My first DIY router Table

[Chris Tsutsui]

I've only had a garage wood shop for less than a year so this is my first shot at a router table.

I originally didn't want to copy the benchdog promax model though my table ended up with similar proportions after I designed it to fit my routers in the bottom, and bit storage for the left and right. The enclosed PC 7518 gets MUCH quieter which the cabinet door is closed, I am very happy with that.

Table Top Dimensions 32" WIDE x 24" DEEP
Height from floor to table top = 37.5"

The top is made of two layers of 1.5" thick MDF. The second layer is glued to the top layer and fits INSIDE the cabinet base. I used 3 coats of boiled linseed oil on the MDF and then burnished it with 0000 fine steel wool between coats and waxed it with a dry silicone free lubricant. BTW, I treated both the top and bottom of the table top with the BLO.

The router lift is a Jessem Mast R Lift with top height adjustment, and the fence and hardware is all by rockler. (Well except for the benchdog fingerboard)

The cabinet and doors are 3/4" MDF construction, I used 1.5" brads, drywall screws, and yellow glue for construction. I primed the cabinet with Kilz and used a semi-gloss interior paint I had left over from use on my kitchen. Yeah this table is heavy, but the casters make it a breeze to move around.

The hinges are Blum Euro hinges.
Router is a Porter Cable PC7518, 3-1/4HP soft start, variable speed.
I attached a heavy duty light switch for on/off duty and put it in a stamped steel box.
The handles are made of solid beech and the hooks on the sides of the router table were $0.25 for a package of 2 on clearance at Ikea.
There is a rockler 2.5" dust port in the fence.

The Harbor Freight Stuff:
$2 Casters with locks (Made in india)
My 89 cent Push Stick (which I will make a better one soon)
Benchtop Brush
Rear Dust Collector Port 4" (from the HF DC accessory package)

Also pictured is my Hitachi KM12VC router I got as an unused/display unit from Lowes for $71 - $10 coupon. The 4th Pic is my proof. :)

Then I've got my misc router bits storage on the sides in their cases.

http://www.flex-innovations.com/RT1_small.jpg (http://www.flex-innovations.com/RT1.jpg)

http://www.flex-innovations.com/RT2_small.jpg (http://www.flex-innovations.com/RT2.jpg)

http://www.flex-innovations.com/rt3_small.jpg (http://www.flex-innovations.com/rt3.jpg)

http://www.flex-innovations.com/rt4_small.jpg (http://www.flex-innovations.com/rt4.jpg)

http://www.flex-innovations.com/rt5_small.jpg (http://www.flex-innovations.com/rt5.jpg)

My Conclusions:

Next time I might make my own fingerboards. The ones I have were given to me free so I use the plastic ones. Also, if I had done it again, I would use a melamine or formica top, rather than the MDF.

Rather than use 2 locking swivel casters + 2 straight casters. I would implement fixed leveling rubber feet of some sort. Or a mobile base.

There may be some revisions i make to this table as time goes on...

Also, the inside cabinet where the router goes, I would pitch the floor towards the dust collector port. Or if you want to get elaborate, angle the walls too towards the port.

So far I give a thumbs up to this table though I only used it once on a test piece making a 3/4" dado... :D

[Anthony Whitesell]

I used the wheel-lock only casters from HF originally. I found out quickly on any non-power feed equipment (ie., a router table where you feed the stock opposed to planer that feeds the stock for you) wheel-lock only casters will allow the unit to shift slightly on the casters pivot. I think the use of the 2 fixed and 2 wheel lock may help a little but don't be surprised if you're suddenly annoyed enough to be the market from some total-lock casters for your router table.

P.S. I purchased a set from PeachTree and they work well and on sale they were the cheapest around. I don't have any others to compare them to but I'm certainly not unhappy with them.

[Rob Cunningham]

Looks like you have a good router table there. Nice work. The one upgrade you might want to make is some holes in the door or side panels of the router enclosure. This will allow better airflow for the DC

[keith ouellette]

Thats a nice router station.

How long did it take you to plan it out and build it. I'm always curious about that because I am always so dang slow at getting shop stuff done.

[glenn bradley]

That looks great. Bench Dog and others came up with those proportions based on function. Even though you designed your own it came out pretty close; mine did as well. Funny how that works out eh? Form follws funstion and all that.

The plastic featherboards will serve you very well. Mine have been doing their job for years. I think if you keep it waxed (shellaced first) the MDF top will do you fine. My MDF bench top is going strong and I hae really worked it. Properly sealed MDF is surprisingly durable for woodworking.

[Anthony Anderson]

Very nice work Chris. You will definitely enjoy the router table. As far as the caster go, you can change out your current casters to Woodcraft total locking casters. IMO, they are the best on the market. Once you lock them down they are solid, and don't move at all. I have used Peachtree Total locking (look similar to Woodcrafts, but no where near the quality) and Hartville tools. Both of the other casters allow allow movement when totally locked. I have to use 4 swivel total locking casters on my shop equipment, as the shop I have is relatively small, and I don't have room to maneuver tools around to get them in place. The 4 swivels allow me to place the tools easily. A good quality locking caster is a must. Congrats on a job well done. Bill

[Chris Tsutsui]

Thanks for the suggestions, I think I will end up getting total locking casters. I didn't know they had those so I'll check them out at woodcraft.

Keith, it was sort of a slow process and I'd have to say it took me a few weekend nights because I wasn't really in a rush to build it.

If I had to guess, I would say about 12 hours because I'm not exactly that fast. I realize with that sort of labor, I could have just bought a better table but it was a fun experience.

It's no phenolic or cast iron top, but the MDF gets suprisingly smooth when polished (Or I can always replace the top in the future). This is the first time I treated MDF with BLO which was through a recomendation here on the forums.

In terms of breathing holes for the center chamber, I thought I'd install an adjustable air vent on the back. This way I can fully adjust how much air goes in that center chamber, or just close the vent. If you have ideas what vent would be perfect for this let me know else I'm getting an air conditioning rectangle vent from the borg.

[Stephen Edwards]

In terms of breathing holes for the center chamber, I thought I'd install an adjustable air vent on the back. This way I can fully adjust how much air goes in that center chamber, or just close the vent. If you have ideas what vent would be perfect for this let me know else I'm getting an air conditioning rectangle vent from the borg.

Nice job on your RT Chris. I'm sure that you'll enjoy it just as much as one that you may have bought, maybe even more.

I, too, am building a new RT. For the vent to supply air flow to the chamber I'm going to follow someone's suggestion here at the Creek and use a blast gate installed above the chamber dust port. That will allow for playing with it to find the "sweet spot" of just the right amount of air. HF has decent blast gates for cheap.

Again, great job on your new RT!