Triple Router Table build

[Paul Greathouse]

I wanted a triple router table after seeing the 3 spindle shapers like this one because swaping out the rail & stile bits for doors and the straight bit for drawer dado's is a real pain. I would rather have the stile and rail bits set and not have to worry with numerous adjustments.

http://cdn0.grizzly.com/pics/jpeg500/g/g9933.jpg


The expense of these type shapers is a little more than I want to spend especially since I already have a good Delta single spindle shaper to run my Raised Panels. I figured I could build one for around a $1000 including the cost of the routers because I have alot of scrap ply and MDF from other projects, all I would need is the hardware and routers.

What I plan to do is have two routers dedicated to stile and rail bits and the other can be used for door edge profiles. My old Naum table will be fitted with a straight bit and do all my drawer dado's and as I said earlier the shaper will do the raised panels.

So here's some pictures of what I'm doing.

The top will be 2 pieces of MDF with Oak banding. The short sides are 18" and the long sides are 30".
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I put the routers on the short sides so that there would be more room for the fences. There should be plenty of room for doing rails and stiles on the short sides.
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I used homemade Oak cauls for gluing up the two top pieces.
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The Oak banding took a few clamps but I was able to get all my corners fit cleanly.
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[Paul Greathouse]

I may have over screwed it but what the heck, screws are cheap and thats how I did my Naum table roughly 8-10 years ago and its still flat as can be in our Louisiana humidity.
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Next I sanded the Oak edging down flush with the MDF so my formica would have a good bonding surface.
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Rough sizing formica with a track saw with good zero clearanc inserts makes for a clean cut even with the formica turned right side up.
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The routed top.
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Here's a detail shot of the Oak edge banding.
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[Kirk Simmons]

That looks pretty spiffy. I don't have room for something like that, but I can imagine it'll work great for you.

- Kirk Simmons
- Eagan, MN

[Paul Greathouse]

I used a scaled down version of the NYW fences because I like the way the fence works on my old table.
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This is the first time I've routed inserts this way, it worked out good but a template and pattern bit would work just as good if you don't have a track system. The track system just saves you the time of having to make a template.
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Here's the router insert cleaned out and ready for a plate.
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Here's the top with the Hartville track set in place. I don't have the miter bar yet but it will mount in-between the t-track and the router. All the T-track and miter bars will probably be overkill but I got a great deal on the special Hartville was running for woodnet members so I splurged a little.
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This is a closeup of the inset T-track for the fence.
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[Chuck Isaacson]

That is one BAD router table. I could only imagine having one of those. Looks like you have put a little thought into this. Have you though about what kind of routers and lifts you are going to put in there? Looks like fun to build, I just dont need one. Cant wait to see the finished product.

[keith jensen]

That is going to be a serious piece of gear there. Are you going to use router lifts in all three positions?

[glenn bradley]

Very good execution Paul. Looking forward to more pics as you move ahead.

[Bruce Page]

Very good execution Paul. Looking forward to more pics as you move ahead.

Ditto what Glenn said.
That is going to be awesome!

[gary Zimmel]

Looking forward to more progress pics Paul.

Thats going to be one fine router table, or router tables....

[Paul Greathouse]

Chuck and Keith
I have been planning it for about two years, I'm glad I finally have the time to get it built. It will come in handy on the kitchen cabinet build I will be doing this winter.
I already have two Freud 1700's for the rail and stile bits and I've been watching Ebay for a 3 1/4hp Milwaukee fixed base.
I'm not going to use lifts for now, I want to see how the fixed base Freud and Milwaukee above table adjustments work. I have a Benchdog lift in my NYW table and am pretty spoiled to it so lifts may be in the distant future but I'll try it without them for now. I shouldn't be making too many adjustments at least not on the rail and stile setups.

Glenn, Bruce and Gary
I will add pictures as I make progress. I've only seen one of these before and it was on woodnet and there was only one picture so I had to figure most of it out on my own.

