am i crazy?

[Jay Yoder]

I was given a couple of kitchen cabinets and was thinking of using this one for a very large router table. any thoughts or issues i have not thought about?

[Jason Hallowell]

Seems to me that it would make a decent router table base. The blank drawer face hanging down may make access to the router slightly more difficult if you're not using a lift. If the sides of the drawers are open to the center, you may need to fit a piece of thin ply in there to keep the shavings out. Just the thoughts off the top of my head.

[Don Bullock]

Jay, it looks like a great idea to me. My biggest concern would be height. Is it tall enough?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
I have a roll around shop cart I dubbed FrankenCart made out of a borg cabinet that I picked up damaged for $15.00 @ Lowes.

The carcass is pressed wood which was stapled together.
I knocked all the joints apart, glued them (TB II) and stapled them back together w/ 1 1/4" narrow crown staples out of an 18 ga. nailer.

Frankie is an ok roll around flat surface/storage unit, but, all things considered, a bit on the light side for anything but light duty work.

My only concern would be that if pressed wood is used in that one in the picture, it might not be stong enough.

[Greg Crawford]

Give it a try. If you don't like it, you can always use that cabinet for something else and build your own stand/cabinet for your router. If it works, you'll have a nice looking router table with built in storage.

[Jay Yoder]

Seems to me that it would make a decent router table base. The blank drawer face hanging down may make access to the router slightly more difficult if you're not using a lift. If the sides of the drawers are open to the center, you may need to fit a piece of thin ply in there to keep the shavings out. Just the thoughts off the top of my head.

Jason, good point about the "dividing" wall between the drawers. I can't remember if it is there or not. I will be using a Wood Peck PRL V2, so the access isnt a big deal...

Rich, good point about the material. These cabinets are about 25 years old or so. They are made of plywood with solid wood face frames. I do however need to replace the back panel and source the center slide rear mounting brackets...

[phil harold]

I flipped my cabinet upside down so the doors are on top for easier access to the router
Might not apply to your cabinet since it was a euro style cabinet

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=112700&d=1236804078

[Bill White]

No.
Bill :D

[Steve Clardy]

Both of my dual router tables are made from lower kitchen cabinets.

[Jay Yoder]

Phil,
unfortunately it is not a Euro style...Old cabinet = old school (face frame)

Don,
I figure if height is an issue, i could "jack it up".

I think i have been persuaded to reuse this as a router table. I should probably get some better center mount slides. Any cost effective recommendations?

[Jay Yoder]

one last thought. the cabinet is approximately 50+ inches wide. Is that too wide? Will it present issues trying to come up with a fence system? any suggestions?

[Jim Kountz]

Jay, yes you are crazy, your doctor told me so.
But that has nothing to do with the fact that cabinet would make a great router table!!
LOL
With a few mods it could work, it would be kinda on the large side but hey bigger is better right!!

[Steve Clardy]

50" wide. No.
One of mine is 48"

Fence. Make your fence. Either one fence, or 2. Whatever suits ya. :D

[Byron Trantham]

Nope! Just creative....:D

[Richard M. Wolfe]

It depends on how sturdy the cabinet is. We had some old kitchen cabinets given to us when we were building the shop. They work OK as storage and only see occasional use. A couple of the drawers have already been rebuilt. Also, is the basic design what you need as a router station.....bit storage, dust collection, etc?

[Paul Johnstone]

one last thought. the cabinet is approximately 50+ inches wide. Is that too wide? Will it present issues trying to come up with a fence system? any suggestions?

It's nice to have some extra width to the side for an Incra/Jointech system if you go that way.

I'd really be tempted though to try to center the router as best as feasiilbe and have 50" of infeed/outfeed.. that's really a nice thing to have if you are doing long work, especially long raised panels.

My first router table had a surface of 2' by 2'. That was really too small.

My second one has a table of 40" by 48" (with a jointech system). When I'm using it, it's great, but in all honesty, something that big really gets in the way when not in use. I made it the same height as my mitre saw station and use it as the right "wing" in that case, but due to the fence system, it still has to be moved if I have a large cutoff..

It's all a big compromise.. Initially, I had more than enough shop space to roll the big router table into a corner, but as I got more stuff, that spare space to roll tools into became a lot more scarce.

[Jay Yoder]

I guess the biggest concern I would have is will it be tough to keep the top from sagging in the middle. I could double or tripple the top thinkness eh? I want to put either a woodpecker lift (or WoodCraft pinnacle) or Bench Dog. As for the fence, i guess i could modify the Norm fence, and as long as it is braced correctly, it should be fine, right?