Router table and fence

[Jim Colombo]

I'm planning to build a router table and fence. What are the most important things I should consider in the design of both?

[Bill Huber]

The first thing is FLAT, the second thing is FLAT and the third thing is FLAT. This is for the top and the fence, if they are not flat you will be fighting it all the time. The table top should have very good support all around and as close to the router as you can.

The fence should be able to adjust easily and stay put when you adjust it and have a dust collection port.

Then you have dust collection, you want good dust collection. Then you can look at good storage for the bits.

This is just a start and it is just some things I would think about.

[keith micinski]

I second Bill's motion on making it out of materials that aren't only going to be flat to start with but are going to stay flat for years to come with a heavy router hanging down. also work a lift into the equation. you can find them pretty reasonably priced now and they all are pretty good so you can't go wrong with any of them.

[Gary Curtis]

+1 on the importance of flatness. To help achieve that aim I chose a router with above-table height adjustment (many brands offer this in their Fixed Base models). Thus, no heavy Router Lift.

My design came from Bill Hylton's new edition of Woodworking with the Router. He incorporates stiffening bulkheads on the underside of the top. The aspect that drew me to Hylton's design is the lift-up top. This virtually puts your router at eye-level for bit changes.

[glenn bradley]

I have spent a lot of time and effort building various shop fixtures but for some reason have always found a router top, plate and fence system for around $150 has always led me to build the cabinet and purchase the top/fence. This lets me build the storage, DC and so forth to fit my needs. Just food for thought.

[HANK METZ]

It's likely you'll want to fabricate your own top, here's a short video on insetting a plexi or metal insert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I03sQy2hsg

- Beachside Hank

[steven c newman]

214031Just a look at my home made table. Top is a sandwich of two pieces of plywood. Height is matched to the height of my table saw. That piece of pine on the end is for when I use my router to cut dovetails. The jig screws to the top, and the board is clamped in place using the pine backer. Fence will pivot at the outfeed side, and a screw locks the infeed side in place. That blue door pivots down to allow for cleaning. Been in use for 20+ yrs.

[Dave Zellers]

I would completely ignore Bill's first two points and put all your focus on his third point.

Plus I would add heavy. Heavy is good.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Bill has a good point on table flatness. That's easily achieved, but often overlooked.

I built my router table over 20 years ago. And, it's still flat.

I used two layers of 1" particle board (or MDF nowadays) with Formica laminate on both sides.

I recommend that the fence be one piece. In the event that you need the outfeed fence set differently than the infeed, you can just use some simple shims that are either hot melt glued or double sticked taped to a single fence. So, having split fence capability is not worth it in my opinion. It just makes the fence too complicated.

In my shop, space is important. However, even if I had a large shop, I'd still want everything to be close by (I'm showing my age!). Therefore, I'd have a router table that had plenty of storage for my bits and fixtures.

As far as router lifts, I think they're neat but definitely not required. It's only minor convenience in my opinion, and doesn't mean much in the end.

I recommend incorporating 'tee track' into the fence and table. The tee track is a great and convenient way to quickly set up hold downs as to ensure smooth feeding operations.

I recommend that the router table have mobility. Again, my shop is small, but I often demand that my router table handle lengthy moldings. To do so, I must be able to move my router table. So, mobility is a must.

Lastly, dust collection. Thru the fence dust collection is important for edge machining. However, you'll need to have 'thru the table' dust removal (via the cabinet) to support operations like grooving. It will also keep the router in a cleaner environment.

Good luck building a router table. It's fun and rewarding every time you'll use it.

Enjoy!
Jeff :)

[Jim Colombo]

Thanks for all the input. As far a FLAT is concerned, is MDF, plywood or something else the best material to use?

[Ron Dorsch]

Jim,
See the attached photos of the combination planer & router table station I built. The planer is housed inside & under the router table box & has wheels at the corners to allow me to position the station in my shop to allow differing lengths of wood. The fence is split w/ the dust extraction box that double duties as storage & is removable to ride on my table saw fence as an added tall fence & anti-kick back device.
I try to combine uses with my tools. When used as a planer station I clamp two adjustable roller stands to the ends of the table to help with the planer tables. The height is taller than most tables you find.
I am 6' & find the taller height easier when I use it with the planer & when I use the router to shape pieces using the pin on the router plate.
I used two pieces of 3/4" mdf w/ laminate on each side for the table. The box assembly took one piece of 3/4" 4x8 ply. It's not pretty like Norm's but it serves the purpose, was easy to make, about 3 days total.
What ever table you come up with have fun.
Ron

[Roy Turbett]

I built Norm Abram's improved router table and am very pleased with the performance. Plans can be found and NewYankee.com.

[Curt Harms]

If you build your own fence, having the faces slide so you can adjust the cutter opening can be pretty useful.

[pat warner]

For me a flat uninterrupted table top and fence are paramount.
I don't use an insert nor a lift. There are no breaks or discontinuities in the surface.
The work travels to and from the cutter without interruption. That surface (only 5/8" thick) is supported by 6 well spaced beams; it does not deflect. I'd pay attention to that with your design.
A fence should also be deflection resistant, square to the table, straight to a few .001''s, easily adjustable and perhaps continuous; a single piece (http://patwarner.com/images/rtf_opener.jpg). Whilst a single surface fence will not allow adjustment for full thickness cuts, in my case, that occurs 1% of the time.
I would advise you design your fence for 85-95% of its function. If, e.g., you design a fence for all occasions (patterns, full thickness cuts, wide & skinny stock, zero clearance, 4" cutters and so on), you will have compromised its utility for everyday use.
In my view, most of the router tables I've seen are way overbuilt, heavy and double as storage boxes. Store your stuff in a cabinet. Moreover, I'd keep the thing simple and particularly ambulatory. If you have it castered you can manage odd stock more easily & you can roll it over to your work bench for another surface. Study the best surface height (quite critical for effeciency & minimimzing back and reach problems) with a drill press table. Adjust the DP table (up/down), set up a mock router table scenario and study the ergonomics; you don't want to find the correct height when you're all done with this experiement.

[Stan Mitchell]

I built Norm Abram's improved router table and am very pleased with the performance. Plans can be found and NewYankee.com.

+1 This is good place to start. Lots of good ideas in Norm's plan. Don't be afraid to customize to fit your needs.