Which router in which table??

[Greg Urwiller]

My new shop is finally done and I'm trying to do the best setup I can the first time (yea, right!). I've got a General 350 with an extension table that I want to put a mobile base on. Homemade, welded, with nice heavy duty castors. But, to design it, I have to decide what router setup in the ext. table I want to go with. Do I just put a router/box setup in the ext., or do I build a full cabinet underneath? I have a Jessum Mast-R-Lift, that I'll have to buy a PC 75182 motor for. Should I put this on the ext., or on a separate router cabinet? Right now I have a Hitachi M12V and a Freud FT2000E. When I got it, I was planning on going with the lift on the ext. table, but now I'm leaning towards just putting one of the other routers in it, and going with the heavier duty(?) lift in a separate table. That would also make it easier to do the mobile base for the saw. Suggestions? Greg

[Andrew Nemeth]

If you have the space I prefer separate machines over a router table in the extension. Ideally, all of your routers would mount to tables using the same size baseplates as the lift so you could swap any router into any table.

[Chip Lindley]

The long extension table on a TS with 50" fence is lots of vacant real estate begging to be used. Putting a router lift in the extension table was a no brainer for me! I have a second T-square fence for use with the router. I made my overkill stand (not really) of welded 3" channel and angle. A cabinet of drawers was made to slip into the open space. It is "L"-shaped to allow router access at the end. To my way of thinking, it's the best of both worlds; a really nice saw with a really nice stand with a really nice router cabinet--all in one!

Early stages:

[Jim O'Dell]

The long extension table on a TS with 50" fence is lots of vacant real estate begging to be used. snip

You haven't seen my extension table. 64" rip capacity and I have more junk on it that should be allowed on a table saw by law!!! :D:D
I agree with Andrew, if you have the space, do separate. I'm fairly tight on space and still did a separate big RT because I felt, and have found, it to be more versatile. Plus, there's more horizontal space to put more stuff!! :rolleyes: Jim.

[Van Huskey]

Another idea that I find very useful is building a full sized outfeed table and putting the router in it, you get all the benefits of a really large router table and have an excellent outfeed table as well.

[Greg Urwiller]

Chip: That's pretty much what I wanted to do for a base. Thought about 2"x3" 1/4" angle. I can't tell if you have any "locking" swivel castors on yours, maybe with the weight of everything you don't have any problem with it wanting to roll? If I just went with one of the older routers with a box built around it, I figured I could get by with just a single swivel castor. But, if I went with a full sized router cabinet, I should probably have 2 castors. Then comes trying to figure out the best placement with a cabinet over them.

Van: That's another good idea, but I have something else planned for that. I have a sewing pattern cabinet that I put castors on that matches the TS height. This is great cabinet! It's all steel, about 5' long and about 32" deep, with 6 steel drawers. Heavy duty roller slides, the things built like a tank. I figure on using it for an outfeed table and an assembly table. I know I'll probably have junk on it when I want to use it as an outfeed table, but I bet most people that have something comparable run into the same thing. Greg

[Chip Lindley]

Chip: That's pretty much what I wanted to do for a base. Thought about 2"x3" 1/4" angle. I can't tell if you have any "locking" swivel castors on yours, maybe with the weight of everything you don't have any problem with it wanting to roll? If I just went with one of the older routers with a box built around it, I figured I could get by with just a single swivel castor. But, if I went with a full sized router cabinet, I should probably have 2 castors. Then comes trying to figure out the best placement with a cabinet over them.

Greg, your choice of angle iron should work fine with the 3" dimension vertical. I used what I had on hand. I figure overkill is better than underwhelming when it's already paid for. Mine are 2-1/2" non-locking phenolic casters under the extension end. Those don't squish flat under load like rubber casters do. There will be no access to them when the drawer bank/router shroud is installed.

I designed the mobile base so the caster brackets are level with the top of the channel frame. The drawer bank will slide in unobstructed. As to rollling stability, some of the weight of the TS bears on those casters, plus the weight of the ext table, plus some weight of the T-square fence tube, plus the router lift AND drawer bank full of stuff! So, those casters do not move easily.

IMO, go for two casters on the extension end of your TS if that end includes anything other than open space! Twice the friction; twice the support. Best of Luck!

[Don Bullock]

I struggled with the same question. This year I answered it by buying a new router, router table and lift on a great sale. I decided that having a separate router table would allow me to have the router table set up for routing and not have leave the table saw for cutting lumber. Changing from sawing to routing would require moving my Incra TS fence. Later I'll add a router to the right of my table saw to add even more versatility. I'm quickly discovering that like clamps, a woodworker never has enough routers.