Router top opening resizing?

[Jay Yoder]

I have the opportunity to pick up a Hartville design router table with fence and legs for a reasonable price locally. The concern I have is that the router plate in the top is a 9” x 12” and I want to drop my Woodpecker PRL lift and PC 7518 router in it. The size of the WP router lift is 9-1/4” x 11-3/4” I believe. The issue I see is not with the 9-1/4” dimension but rather the 11-3/4”. How would you go about filling in the difference? I was thinking of gluing a piece of MDF into the opening and then re-laminating the entire top. Then I would rout the correct size hole. It sounds like a lot of work. Anyone have any different ideas? Or am I crazy to do this?

[Myk Rian]

1/4" isn't enough to worry about re-laminating.
Just glue a piece of scrap anything in the opening.

[Paul Greathouse]

Myk's idea would work just fine. You could also go a step farther and put 1/8" on each side to make it less noticable. If your really concerned about how the spacer idea would look, make a space all the way around the plate and make it look like an inlay.

Your idea would work great also but would require more time, materials and effort.

[Jay Yoder]

Thanks for your responses. I noticed after reviewing the specs for the table it is 1-1/16" thick. I am now not only concerned about the opening but also the actual strength of the table. As I said, the router is a 7518 and the lift is the PRL. I am concerned that this may be too much for the top and make it sag. Any thoughts?

[Myk Rian]

Put a couple braces in under the top.