Do you have a double router table? Did you decide not to build one?

[Stuart Welsh]

I've got it in my head that I want a double router table. (Maybe it's the sale Woodpecker has on the V2 lift and Porter Cable 7518-2 combo right now that makes me think I NEED a double router table.) Since I'm going to take the space to create a router table and I have the room in my shop I'm thinking why not have two in one table? Won't this make cabinet door and drawer construction more efficient? I don't think many people balk at the idea of having multiple routers, and have seen posts from some that keep multiples of the same router to avoid bit changes of often used bits. So why not two routers in a table?

I would really appreciate some insight from those who have or have used a double set up. Did it make sense for you? What was your fence set up? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

For those of you who have considered and then abandoned plans to build one what were your points of contention?

Let the discussion begin!

[Art Mann]

Do I understand correctly that you are wanting to build a pair of router tables? The title makes it sound a little like you are going to mount two routers in one table. I had two router tables for a long time and I would still have two if I didn't need the space for other equipment. Some router setups, like the lock miter bit for example, are tedious to get right and it is nice to leave your setup intact when you need a router table for something else.

[Jim Becker]

If you regularly do projects where having a dual router table setup would make things more efficient, I see no reason to avoid the idea. While I get by with just one router table surface, there have been a few times that having two spindles available would have been quite convenient.

[Stuart Welsh]

Do I understand correctly that you are wanting to build a pair of router tables? The title makes it sound a little like you are going to mount two routers in one table. I had two router tables for a long time and I would still have two if I didn't need the space for other equipment. Some router setups, like the lock miter bit for example, are tedious to get right and it is nice to leave your setup intact when you need a router table for something else.

Sorry Art, I was a bit confusing and I have corrected my post. I do not want to build a pair of tables but rather a single table with two routers. Your question does bring up the concept of two tables though. Placed adjacent to one another they would serve the same purpose but be more flexible. My original plan has been to have a stand alone router table and a router mounted in my table saw extension. That lends itself to issues of having the router fence set up on the table saw and finding you need to break it down to do a quick cut on the table saw...

[Stuart Welsh]

If you regularly do projects where having a dual router table setup would make things more efficient, I see no reason to avoid the idea. While I get by with just one router table surface, there have been a few times that having two spindles available would have been quite convenient.

If you don't mind elaborating Jim, what are those times in which you wish you had two spindles?

[Jim Becker]

If you don't mind elaborating Jim, what are those times in which you wish you had two spindles?

If you are fitting a relatively complex piece that needs multiple contours after fitting, it would be nice to be able to fit it and then do those multiple bit operations simultaniously. And other example might be if you were making a batch of something...let's say a batch of candle stands or chairs where you need to mill a slot and then run a dovetail bit through it. Yes, you can do that by changing the bits, but for "extreme consistency" when multiple bits are involved in the same place, being able to set them both up and insure they are properly indexed on scrap and then be able to run the two operations simultaniously on each part.

[Myk Rian]

Nothing wrong with having a double table. I've seen a triple one.

[Steve Wurster]

Nothing wrong with having a double table. I've seen a triple one.

I remembered there was one on here somewhere. Not sure what the current state of this is though. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?124262-Triple-Router-Table-build

[Bruce Page]

I have two routers in my table saw (left wing & right-side table) that have come in handy several times.

[roger wiegand]

They do it with shapers, why not routers?
310004310005

[Mike Wilkins]

If you do a lot of rail and stile cabinet door work, it would make a lot of sense. One for stick cuts and one for cope cuts. One set-up for each, and after some experimental cuts on waste stock, you could knock out a whole kitchen full of cabinets in no time. If you have the space in your shop/studio, I say go for it.

[Rod Sheridan]

Sorry Art, I was a bit confusing and I have corrected my post. I do not want to build a pair of tables but rather a single table with two routers. Your question does bring up the concept of two tables though. Placed adjacent to one another they would serve the same purpose but be more flexible. My original plan has been to have a stand alone router table and a router mounted in my table saw extension. That lends itself to issues of having the router fence set up on the table saw and finding you need to break it down to do a quick cut on the table saw...

