Router Table Top Material?

[Keith Foster]

As you may know if you've visited or posted on Jerry's "Dovetail" thread (which I shamelessly hijacked - sorry Jerry) - I am now the proud owner of an Incra 17" LS. Since I am just getting started in woodworking I have very little in the way of "fine" woodworking devices for my shop. For the most part my woodworking has been of the brute force type - ie construction. Matter of fact, we just finished building a house on some acreage I own. So for your basic 2x4 stud length rafter joist drywall stuff I'm set.

Now I'd like to begin the journey into furniture building, and for that I'll need more precision style equipment - hence the Incra LS. But I tend to be a bit anal when it comes to "colors" in the shop area (3 car garage - two bays open for my use). And as "dumb" as it may seem - I don't like the white tops I see on so many router work stations. So, if cost was less of a consideration than color - is there an alternative? Has anyone built the top for their router work station out Formica? <O:p</O:p

[Joe Mayo]

If your looking for precision routing then check out http://www.patwarner.com/ Great stuff.

Yes, you can use Formica for a router top. I laminated 2 pieces of MDF (30" x 32") and a sheet of white Formica for my router table. Works great and was fairly inexpensive. I used white because I can write on it and it was what I had laying around.

[Michael Gabbay]

I also chose white so that I could see the contrast of the piece being routed as well as mark fence settings and bit heights. What ever you do make sure you apply the laminate to both top and bottom to keep the top from warping.

[Jon Toebbe]

I'm planning to grab a damaged solid-core door from the BORG -- five feet of it will make a decent benchtop, and the rest (suitably laminated and edge-banded) will make a tasty router table top. Once I get the garage cleared of moving junk, the bench and router table will be projects #1 and 2. Stay tuned... :)

PS: (off topic) We made the move to Denver, and (finally!) have internet access. It's like having your right hand reattached. :rolleyes:

[Dave Brandt]

I've used Formica for several table tops. If you poke around the Borg, you may even find some scraps they're willin' to give away. Worked for me! (It was pretty ugly stuff, though) :eek:

[Keith Foster]

Went and "Google'd": Formica Router Table Top and found a world of info. Should have done that first. :o Thanks for the replies!

[Keith Hooks]

MDF makes a good top if it's thick enough (1" or greater) but the best, IMO, would be phenolic. It's stronger than MDF so they're made thinner. 3/4" thick is plenty. That makes changing bits above the table so much easier.

[Jim Becker]

My current and previous router table top is a double layer of 3/4" MDF wrapped with hardwood and plastic laminate on top. (Formica, Wilsonart...brand doesn't matter) Making your own also means you can size it to your preferences...I find all the commercial tops too small for my liking. My table is currently 24" deep by 36" wide...and that's a small as I'd ever want.

[Keith Foster]

Making your own also means you can size it to your preferences...I find all the commercial tops too small for my liking. My table is currently 24" deep by 36" wide...and that's a small as I'd ever want.I agree 100% - I'm a big guy and standing at a small router table seems more like sewing to me. :rolleyes: For what ever reason when I started this thread I had a brain lapse and forgot that Formica is a brand name for a laminate product. Kept reading laminate in several threads and wondering why Formica wouldn't work. :p
Has anyone used a color OTHER than white? I'm leaning toward red here - once again - just because I'm color anal.

[Jim Becker]

Keith, my current router table is ivory (with a walnut apron) to match the outfeed table on my TS. My previous router table was black. You can use any color you like...they all work the same, but I find that lighter colors have the advantage that you can see pencil marks on them which can be convenient when making stopped cuts.

[Keith Foster]

Noted that you switched to a lighter color from Black. I actually thought about using Black, but felt there might be "contast" issues with some woods. Did you experience that, or was the color change just to match the TS?

[Jim Becker]

Noted that you switched to a lighter color from Black. I actually thought about using Black, but felt there might be "contast" issues with some woods. Did you experience that, or was the color change just to match the TS?

