optimal router table set up

[Aaron carter]

So I am setting up my first real router table. I am sick of fooling around with my router taking 15 minutes to change bits and adjust just right for height and get the fence right. I don't have a lot of spare time and the time I do have I want to spend woodworking not setting up my tools. It makes woodworking more work than fun. So I just purchased the Incra Master lift II which is based on the jessem lift and I am going to pair that with the 3.5 hp 7518 porter cable router. I am now thinking about getting the incra ls super fence system at 17" and building my own mdf tabletop and base with angle iron supporting it with a sheet of hdpe plastic over the top. I was considering getting the steel benchdog table but I would have to build and extension for it anyway and I could save the $400 for another tool. Anybody else have any other recommendations for a more optimal set up? I want this to be my last set up that I have to buy.

[pat warner]

Machine set up is part of the game. Every operation requires your setup attention.
With hand tools you're faced with the same, sharpening, setting guides, isolating
the work and so on.
Would only comment on the PE; it's not flat nor of uniform thickness.
It may a problem. Your cuttings may not be as accurate as you'd like.
And I would pay attention to the ht. of your table. Too low or too high not good.
Use the variable ht. of the drill press table to find your comfort zone.

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Pat. While it's relatively easy to speed up the rough setup, fine setup still takes time and test cutting to be sure things are as you need them. It's the nature of woodworking, regardless of the tool. I like his comment about table height, too.

[larry senen]

just get one of those wrench less collets for the router and a 1/4" insert for it. on only the largest bits have i had to change to the old wrench collet.
BIG frustration saver.

[John TenEyck]

If you'd rather spend your time woodworking than building/setting up machines, then you should buy the Benchdog router table and fence, or something similar. Building a router table that's flat, true, and smooth is not trivial. You did say you want this to be your last set up.

John

[Prashun Patel]

I have the Incra LS Positioner, MastrLiftII, the Wonderfence, and the Incra table.

The positioner requires longer table to accommodate the carriage mount.

It might be simpler just to buy the Incra table and just build a base for it. Mine hasn't sagged yet.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

I also have the Incra LS positioner along with the Incra router lift and porter cable 7518 router. I can tell you from experience that it's a dream to work with (once set up properly) and will do exactly what you're wanting.

Example- I make a lot of drawers and use the same joinery for most of them. I use the drawer lock router bit set up for 1/2" thick stock. I bought the template for the router bit and it took me less than 3 minutes each for drawer front and sides. I logged the the position of the fence on the test piece I used for future reference. Now when I go back to make the same joinery again, I just side the fence to the measurement I had written down, do how ever many clicks of the micro adjust and I'm back exactly where I was the first go around. Total time, less than a minute. It takes me longer to change out the router bit than it does for me to set it up.

My router table is mounted on my TS so I do have to slide on the wonder fence every time I use the router table. Now that I'll be moving to a new shop soon with more room. I'm thinking of having a dedicated stand alone router table. If I do, it will still be an Incra.

[Robin Frierson]

My first router table was MDF and it sagged over time. My second router table was phenolic and it sagged over time. My third router table is cast iron and has not sagged. So I say go for a cast iron table.

[Myk Rian]

You will be taking time away from your busy schedule to set up tools, no matter what you do to mount them.

[Andy Giddings]

I have had both the Bench Dog original MDF table and now have the Phenolic version. Both have stayed flat even with the Bench Dog Lift/PC 7518 router permanently attached. As long as you support the top correctly with cross members as well as at the edges you don't have to go to the expense and weight of cast iron. Other suppliers also sell phenolic tables. I wouldn't recommend raw MDF - covered with a laminate both sides and edged would be a lot better

[Aaron carter]

Machine set up is part of the game. Every operation requires your setup attention.
With hand tools you're faced with the same, sharpening, setting guides, isolating
the work and so on.
Would only comment on the PE; it's not flat nor of uniform thickness.
It may a problem. Your cuttings may not be as accurate as you'd like.
And I would pay attention to the ht. of your table. Too low or too high not good.
Use the variable ht. of the drill press table to find your comfort zone.

I understand that regardless of what I am doing I will have some tool set up. However right now I am working with a bosch RA1181 table and a hitachi m12vc which really limits me in my accuracy and efficiency.