[Mike Langford]

I may have over screwed it but what the heck, screws are cheap and thats how I did my Naum table roughly 8-10 years ago and its still flat as can be in our Louisiana humidity.
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LOL, Paul, you're a man after my own heart....They call me "Overkill Joe" cause I'm the guy who put 36 screws in the bracket for my under cabinet microwave! :D

That sucka' ain't goin' nowhere....That was 6 yrs ago and it's still flat as can be too! :rolleyes:
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Your triple table build is lookin' good!....I can't wait to see more pics.

Great job
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[Paul Greathouse]

Hey Mike,

Looks like you had room for way more than 36 screws on that bracket. What fun is it if you don't run the battery down on your screw gun?:D

[Wayne Sparkman]

The only thing I've ever seen like that is the Greene 4470 table, which will set you back about $1500.00

http://www.routertabledepot.com/greene4470.html (http://www.routertabledepot.com/greene4470.html)

I have to say I like your design better. Any possibility of sharing plans/drawings?

[Paul Greathouse]

Thats an interesting table Wayne,

I think mine will function similarly. I don't believe the routers are included on the Greene table, which would be roughly another $500 - $600 depending on which routers you buy. I haven't kept track of everything because I have bought everthing over a period of time but I think I will be around $1000, routers included. The Freud 1700's cost me about $100 - $150 each and I will probably be using a 3 1/4hp Milwaukee for the third spot, they have been running around $275 - $300 on Ebay and the internet.

Mine will have both fence and cabinet dust collection as it appears theirs does also. My dust collection will connect at the top, theirs appears to come in from the bottom. I wanted everthing overhead so it wouldn't be in the way. It will be connected to my shop dust collection with a 5" duct. The 5" duct should service the cabinet and one fence at a time without any problem.

As for plans, I drew it up on a 2'x3' grided pad that I have attached to a drafting table in my shop. It's probably not something that would be useful to someone else. Think "Drafting Shorthand" and you will be close to the type plans I use. When I get done with the table I will try to put something togeather if your interested. Its kind of a work in progress.

[Cody Colston]

That three-station router table is going to be great, especially considering that you will be building kitchen cabinets soon. Being able to leave the rail and stile bits in place is going to be a big timesaver as well as frustration saver.

I've only seen one other three-position table. It was made by a cabinet maker that I've seen on multiple forums. I believe his online name is Rebelwork.

[Josiah Bartlett]

That's quite a setup. How do you plan to run power to it? You will want at least 3 15A circuits available unless you only plan to run one router at a time.

[Paul Greathouse]

Cody

I'm pretty sure the rebelwork guys table is the one I saw on woodnet. Was the one you saw painted a shiny red color?

Josiah

I am only going to use one router at a time so I'll only need one circuit. I'm going to bring the power into a homemade box and power three seperate outlets that will each have their own switch. I'll just run the power cord out the bottom and plug a heavy 12/2 extension cord into it. The whole thing will be on castors so I will be able to unplug it and roll it out of the way if I want to.

[Paul Greathouse]

Made a little progress on the cabinet.

I built the cabinet the same shape as the top. There will be a door for each router. The case is made out of a semi-exterior ply I got at Lowes called Aruco. It's very smooth and takes paint well. In this shot the cabinet is upside down.
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Heres a closeup of the above shot, as you can see pockethole screws and glue.
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Now its right side up with the middle shelf dadoed in.
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This is another with the casters on. It's really well balanced with three casters. I've never made anything this shape before so I didn't know how well balanced it would be.
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And the last one with the top installed.
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More to come.

[Joe Mcclaran]

Looks like a great idea. But I have a question? What is the difference between a router and a shaper?

[Paul Greathouse]

Looks like a great idea. But I have a question? What is the difference between a router and a shaper?

There's a big difference if you need to turn large cutters. The biggest thing I will be using on this table is rail and stile bits. A 13amp router easily handles these type bits.

I have a shaper for doing raised panels. The shaper cutters are larger and will give you a nicer looking raised panel.

The main difference in power is, the biggest router you will find is a 110V 15amp and my 3hp shaper is 220V. There is no comparison in power the shaper is way more machine. The motor on my shaper is physically bigger than a whole router.

[Steve Clardy]

I've only seen one other three-position table. It was made by a cabinet maker that I've seen on multiple forums. I believe his online name is Rebelwork.