The black was hard on the eyes, especially when trying to see pencil marks as noted above. The Ivory was chosen both to match and because I like light colors on everything in the shop for better reflectivity from the lighting.

[Ron Kanter]

Woodpeckers uses red phenolic for their very good looking and well made drill press tables.
For the router tables they use white. http://www.woodpeck.com/routertopsmain.html
I have no idea why they chose different colors for the different tables, but it might be worth asking them.
Ron

[Jim Becker]

The Woodpecker's material is Phenolic coated BB, not solid phenolic. For that reason, you'll need to laminate more plywood for a router table to hold the weight. Solid phenolic will work fine all by itself at 3/4" thick or so.

[Jamie Buxton]

I built a router table with formica and 3/4" MDF. The formica worked fine, but the MDF sloooowly sagged over time. I finally had to screw hardwood strongbacks to the underside to make the thing flat again. After a while I replaced the top with a torsion box which is really flat, and stays that way. If I weren't going to go the torsion box route, I'd at least use plywood for the table.

[Jim DeLaney]

Mine is a 24 X 32" piece of white Corian, laminated to ¾" plywood substrate using epoxy. It has no insert. My Hitachi M12V, with Router Raizer®, is mounted directly to the underside of the Corian.

The cabinet is a variation - sor of a compromize - between Norm's router table cabinet and the one in the Woodhaven catalog. Instead of casters, I mounted it on a Shop Fox® mobile base.

One of these days, I'll take (and post) some pix of it.

[Keith Outten]

My router table is one I designed and built about thirteen years ago. The frame is welded steel, 4 inch by 1/4" thick flat bar. Once the frame was welded it was abrasive lapped using a large sanding belt that covered the entite surface of my saw. I placed the belt, abrasive side up on top of my table saw, then set the top surface of the frame on the belt and lapped untill it was perfectly flat. A 1/4" aluminum top was then cut to size and attached to the steel frame. I repeated the lapping process again on the aluminum top. I then installed a set of extruded aluminum legs. The final step was to install a beige formica top surface. The formica was not glued to the aluminum, I used a product called Sticky Back which is a very thin sheet with adhesive on both sides. This kept the table surface perfectly flat, glue is impossible to apply an even coating over such a large area.

I machined holes and mounts for two routers, one in each end. One hole is counterbored for the Porter Cable template guides. An Incra Jig and fence system completed the project however my first Incra Jig was the original plastic model. I now own the 24" extruded aluminum version.

The formica surface has held up surprisingly well over the years. An occasional coat of paste wax makes for a super smooth surface that is a joy to use. If I was building another top for my router table I would definately choose formica over any other top surface. Like Jim I prefer to use a light color for pencil mark contrast.

[Keith Foster]

The frame is welded steel, 4 inch by 1/4" thick flat bar. Once the frame was welded it was abrasive lapped using a large sanding belt that covered the entite surface of my saw. I placed the belt, abrasive side up on top of my table saw, then set the top surface of the frame on the belt and lapped untill it was perfectly flat. A 1/4" aluminum top was then cut to size and attached to the steel frame. I repeated the lapping process again on the aluminum top. WOW! :eek:
OK, another "newbie" question - the pencil marks? I see the need to mark the stock, but the table itself? Would this be to ID a stop point? If so, and you're using a black or another dark colored top, couldn't you acheive the same result by using tape or a fence stop?
Thanks for the tips guys!

[Corey Hallagan]

Keith, yes and no, if you have a stopped mortice or whatever both ends are stopped, then to eliminate guesswork you would need to mark the leading edge on your work piece and your router table to show where to plunge the cut on the cutter. A stop on the end of the cut would work but it is just as easy to mark the wood and table. It's a process you could see in at least one out of every 3 episodes from Norm. Or it seems like.
Corey

[Jim Becker]

Keith, Corey has it. I'll add that I just don't like using tape as it is thick enough to affect the precision of the cut. Personal preference.