I also have the Incra LS positioner along with the Incra router lift and porter cable 7518 router. I can tell you from experience that it's a dream to work with (once set up properly) and will do exactly what you're wanting.

Example- I make a lot of drawers and use the same joinery for most of them. I use the drawer lock router bit set up for 1/2" thick stock. I bought the template for the router bit and it took me less than 3 minutes each for drawer front and sides. I logged the the position of the fence on the test piece I used for future reference. Now when I go back to make the same joinery again, I just side the fence to the measurement I had written down, do how ever many clicks of the micro adjust and I'm back exactly where I was the first go around. Total time, less than a minute. It takes me longer to change out the router bit than it does for me to set it up.

My router table is mounted on my TS so I do have to slide on the wonder fence every time I use the router table. Now that I'll be moving to a new shop soon with more room. I'm thinking of having a dedicated stand alone router table. If I do, it will still be an Incra.

I considered getting an incra table setup but did it does not accommodate the incra master lift II, the plate is too big for all incra tables it will only fit the bench dog table. That is reassuring that you like the LS fence system.


I have the Incra LS Positioner, MastrLiftII, the Wonderfence, and the Incra table.

The positioner requires longer table to accommodate the carriage mount.

It might be simpler just to buy the Incra table and just build a base for it. Mine hasn't sagged yet.


On black friday Rockler will have the cast iron table top, the porter cable 7518 router, and the bench dog lift for $899. I asked if they would substitute the incra lift for the bench dog lift and they said they can't. So I ordered the incra lift on Amazon and may get the Rockler package too and sell the bench dog lift on Ebay then I would get the tabletop and the router for $549 minus any fees I pay to sell the bench dog on Ebay they usually sell for around $340. I can get the LS fence for $399. I paid $339 for the incra lift. So $1287 for everything plus I would need to build the base cabinet and add an extension to the cast iron table top to mount the fence.

[Jim Dwight]

I've built several router tables but plan to stay with my current one indefinitely. It has a home made lift that slides on two 1 inch machined rods fastened to the 3/4 plywood back and raised and lowered with a piece of 3/8 all thread (or is it 5/16?) with 16 threads/inch. I got the basic design from an old American Woodworker article (which is still available). Another idea from that magazine is that the top is hinged so bit changes do not require the height of the router to change. I altered the magazine design, however, to have drawers for the bits from Norm Abram's on New Yankee Workshop. The fence is held in place with very short pipe clamps. It is the same height as my table saw and workbench - 38.25 inches. It rolls on 4 totally locking casters. The on off switch is a light switch in a metal double box with an outlet. So you plug the router into the outlet and the switch turns the router on and off. Nothing fancy about it but it works great. Dust collection from the fence and the router compartment. The top is a sink cutout (high density particle board with formica attached), backed with a piece of 3/4 plywood and edged with maple. It has stayed flat.

[Frankie Hunt]

On black friday Rockler will have the cast iron table top, the porter cable 7518 router, and the bench dog lift for $899. I asked if they would substitute the incra lift for the bench dog lift and they said they can't. So I ordered the incra lift on Amazon and may get the Rockler package too and sell the bench dog lift on Ebay then I would get the tabletop and the router for $549 minus any fees I pay to sell the bench dog on Ebay they usually sell for around $340. I can get the LS fence for $399. I paid $339 for the incra lift. So $1287 for everything plus I would need to build the base cabinet and add an extension to the cast iron table top to mount the fence.

Pay particular attention to lift plate size. You don't want the plate to be a different size than the table top hole!

[Brian W Evans]

I have the benchdog cast iron top and I love it. I also have the woodpecker lift and the woodpecker fence. I highly recommend both. I had to drill two holes in the fence base to make it work with the benchdog top but it was no problem - just aluminum.

It's nice to know that I will never have to think about changing my router setup again. Changeovers and setups are about as quick as they can be as well.

[Mark Furjanic]

I've got an Incra table, the Incra Mast r Lift 2 and the LS17 with Wonderfence and couldn't be happier. I built a cabinet for it and added the dust box and clean sweep rings. The whole unit is a pleasure to work with.

