Router lift in tablesaw extension table

[Jay Jolliffe]

Has anyone installed a router lift in the extension table and regretted doing so & would rather have it in a router table.

[Bruce Page]

The TS / router setup is nice if your space challenged, I have two of them in my table saw (left wing & crosscut table). I would rather have a nice Norm Abrams table, if I had the room for one.

[glenn bradley]

I favor the extension for many reasons. It started as a way to save space but I became enamored with the similar feed direction (extension on left), greater real estate provided to both tools, cross use of jigs and fixtures, etc. I eventually built a cabinet under the table but it is still bolted to the TS and I treat them as a single unit (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=116265&d=1240354720) for the most part.

[Bruce Page]

Glenn, your slick setup is cheating. It looks like a stand alone that happens to be next to the TS. :D

[Peter Quinn]

I have a router lift in the far right extension table of a cabinet saw with long rails, it came that way from the factory. I haven't used my other stand alone router table in years. This year I may cut it up and repurpose the parts/space I have invested in it. I really like the compact machining station that the TS/router lift represents. Its like my poor mans combination machine. I love having that lift real close and ready to use, the rails are long enough that it rarely gets in the way, and I can use the TS fence with the lift for certain operations which is very convenient.

I should mention that I have 3 shapers in the shop at this point, so my router table use may or may not be different for that fact. It has been years since I considered using the router for panels or doors. I would not want a shaper connected to my TS like a euro combo, but the router lift is great.

[glenn bradley]

Bruce you are right. The thing has morphed to the point where the fence rails no longer support the table. There are inserts in the RT top at the TS wing seam and it is bolted through but it really just doesn't qualify anymore.

This was an interim phase, its held up by the Align-a-Rip fence rails on my 1970's C-man contractor and the legs help out because the rails are aluminum. This is pre-lift, pre-current tablesaw and pre-full blown cabinet. It's funny to look back at the older pics I have around :). Note the cool-eddie footswitch control ;-)

[Gene Howe]

Mine's in the TS right extension. The TS fence and router fence are one.
With more room, I think a free standing table would be better. It serves the purpose, though and does give me a lot more table for the saw.

[Chip Lindley]

Imma *router-in-the-ts-extension* kinda guy! Who doesn't have a crowded shop? The ext.table and 50" fence already intrude lots! I can double-justify that space spent wisely by incorporating my router lift in the ext.table. Storage drawers underneath, with router access from beneath at the end of the ext.table. I even found another PM Accu-Fence to dedicate to the router. I can leave it set up permanently unless a very wide rip must be made on the TS.

[Rick Markham]

I like mine a whole lot... It's a new set up, but think it is the "bee's knees!"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/Rick357/002-2.jpg