Qwazy Wabbet; Router mounting question

[Bruce Seidner]

Standard instruction for router plate mounting is to trace the plate on the table. Measure in a half inch or so. Cut this out and rabbet down a half inch to the inside edge of the tracing line. Plate mounts flush to the table resting on the rabbet ridge. But then there is the adjusting which includes some number of adjustment screws, up from the rabbet ledge or down from the plate to the rabbet ledge.

But why bother with the rabbet ledge when one could just cut out the table for the plate to fit through and then mount steel or hardwood ledges that would use T-bolts or some other way to place the adjusting screws.

I gueesse I don't know how much the plate will be, in fact, resting on the rabbet ledge and how much the adjustment screws will be the support for the plate. It really is six of one as rabbetting a ledge is hardly a withering ordeal. It just seems that I could fashion something with more rigidity and better adjustability with an attached pair of bars. I noticed Kreg is selling a set of 4 corner plate mounting adjusters for under $20 and these are pretty nifty. It is even simpler than the adjustment bar I was thinking of.

Is there something superior about the rabbet ledge or is this just tradition?

[Dan Rude]

I have the kreg adjusters in my router table. It is a Rockler with the ledge, they work very well with the ledge. I haven't tried them without one. They are just a pain to adjust.

[Dave MacArthur]

Good point. Your idea sounds superior.

[Thom Sturgill]

Many plates adjust from the top, which is much easier than trying to adjust from the bottom in tight cabinet. Adjusting from the top needs a supporting ledge. This could be provided by a ring or set of strips that fastened from the bottom, but would not be as secure as 1" of top that is left after routing out 1/2" from a 1 1/2" top. For a thin phenolic top, it would probably be better.

[glenn bradley]

Top adjustment is easier and many folks don't want to spend the money on a plate that can remain flat with support only present at the corners. My plate is 3/8" aluminum and I still use the rabbet-type hole but to each his own. As to difficulty of adjustment; sure its a pain from below but, once done you may never do it again.

P.s. Trying to cut the hole to the correct reduced shape and then using it as a guide to rabbet the ledge is a recipe for a poor fit. Frame the plate and use a pattern bit of the right radius for your plate corners and set the depth to create the rabbet. You'll be happier ;-)

[Charles Goodnight]

'cause its dead easy to put in the rabbet? What I did was use a 1/2 inch pattern bit and simply set the depth of the cut to the desired depth of the rabbet. I then used a jigsaw to cut along the inside edge of the trough that the pattern bit cut. Voila: cutout and rabbet in one easy step. Simple, cheap, and adjustments are from the top.

[Chip Lindley]

Glenn and Charlie are on to something! Framing the insert and using a pattern bit is the way to inset a router plate in the table. As for the ledge vs. attached brackets, I have quite an investment in my P-C 7518 router and JessEm lift. I sleep better at night knowing that routed ledge is supporting them both all the way around. You may be more trusting!

[Bruce Seidner]

I defer to the experience and logic of these responses. The installation instructions for my BenchDog ProLift direct me to frame the actual plate with stock that will become the template for the actual plate. The bit of advise I have garnered is to route it first and then cut out the scrap from the middle. This is practical, empirical, and involves no rulers and imaginary drawn lines.

That is how it will be done.

Thanx,

Bruce

[Gary Curtis]

Bruce, the entire question can be sidestepped by buying one of the cheap templates sold by WoodHaven (.com). These are used to route out the top while leaving a ledge for support.

Whatever technique you use, having a ledge for support does extend the elevation of the bit. Certainly not always an advantage, but nice some of the time.