Michael Schwartz
09-23-2009, 4:38 PM
This router table is based on the design by Pete Schlebecker, and can be found in the winter 07/08 FWW tools and shops issue # 195. The article is titled rock solid router table and details how to construct this table.
The changes I made in my table were mostly to scale it down a bit in terms of size to fit my shop better, and I made the legs narrower to save a bit of material.
What turned me onto this design is I worked with the original tables Pete built while I was at the center for furniture craftsmanship. I also needed a very solid router table at an affordable price.
The key notes I would like to point out about this design is that overall everything is much larger and heavier than most tables. By design this table is intended to be on the scale of a Shaper. The fence alone is big enough to be a small router table.
I spent about 2 days building this table, and used under 150$ worth of materials.
The top is laminated out of 2 pieces of MDF with formica glued on both sides, then screwed to a torsion box/stand built out of poplar. The fence was made out of a cutoff from the top,nd reinforced with Plywood. The exposed MDF edges are trimmed out with some hickory I milled up from some scrap T&G flooring.
The router lift I am using is a Jessem lift that I took out of my jet cabinet saw, fitted with a Bosch 1619 plunge router. I am planning on adding a miter track but I am awaiting delivery as I had to order it. The fence is missing a few pieces of trim on the back I hadn't glued on at the time I took these pictures.
My advice to anybody is build your own router table. Spend the money saved on a good lift. Most commercially made router tables are too small, and too light weight to support large panels, jigs, or templates. The fences are too short to raise a panel with a vertical bit comfortably. By building your own table you can be sure it will meet all your needs.
The changes I made in my table were mostly to scale it down a bit in terms of size to fit my shop better, and I made the legs narrower to save a bit of material.
What turned me onto this design is I worked with the original tables Pete built while I was at the center for furniture craftsmanship. I also needed a very solid router table at an affordable price.
The key notes I would like to point out about this design is that overall everything is much larger and heavier than most tables. By design this table is intended to be on the scale of a Shaper. The fence alone is big enough to be a small router table.
I spent about 2 days building this table, and used under 150$ worth of materials.
The top is laminated out of 2 pieces of MDF with formica glued on both sides, then screwed to a torsion box/stand built out of poplar. The fence was made out of a cutoff from the top,nd reinforced with Plywood. The exposed MDF edges are trimmed out with some hickory I milled up from some scrap T&G flooring.
The router lift I am using is a Jessem lift that I took out of my jet cabinet saw, fitted with a Bosch 1619 plunge router. I am planning on adding a miter track but I am awaiting delivery as I had to order it. The fence is missing a few pieces of trim on the back I hadn't glued on at the time I took these pictures.
My advice to anybody is build your own router table. Spend the money saved on a good lift. Most commercially made router tables are too small, and too light weight to support large panels, jigs, or templates. The fences are too short to raise a panel with a vertical bit comfortably. By building your own table you can be sure it will meet all your needs.