designing a Router Table...bit storage

[Lynn Kasdorf]

I'm making a router table along the lines of the "Router Magic" one, in that the top is going to tilt, and the router is centered along the long edge. This leaves space on either side of the router "box" for drawers.

Bill Hylton makes a bit storage system in one of these tall, narrow drawers.

I've seen other RT's that have a single, wide, short drawer with a matrix of holes for bits. I haven't decide which idea I like better.

Anybody have opinions on this esoteric topic?

In the Pond days, I could just go to the various articles and search. I wonder where all that great info has gone??

[robertfsmith]

The BP archives are being put on a CD, I don't know when they will be available?

I like the plywood panel with a grid of holes in it that is placed on the bottom of a drawer. I haven't gotten around to making one yet, but that's what I'm gonna do for my bits.

[Bob Lasley]

Lynn,

I built my router table with two drawers below the router compartment. They are as wide and long as the router cabinet. The shallower top one is used for bit storage along with wrenches, collets, etc. The bottom one is for handheld routers. Bits are kept in plywood pieces with holes bored in them, one with 1/2" and one with 1/4". This has worked fine for me, though I will soon have to add some more bit holders as I seem to keep coming home from the toy store and finding new router bits in my sack!

I have not seen Bill's design, but from what I have seen of his stuff, I'm sure its a keeper.

Good luck,
Bob

[Garrett Lambert]

are now hosted at woodcentral.com

Cheers, Garrett

[Lynn Kasdorf]

Thanks, Garrett for steering me to the Woodcentral archive of Pond stuff. Just what I was looking for.

Gordon Sampson's RT is pretty amazing, and has some great ideas.

I'm still kicking around ideas. Mine will be a bit strange in that I'm incorporating a 2nd horizontally mounted router off the back of the table. I'll post pics when I can.

[Kent Cori]

One other thought. Make sure the drawer height is sufficient to accomodate the tallest bit you can ever imagine buying. Mine are but only because of blind, dumb luck. Oh well, better to be lucky than good.:D

I use one of the drawers to store my Forstner bits in a vertical configuration too.

[Jim Young]

Lynn, I built the Hylton table and like it. The top tilts but I have never used it in that fashion, about five years. The other thing I found is that you can't drill 1/4" and 1/2" holes for the corresponding bits, the bits just don't fit. You will have to go to a metric bit or a bit that's 1/64th" bigger (metric was easier to find).

[Marty Phee]

Hey Lynn. I built a RT based on Bill's. He's drawers work pretty well, but I think you lose a lot of space. If/when I make a new one I'm going to go with norms method of drawers.

[Ted Shrader]

Originally posted by Lynn Kasdorf
I'm making a router table along the lines of the "Router Magic" one, in that the top is going to tilt, and the router is centered along the long edge. This leaves space on either side of the router "box" for drawers.

Bill Hylton makes a bit storage system in one of these tall, narrow drawers.

I've seen other RT's that have a single, wide, short drawer with a matrix of holes for bits. I haven't decide which idea I like better.

Anybody have opinions on this esoteric topic?

In the Pond days, I could just go to the various articles and search. I wonder where all that great info has gone??
Lynn -

I made a composite of the two Hylton tables and Norm's and some of my own ideas.

For router bit storage, I use the two tall narrow drawers ala Bill Hylton. In each drawer are three shelves made from 2X4 with the edges bevel cut. I drilled about twenty holes in each beveled edge with enough spacing to allow for router bit storage. The top shelves are the narrowest, the bottom the widest. With the beveled and staggered shelves, access to the bits is easy. The top shelves on each side have ¼" holes, the bottom two shelves on each side have ½" holes. (Holes are a little over-sized.)

Above those drawers is a shallow drawer on the left - a dummy on the right. I keep the collet wrenches and a few other assorted small (but related) items in the shallow drawer. The false drawer on the right has the Jet ON-OFF switch.

Below the router box and side drawers are two more full width drawers. The bottom one is deep enough to hold routers laying down. The top one is not quite as deep and holds various jigs, etc.

Shoot me an e-mail. If you want I could scare up some pictures.

Good luck,
Ted