Router plate size

[Cesar Vega]

Hi,

I'm building my own router table.
For the plate, I'm going to get a piece of thick acrylic and drill all the needed wholes.

Well, if I ever want to get a factory made router plate, I'd like to use the most commonly size used today.

But I've found there are two very common size:
9" x 12"
and
8 1/4" x 11 3/4" (found in Rockler and bench dog tables among others)

I've also found some router plates at 9 1/4" x 11 3/4, but I think these are not that common.

So, what's the most common plate size?

[Garrett Ellis]

use the smaller size... you can always make it bigger :D

[glenn bradley]

Garrett's got it. There is no standard and even if (by count) there was a more frequently used size, that cold change with new product offerings. I would start small. I have a wasted top that I enlarged the hole in for a Woodpecker lift (one of the largest offerings out there) and then got a new top. My old plates are all Rockler's older size (they changed too) so they won't fit the old top. Fortunately making a top is not all that complicated, its the supporting structure that tells the tale. Lots and lots of support heartily recommended.

[Bob Wingard]

The bigger the plate .. the more likely it is to sag.

I make them just big enough to let me get the router in & out of the table. In some cases, I've been known to remove the handles from the router to make it smaller.

Now, I have a couple of the OLD style CMT/Sommerfeld table tops made from layers of laminate with no plate at all .. .. only a center hole .. lots better.

[Cesar Vega]

Now, I have a couple of the OLD style CMT/Sommerfeld table tops made from layers of laminate with no plate at all .. .. only a center hole .. lots better.

I was thinking in doing that too, at least to try it.
But I'm not sure how much of the router depth will the 3/4" laminate eat.

[Bob Wingard]

I can measure if you wish, but the tops are more like 5/8" than 3/4" .. and .. there is a shallow recess cut into the bottom so the router is mounted a bit closer to the top surface.

All in all, I think the base of the router is a small fraction of an inch deeper into the CMT's top than it would be using a standard top with the router mounted to a plate. The really nice thing about this style is that there is no leveling or adjustment necessary .. makes for a really smooth surface across the entire top.

[Cesar Vega]

All in all, I think the base of the router is a small fraction of an inch deeper into the CMT's top than it would be using a standard top with the router mounted to a plate. The really nice thing about this style is that there is no leveling or adjustment necessary .. makes for a really smooth surface across the entire top.

What a great idea!! :)
I'll try this first, with a whole just to fit the router, so I can do it up to the size of a plate later if I don't like it.

[Lee Schierer]

Just a couple of words of caution. Acrylic is fairly brittle and prone to cracking when stresses are concentrated around screws and any sharp edge like a hole drilled through it with a screw in the hole. You might want to consider using polycarbonate instead of acrylic.

Thinner plastic sheets and even aluminum router plates can sag under the weight of a heavy router. A dished in table makes routing longer pieces a problem as they go down the slope and then back up to bridge the sag. Make sure your table is flat once it is in the table and the router is mounted to it.