Jack Duran, a member here.

[Joe Scarfo]

Thanks so much for posting this...

I have been wanting to build something like that for years and have been collecting the big porter cable routers and Woodpecker PRL's to build it with. I'm now short one PRL and construction will begin...

With pawn shops, I've found the PC routers for $50 each. One of the PRL's was free... Now.. if I could only score another PRL...

Joe

[Paul Greathouse]

Joe

Tools in the pawn shops haven't got that cheap down here yet. I guess you guys up north have been seeing tough economic times for longer than he have down here. The slow down just hit here a few months ago. Good luck on your table build.

[Paul Greathouse]

If you missed my last post of the cabinet build look in the "More replies below current depth" folder in this thread. I wasn't paying attention when I was posting and it got buried there.

Now for the next set of pictures, here's two of the fences complete and a start on the 3rd.

In this shot I'm setting the stick-on tape measure in the fence T-track to be the same distance from the front of the router plate so fence adjustments will be easy. Its not always necessary for the fence to be evenly spaced from the plate and miter bar (The Router Workshop Guys have proved that many times over) but every once in a while it helps.
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Three shots of the fences in place.
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Here's what the inside of the cabinet looks like with the two Freud 1700's in installed. I'm holding out for a Milwaukee 3 1/4hp for the 3rd router in case I ever need to turn a big bit or for taking deep cuts with a dado blade.
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[Steve Clardy]

How are you going to handle the dust collection.

[Paul Greathouse]

Steve, that's going to be the most interesting part of this table, in my opinion anyway. It will have a 5" duct off of my main system that will take care of the cabinet and all three fences. Each fence will have its own blast gate.

The suction will come in overhead. I'm actually a little further along than the pictures I've got posted. Its going to work great. I'll post some pictures when I get completely finished.

If nothing else it will be one of the most original looking router tables I've ever seen.

[Matt Meiser]

I borrowed a double table from a friend for my kitchen project and it was very handy. You'll like this for the time savings.

[Paul Greathouse]

Matt

I may be the worlds worst for needing one more of something when the next bit is already chucked up in the router. It won't happen again. I almost built a two router table instead of a three. Once I got the two router table drawn out I realized, for just a little more floor space I can have three.

[glenn bradley]

That thing is looking just great Paul. What a time saver. +1 on the big Mil. I run one and often have to remind myself to take smaller bites as the router just doesn't care.

[Paul Greathouse]

Glenn,

Have you ever used a PC7518? If so how does it compare to the big Milwaukee? The reason I'm asking is I already have the 7518 on my NYW table and was just wondering how they compare. I'm going with the Milwaukee mostly because I won't have to use a lift like I do on my PC. The Benchdog lift sure is nice for fine adjustment though.

[glenn bradley]

Glenn,

Have you ever used a PC7518? If so how does it compare to the big Milwaukee? The reason I'm asking is I already have the 7518 on my NYW table and was just wondering how they compare. I'm going with the Milwaukee mostly because I won't have to use a lift like I do on my PC. The Benchdog lift sure is nice for fine adjustment though.

Sorry, I have not ever used a 7518 but you already know its a workhorse. Everyone who has one seems to love them. Same for the 5625. It may just be the soft start and the electronic feedback that gives the 5625 that kinda creepy constant torque under load. The 7518 may have the same enjoyable behavior.

I ran my 5625 without a lift for quite some time (now in a PRL) and it is very workable. I love the way the motor just drops right out of the base when you unlock it; really easy for bit changes. I would say this height adjustment mechanism should work really well in your build. I just got the lift to spoil myself.

There were some early complaints on the screw mechanism breaking on these routers. I have a small herd of Milwaukees and have never had an issue. I don't know if this is something that was "fixed" or if folks just stopped turning the height adjustment while the motor was locked in the body(?). :D

[Paul Greathouse]

I was hoping you liked the height adjustment mechanism on the 5625, I suspected that it would be very similar if not identical to their smaller routers.

I have the 1 3/4hp Milwaukee for handheld use and I think its height adjustment mechanism is better/smoother than the Freud 1700's that I have in my table.