The original reason for double spindle molders was to have one spindle rotating in the opposite direction of the other.

This allowed you to mount two identical cutters, one left and one right and pattern shape in the correct grain direction by moving from spindle to spindle.

That's an incredible feature.

Since router bits only come in one hand, I don't see the need for two in one table........Regards, Rod.

[Rod Sheridan]

They do it with shapers, why not routers?
310004310005

Double spindle molders make sense because one spindle rotates in the opposite direction to the other.

Ever seen reverse direction router bits?

Regards, Rod.

[roger wiegand]

I'd think it more likely to be set up with cope on one and stick on the other for door production rather than opposite directions. (And which way does the third head go on the triple?

[Rick Potter]

Those triple shaper setups are used mostly for cabinet doors...cope, stick, and raised panel. I also have seen a couple triple router setups. Count me as one who wants to make a double router table. Just a few years back several (Woodpecker and Incra included) made double router tops, but no more.

Right now, I have two router tables, a temporary one to put across sawhorses, and several small bench top models. I like to get set up for whatever I am doing, let's say cabinets, and have a table for T&G, one for small roundovers, Cope, stick, panel, plus small, cheap routers set up for edge trimming, chamfer, 1/4" roundovers, formica trimming, etc.

I know this sounds crazy, but I have picked up so many routers cheap on CL ($10 to $80) that is makes this possible without breaking the bank. I am in the process of setting up my $80 Bosch router permanently for dados right now.

I am fortunate to have the room, so why not?

[jack duren]

3100603100613 head router table

310059

[Jim Dwight]

I don't have a double table but I have two tables. My main table has a home made lift and also a horizontal table option. The vertical table top tilts up for bit changes - which is very handy. My other router table was my only router table for awhile. It is a setup in the extension table of my table saw. The extension table is melamine particle board with mounts to the rails. On the underside the particle board is thinned to about 3/8 thickness in the shape of one of my PC690 router bases. T nuts secure the router fence. Normally, the only difference on the extension table is the hole for the router bit to come through and a couple small holes for the studs to get to the t-nuts for the fence. Doesn't inhibit table saw use at all.

Normally if I'm making doors, it is not a big deal to do all the coping then all the sticking then all the raised panels then all the edges. But sometimes I want to maintain my setup on the main table and do something else. That's when the extra table is useful. It would not usually be cope and stick because my favorite cutters are stacked. My coping sled makes the height adjustment minimal between cuts. But I have a two bit set so for that it might make sense to set up both tables with those cutters. If I had three identical panel raisers I could set up for three successive cuts but I'll probably never do that.

I don't know if I'd like two routers in one cabinet. It's easier to remember what my two are set up for when they are separate setups. Two in one cabinet and switching back and forth seems unnatural. But maybe I'd like it.

[Brian Henderson]

I did pretty much the same thing, Jim. I had a router table in the extension of my table saw for a long time, then I built a custom router table and have used that instead ever since. The router table is still in my saw wing, it's just been empty for years. I kept thinking that I might use it for something someday, I just haven't had a reason to have a router mounted in it forever. There are very few things that I can think of that might make a double-table worthwhile, especially since I have very few things I can even use two separate router table setups for.

[Ed Aumiller]

Depending on what projects you make... Having two routers set up at the same time can be more convenient...
Like Brian, have a router setup in table saw extension and then built a dedicated router table..
On the dedicated table which is 5' long I also mounted one router horiz, mainly use it for mortise/tenon work, but it is used for other things also..

If you have room, why not ??

[Bob Michaels]

I'm in the "go for it" camp. Every time I see a triple shaper I think about how helpful a double, or even better a triple, router table would be. Currently I have 1 router table with digital lift and precise incra style fence positioner and several hand held routers, 3 of which are trim routers dedicated to different size roundovers. The dedicated little routers save a lot of time and fiddling around. If I had the space I'd surely do a double, and more probably, a triple table. It would be a real pleasure when doing door rail, stile and panels.