Someone above mentioned that the Mast R Lift 2 won't fit the Incra table but mine fit perfectly.

[Guy Belleman]

Check out the RT 1000, I am happy with mine. Usually on sale this time of year too. Although not sure when they will resume operations.

http://www.rt1000.com

[Mike Chalmers]

Check out the RT 1000, I am happy with mine. Usually on sale this time of year too. Although not sure when they will resume operations.

http://www.rt1000.comI have one of these. As luck would have it, I just sent an Email yesterday to them commenting on how poor the table is. As they seem to be down and out, at least for a time, I shall not expect any help there.

I found the top to be quite uneven, the aluminum plate drooped (or was twisted initially), miter T-track was proud of the table, fence faces are not coplaner, several other alignment errors. May just be bad luck and I got a lemon, I do not know. All I do know is that my experience is very different from Guy's.

[Ben Rivel]

Ive got the PC 7815 in an Incra Lift with the Clean Sweep magnetic inserts and the full sized BenchDog cast iron table on the BenchDog metal stand with the BenchDog ProFence with Jessem Clear Cut Guides and the Rockler metal dust box around the router. Awesome setup with amazing dust collection. IMO cast iron is the only top/table Ill consider for any of my stationary tools. I did start with the BenchDog ProLift but liked the features of the Incra lift much more so I ended up selling the ProLift.

[Ruperto Mendiones]

You will have no problems with the bench dog lift. I bought the PC 7518, and the cast iron table and lift and couldn't be happier. You use a crank on a recessed bolt to set height and the crank is indexed in 1/128" increments. The Rockler sale price is less than what I paid years ago.

[Andrew Kertesz]

Not trying to hijack the OP's thread; does anybody have any recent experience with the Sommerfeld router table and the Triton router? Looks like an interesting setup.

[Roger Stephenson]

I too chose to build my own table using the Incra lift and super fence. I wanted a large table to minimize the overhang of the Incra Jig. I also chose, after much deliberation and use of other tables to build mine much higher than some. I have my top set at just below chest level. I made the top from 2 pieces of 3/4" MDF bonded together with contact cement and covered top, bottom & sides with a white marble look Formica counter top veneer. I have been using it for 3 years or so & have never regretted the size or height. I mounted full swivel casters at the rear hidden behind wooden corners. At the front I made identical corners but cut a slot at about 1/2 way across the face of the cabinet to allow me to insert a 3rd wheel to lift the cabinet when I need to move it. I will try to attach some photos if possible.348161348167

[Shawn Northener]

I have an Incra Ultra (pre-LS) positioner on an Incra top with Incra plate holding a Triton 3.25hp router. The router has height and bit change capabilities and cost less than a router lift. I use a Wixey height gauge and at this point the only thing I feel I need to add is the Wonder Fence. In lieu of the wonder fence I have some wooden fences that attach to the Ultra fence for close clearance around large diameter bits.

[Shawn Northener]

I also use two of the right-to-left inch scale templates in addition to the joinery templates in my setup. One scale is zeroed to the center of the router, the other floats to provide a zero location for whatever width I'm working with. This still leaves two slots for the actual joinery templates.

[Wayne Cannon]

I have both a stand-alone router table/cabinet witha cross-braced 1-1/4" laminate-surfaced MDF top & 7518 router with lift; and a Summerfield anodized aluminum top with a Triton router, set up as a table saw extension table.

Bottom line, despite my stand-alone tables router lift, micro-adjust fence, and digital readout, I still go to the Summerfeld first. I especially like the Summerfeld pivoting fence -- it 's sooo easy to work with. My stand-alone table has been relegated to when I want to go back and forth between two set-ups.

It's a small pain to reach under the Summerfeld table to adjust the router, but the Triton router has both a quick and a micrometer adjust, and the shaft automatically locks in the full up position.

Summerfeld's offset collet wrenches are very convenient (they are available a number of places).

The Summerfield table has holes for direct router mounting -- no rectangular router mounting plate -- which limits flexibility for router lifts and other after-market options that are plate-based.

In other words, the Summerfeld solution has limitations, but I still find it faster and easier to set up and use; making it my go to router.