The price on the 1700's was just so attractive that I couldn't pass them up. If I remember correctly they were about $50 apiece cheaper than the 13amp Milwaukee.

[Paul Greathouse]

Here's the next set of pictures, its getting close to being finished now.

This is how I distributed the power. First in line is the main switch, it will kill all three outlets, it wasn't really necessary but I thought it may be handy some day if I ever hard wire the table on it own circuit. Next is the box that brings the power in. After that is an outlet for each router. Each outlet has its own switch mounted on the outside of the cabinet. I used HVAC duct tape to seal everything off as good as possible.
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Here's a couple of shots of where I installed it in the cabinet. I ran the power wire out the bottom for now and put a male plug on it so that I can just plug it into a heavy gauge extension cord. I mounted the box upside down so that dust infiltration would be held to a minimum. The dust collection I have planned should keep the cabinet clean. I'm going to get some of the child safety plugs to go in the outlets that aren't being used, to stop dust from entering.
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These are two shots of the parts that will make up what I call the transition box. There will be a short piece of 5" metal duct on the top side for 5" flex from my main duct collection system to attach to. There will be another longer piece of 5" coming out the bottom that will then pass through the table top and into the cabinet. On the sides of the transition box there will be one blast gate for each fence with flex hose connecting the gates to the fences.
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I'll try to get finished tomorrow or Saturday and post the final pictures.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

Paul, did you do much comparison shopping on router plates? I cannot quite tell from the picture which ones you ended up with. Are you happy with them?
Thanks!
Salem

[Paul Greathouse]

Salem

I looked around at all the usual woodworking sites on the internet. The Hartville plate just seemed to have the most "bang for the buck". I felt pretty confident that Hartville would sell a quality plate because everything I had bought from them before had been good. I'm not disappointed with the Hartville plates they are plenty stout enough for the Freud routers and are made of what appears to be a good quality phenolic type material.

If your going with a plate instead of a lift, I don't think you can go wrong with the Hartville plate. I went with plates instead of lifts for two reasons, the first being price and the second being, I shouldn't have to be making alot of adjustments on these routers. The whole table will be dedicated to cabinet door making for the most part, so it will be pretty much a "set it and forget it" situation with the rail and stile bits. If I didn't already have a lift in my other table I would definately put one in the this table.

[Randal Stevenson]

Are you doing this commercially? How big is your shop?

With the different plates, I am wondering why you did't just get plates and routers that you could swap out in your regular table (if home shop verse commercial)?

AKA, what did you use to justify this expense to the wife?:D

[Rod Sheridan]

Paul, I've been watching this thread with interest, great idea.

Now all you need is an arrangement with 3 power feeders so you stand in one spot and let the work travel around the tables and back to you.:D

Regards, Rod.

[Josh Gerber]

Paul awesome table. That looks it would be very convenient for you kitchen build. I know Matt said he used a dual table for his kitchen build and it saved him a lot of time.

Did you see the Freud 3 1/4 Router in the deals thread $86

[Philip Florio]

Paul,

Did you use a hole saw to set the corner radius?

Phil


I used a scaled down version of the NYW fences because I like the way the fence works on my old table.
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This is the first time I've routed inserts this way, it worked out good but a template and pattern bit would work just as good if you don't have a track system. The track system just saves you the time of having to make a template.
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Here's the router insert cleaned out and ready for a plate.
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Here's the top with the Hartville track set in place. I don't have the miter bar yet but it will mount in-between the t-track and the router. All the T-track and miter bars will probably be overkill but I got a great deal on the special Hartville was running for woodnet members so I splurged a little.
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This is a closeup of the inset T-track for the fence.
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[Bruce Page]

Man Paul, you don't mess around do you! I'd still be in the thinking stages....:o

I think you're really going to enjoy that.

[Paul Greathouse]

Randall

Its not commercial yet, what I'm doing is setting up an early retirement business. I'm 48 now so I've got time to get it set up the way I want it. I have built cabinets for hire on a parttime basis in the past.

My shop is 30x50.

I could have done what you said and swap plates out in a single hole table but I have the room for a bigger table and I just like the idea of not having to swap. The challenge of building the six sided table was fun too.