[Mike Cutler]

I used to have two in my tables extension and it was convenient. I just never could get a table to stay flat through the years. I thought about buying two Bench Dog, bolt on CI wings, and redoing it that way, but that would have been pretty costly. I also don't have the physical space to do it properly.
I understand Rod's post about having the spindles set up for RH and LH rotation with the same cutter, but for a guy working alone in the garage or basement, having multiple routers setup can be a time saver.
I don't do this, woodworking, for a living, so a project that would take a professional a morning, or a day, would probably take me a week or more just because it gets fit around everything else. Leaving the routers setup in a table, to be able to come back at a later time, to either finish the job or remake a piece, would be beneficial.
I say go for it. It won't be that expensive to build a multi head table.

[pat warner]

"I would really appreciate some insight from those who have or have used a double set up. Did it make sense for you? What was your fence set up? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated."
************************************************** ******
Have twin-pin 7518's.
One for 80+% of the waste.
The second for the finish cut.
Essentially to waste templetized plastic parts.
Run separately no problems. Run simultaneously and the finish tool resonates.
Doubles the chatter! Otherwise overwhelmingly efficient, safe, expensive, noisy and saves space.

[Stuart Welsh]

Have twin-pin 7518's.
One for 80+% of the waste.
The second for the finish cut.
Essentially to waste templetized plastic parts.
Run separately no problems. Run simultaneously and the finish tool resonates.
Doubles the chatter! Otherwise overwhelmingly efficient, safe, expensive, noisy and saves space.

I'm not sure if you are offering this set up hypothetically or you have this in your shop? In either case can you please explain what you mean by "Essentially to waste templetized plastic parts." and ...finish tool resonates."?

Thanks,

Stuart

[pat warner]

Resonance = vibration in harmony (constructive in phase vibration) = chatter on the work.
Yes I have the 2 pin-routers on one table.
Templetized plastic: Plastic parts (http://patwarner.com/images/machining_plastic_a.jpg) fastened to templets.
The templets roll against the bearing pins and copy the work underneath them.
Wasting = routing. All routing is the removal of waste in a defined & measured way.
Intelligible? Get back as needed.

[Tom M King]

I have a Woodpeckers lift, but it rarely gets used. I built five of these for a sash project, and have ended up using them more than the lift since then for other projects. Dust collection is 100% with nothing more than a shop vac, and everyone who sees one run says, "I want one". They store out of the way when not in use. Another unexpected advantage is that the vacuum suction keeps the piece pulled tight into the fence. That router has run hundreds of feet of material, and still looks like the day I took it out of the box.


http://historic-house-restoration.com/images/windows3_0052.JPG

[jack duren]

Resonance = vibration in harmony (constructive in phase vibration) = chatter on the work.
Yes I have the 2 pin-routers on one table.
Templetized plastic: Plastic parts (http://patwarner.com/images/machining_plastic_a.jpg) fastened to templets.
The templets roll against the bearing pins and copy the work underneath them.
Wasting = routing. All routing is the removal of waste in a defined & measured way.
Intelligible? Get back as needed.

Pat my three router setup is a permanent door setup with another router table setup just for raised crowns. When I started a cabinet shop it was overnight and had already made the three router table seen in the pictures above so I went from working for a cabinet shop to running my own.

Anyway things got slow after two years and shut the shop down and went into commercial cabinet making, now a furniture maker for another and the three head router table and crown setup sit idle. Doesn't eat anything and I have 17-18 other routers I can use. The dedicated setup payed for itself many times.

As far as running the doors everything is the same as a shaper only the panel bit running opposite what a shaper would run took two passes to clean it up and get the thickness for the panel and rail.
310133310134

[Kevin Gade]

Why not have one table with multiple same brand routers mounted on same brand plates. Then all you have to do is switch out routers set and ready to use. And really the routers don't need to be the same brand, just the insert. For instance, if your making cabinet doors. Have one with the rail cutter, one with the stile cutter, and one for the panel. I don't have this setup myself, but have seen it and wish I did.