminum angle iron to the table for a fence and run hundreds and hundreds of linear feet of custom moulding and a slew of other custom jobs that seem to come up daily.

When I'm working with a bearing on my router bit I have a nine dollar plastic dust collection floor sweep that I clamp to the top of the table above the bit that catches about 99% of the chips and dust.
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[pat warner]

Can be done on the cheap, very cheap.
See RT notes. (http://patwarner.com/router_table.html)

[Blake Barr]

I think I'll just be stuck buying something. I don't think I want to spend the time recreating a fence/plate to save a few bucks.... In the end that time is better spent working, earning the money for the router table.

[Greg Hines, MD]

My router table I built in stages, and it was very cheap to do. I like Keiths Corian idea, and when I decide to replace my top, I will look for some scrap to make it out of. But my top is reinforced melamine, and a Rousseau insert plate.

As to the fence, a straight 2x4 with a small cut out for the bit is about all you need. Well, a couple of clamps for it, but I will assume you have that. You will eventually decide on other things you want for it, but that is really all you need.

Doc

[Rob Young]

There is a clone of the Rouseu plate available from Harbor Freight for $9 or $12 I believe. You can make the table top from recycled Corian or other counter top material (remember to seal the bottom side if it is laminate on particle board). I made my last table from two layers of 3/4" MDF so the top is 1-1/2" thick. Glued and screwed together from below. Pay attention to the screw locations so they won't be in the way later for things like the plate cut-out and any track you want to add.

Edged banded the top with poplar to keep the MDF from getting dinged. Poplar is splined to the top and plenty of glue (MDF drinks glue from the edges). To seal the top, three coats of sanding sealer (top and bottom) with sanding between. Finally a couple coats of paste wax on the top and slick as can be. Fence is made from more 3/4 MDF with sliding face. I didn't make the opening in the fence wide enough (Doh!) for a panel raising bit I recently purchased so I'll probably make a new fence. Enclosed area behind bit for mounting dust collection. Right now, I C-clamp down the fence, haven't added any track.

Legs, skirt and stretchers for the table are made of pine, laminated some inexpensive #2 to make 2-1/4" thick legs. Then mortise and tennon to attach the skirt and stretchers. Less than $100 in materials but lots of labor to put it all together.

Also, I made the height such that it could act as either an outfeed table or side material support for the table saw.

[Chip Lindley]

KEYWORD: On The Cheap! I used what I had ON HAND! No Lexan or Corian laying around the shop. I have had excellent results for alotta years from a simple router fence made of 5/4 hard maple. (any HARDwood will do) Two pieces were joined in an *L* and run through the jointer to assure an exact 90deg. angle to the table. A cutout in the flat face received the router bit (enlarged some over time) and an outlet on the back to receive a DC connector. Slots were cut near the ends for 3/8 threaded knobs to pass through. Inserts were recessed in the tabletop to receive the knobs. It took about an hour to produce.

Threaded inserts for hold-downs can be added, OR a T-slot strip along the face or top, whatever suits your fancy. A good, decent router fence need not cost BIG BUCKS to do its job! I find no necessisity for a *split fence*!

As for Inserts, sorry, I still bolt a router base beneath the table, and screw-in and unscrew my Porter Cable 7518 to change bits. The expensive *LIFTS* just havn't caught my fancy enough to entertain the expenditure on one. I get the results I REQUIRE, but without the bragging rights reserved for all those *$bling$* fences and lifts. To Each Their Own!