The justification came with the fact that her new kitchen will be built this winter and her doors will be made on this table. She's very understanding anyway. She doesn't have any expensive habits, she doesn't have a dangerous jewelery fetish and she goes along with most of my ideas. She's a keeper.

[Paul Greathouse]

Philip

If your refering to the corner radias on the plate holes, no, the straight router bit that I made the shoulder around the hole took care of the rounded corners.

[Paul Greathouse]

Thanks Bruce, I'm sure I will, I just hope it will be as fun to use as it is to build. To be perfectly honest the project is a little further along than the pictures I have posted. I have been posting roughly a set a day, I should be making the final post tomorrow night.

[Cody Colston]

Cody

I'm pretty sure the rebelwork guys table is the one I saw on woodnet. Was the one you saw painted a shiny red color?

Yeah, that was the one...Jack Duren aka Rebelwork.

[Paul Greathouse]

Here's the shots with the dust collection installed. At this point the table is fully functional except for the fact that I haven't purchased the third router yet.

I told you the dust collection was going to be original. Not only that it works good too.
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The transition box is held up by three oak legs. The ducts are screwed into the transition box from the inside of the box. Each fence has it own blast gate.
The bottom area of the gates has been collecting debis which prevents the gate from closing fully. My son suggested mounting them sideways instead of straight up and down, I haven't tried that yet, it may work. Anybody have experience with the plastic gates from Hartville?
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Heres a closeup of one of the doors. The oak rails and stiles were made on the this table. I drilled a row of holes along the bottom of the plexiglass for air to enter. The entering air does a pretty good job of sweeping the floor of the cabinet. I may need to enlarge the holes or add more. When I'm through routing there are small piles of dust in the dead space areas of the cabinet but all I have to do is go around the table and open and close the doors a few times, which changes the draft and about 90% of the dust gets picked up by the duct.
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This shot shows the duct inside of the cabinet. It is about 1" off the floor of the cabinet. This shot was taken after doing some routing and opening & closing the doors a few times, you can see there is still some dust left in the cabinet but very little.
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The piece of flex coming of the top of the transition box is what I have been using to temporarily connect to my main ducting. Once I decide where I want the table to be permanently I will put in a drop for it. Right now I have to unhook one of my other tools and use its drop.
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My next step will be to decide what color to paint it? So far the shop has Grizzly Green, Delta Grey and Oneida white. I think either the Grey or White would look good with the Hartville Red hardware on the top, any other ideas?

[Dan Friedrichs]

Wow! :eek: What a cool DC setup!

Re: The gates getting clogged at the bottom : Have you considered drilling small holes in the bottom corners of the gates?

[Paul Greathouse]

Dan, do you think the holes would pull air in and keep the gate bottom clean?

[Wayne Sparkman]

Paul:

Thanks for one of the most interesting threads in quite some time (I lurked here for a long time before joining).

It would be great if one of the magazines is watching and would contact you for an article on this setup.

Did I miss the overall dimensions of the table?

[Dan Friedrichs]

Dan, do you think the holes would pull air in and keep the gate bottom clean?

I think so. All of the "self cleaning" gates I've seen on the market do something like that.

[Paul Greathouse]

Thank You Wayne,

The short sides of the table top are 18" and the long sides are 30". The fartherest distances across the table is 43". The table top is 36 1/4" from the floor and the top of the transition box is 28" from the table top.

Are there any other measurements you would be interested in? I'll be happy to take them for you.

[Paul Greathouse]

Thanks Dan, I may try it if the side mount that my son suggested doesn't work. The gates and the connections to the fences are just friction fit at this time so rotating the gates will not be a problem.

[Steve Leverich]

Paul, another VERY interested watcher - on your blast gates, try googling "self cleaning blast gate" - these have a longer slide with a hole in one half, and claim that the extra part cleans the gate as it's operated. They're a few bucks more than the cheapies, and are available in either plastic or metal.

Add my "ooh-ah's" to the already long list :D Steve

[Paul Greathouse]

Thanks for the suggestion Steve, I'll have to do some googling.

[Steve Clardy]

Try the gates upside down. Some of mine are that way and do not clog up.
The plastic ones will clog right side up, or sideways.

Depends on the brand, some of the cheaper gates will creep open when mounted upside down.

I usually just nip the 2 corners off so they won't clog with chips and not shut completely.

[Paul Greathouse]

Thanks Steve, I'll try them upside down, they have a tab on them that catches when fully open, maybe they won't creep.

[Matt Meiser]

With the different plates, I am wondering why you did't just get plates and routers that you could swap out in your regular table (if home shop verse commercial)?

A good idea! Hmm...

[glenn bradley]

The bottom area of the gates has been collecting debis which prevents the gate from closing fully. My son suggested mounting them sideways instead of straight up and down, I haven't tried that yet, it may work.

I mounted mine sideways. Stuff still collects but, not as bad. Final solution was to cut a slot to allow the gates to self clean. I've seen others cut off the corners (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=108760). My metal gates are already designed this way.

BTW, that triple fence DC manifold is sweet!

[Paul Greathouse]

Thanks for the link Glenn,
The DC manifold was one of the most enjoyable parts to build, it was even more enjoyable when I found that it actually worked like I expected it to.

[jack duren]

Here is the 3 head router table I built several yrs ago...Jack
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=68870

[Paul Greathouse]

Here is the 3 head router table I built several yrs ago...Jack
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=68870

Jack, you and I may have the only two in existence. I actully saw your table on woodnet before I built mine. The picture I saw didn't show your dust collection. It's amazing how similar our DC hookups are. I wanted as much fence mobility as possible, thats why I positioned my DC header box above the fences. Does your DC pass through the tabletop and into the cabinet like mine? If so how good of a job does it do?

I'm just about finished building the first set of cabinet doors with my table. It sure was nice to not have to change out the rail and stile set. Since I have a shaper for my raised panel bit, I use the 3rd router in my table for plowing 1/2" dadoes and rabbets for drawer parts. That leaves my old single table free for anything else that comes up.

The only thing I'm going to change on my table is to reconfigure the DC boxes at the fences to point straight up instead of angling back. Doing so, will give me a little more fence mobility.

[Van Huskey]

There has been a 6 sided shaper table on the New Orleans CL for a while now, every time I see it I think of you.

Routers are an interesting breed, it seems there is always another reason to get another one. I think I will have to have 1 router per bit to completely happy! :eek:

[Joe Chritz]

Looks just a tad nicer than a couple pieces of MDF clamped to sawhorses that I have used in the past to set up two bits.

Impressive for sure.

Joe

[Paul Greathouse]

There has been a 6 sided shaper table on the New Orleans CL for a while now, every time I see it I think of you.

Routers are an interesting breed, it seems there is always another reason to get another one. I think I will have to have 1 router per bit to completely happy! :eek:

I'm the same way Van, can't get enough of them.

I just picked up another one Sunday. It was a display that was being closed out at one of the local borgs.
PC 890series
Fixed and Plunge base
1/4" collet
Missing the case, owners manual, wrench, 1/2" collet and whatever else comes with them.
Price, believe it or not $75
Brought it home, set it up in the plunge base with a collar and 1/4" bit and put it to work as a shelf pin drill. Really nice router especially for the price.

[Paul Greathouse]

Looks just a tad nicer than a couple pieces of MDF clamped to sawhorses that I have used in the past to set up two bits.

Impressive for sure.

Joe


Well Joe, you've got to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I've done it your way before, it works, especially when time is money. Building this table was as much for enjoyment as it was for function.

[Van Huskey]

I'm the same way Van, can't get enough of them.

I just picked up another one Sunday. It was a display that was being closed out at one of the local borgs.
PC 890series
Fixed and Plunge base
1/4" collet
Missing the case, owners manual, wrench, 1/2" collet and whatever else comes with them.
Price, believe it or not $75
Brought it home, set it up in the plunge base with a collar and 1/4" bit and put it to work as a shelf pin drill. Really nice router especially for the price.


Great undercover gloat! I think they should sell Bosch Colts in 24 packs! In all honestly I do wish I had about a dozen of them, they work so well for edge treatments and I could just grab one instead of having to set one up!