Buying a Router/Table

[John Hagelberger]

<!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Hello to everyone...I am a novice woodworker, who'd like to build some cabinets. I am in the need to buy a router and/or table and would love some advice. Again I am totally new...do I need a plunge router, do I need an expensive table...etc. any input would be much appreciated.

Thank You!!!

[Jeff Sudmeier]

John,

A router table is on "my list"! :) Sorry I can't help you out.

I did want to invite you to SMC!! You have joined a wonderful forum full of great people and admin/mods.

I hope you enjoy your time here!

[Dave Richards]

Welcome to the Creek,

I can't tell you which router table is best. Probably few can. I have a Bench Dog Pro Top and the associated fence and I've been very pleased. Some folks will tell you that you should build one which isn't bad advice. On the other hand, buying one isn't the worst thing you could do. I built the lefs for mine table after I got the table so maybe that counts for something.

As to the router choice, if you use a commercially made lift mechanism you could use either a plunge router or a fixed base model. There are lifts available both ways.

I made a lift for my DeWalt DW621 plunge router for about $7.00 and it works just fine. It wouldn't have worked on a fixed base router however.

Consider whether or not you plan to dedicate the router to the table. If not, you'll likely find a plunger is a better way to go. Most lift mechanisms that I've seen could be tedious to swap a plunge router into and out of. That turned me off and I found that I could usually leave the rectangluar clear plate from the table on my router when hand holding and because my lift only weighs a few ounces it doesn't make the router unwieldy.

Sorry, not much specific advice. I'm sure you'll get it from others, though.

G'luck.

[Jeremy Gibson]

I'm in the middle of my purchase/build process for a router table. Here is what I've done and have yet to do:

Done:
1. Right side extension on table saw with hardwood frame and melamine top - $0.00 (scraps)
2. Hitachi M12V 3-1/4 HP plunge router - $159.00 (Amazon)

Yet to go:
3. Woodpecker PlungeLift - $149.00
4. Router fence accessory for table saw fence - $0.00 (will build myself)

There are several Creekers with a similar setup and all seemed very satisfied. Their input has been the basis of what you see above.

Input from this forum - PRICELESS!

[Kevin Murdock]

Yet to go:
3. Woodpecker PlungeLift - $149.00
4. Router fence accessory for table saw fence - $0.00 (will build myself)
Input from this forum - PRICELESS!


Jeremy,

Woodpecker's is having a sale on the plunglift this week. It's $30 off.

Use the coupon code "PL30". I got this via the weekly savings email they send out.

I just ordered mine. :D

Hope this helps,
/Kevin

[Hank Knight]

John, router tables are like most evertyhing else in woodworking: you can do very fine work with a minimal table, or you can go whole hog and buy the best table out there - and everything in between works too. It depends on what you want.
Whichever way you go, I have three pieces of advice for you:
(1) Don't buy a basic plunge router for your table. You have to fight the spring to adjust the height of the cut. I bought a Bosch 1616EVS 3 1/4 hp plunge router for my router table years ago and I've regretted not getting a fixed base one because they are, IMO, much easier to adjust in a table. Some of the manufacturers are now making plunge routers specifically for router tables with locks or releases that disengage the spring tension. The Bosch 1619 is one and there are others. I think one of these would be a good choice. Someone mentioned the combo kits that come with a plunge base and a standard base. This might be a better investment for starting out as it would give you the option of configuring the router for your table or for hand-held use with a fixed or a plunge base. There are new routers that are designed so the collet will extend above the table surface, I.E., beyond the base of the router. This allows you to change bits without removing the router from the table - it's a very nice convenience, but not necessary.
(2) If you invest in a table, spend your money on the fence. Assuming the table is flat and the router plate works with your router, the fence is the most important piece. While, as I mentioned above, you can do fine work with your router screwed to a piece of plywood and a board clamped across it for a fence, a good, solid, easily adjustable fence makes life much easier.
(3) If you plan to run big bits, like panel raising bits, you'll need a variable speed router. Big bits are not rated for high RPMs and running them at those speeds is very dangerous. Variable speed machines can be slowed down to run large bits.
My $.02. Good luck and welcome to woodworking.

[Mike Cutler]

John.
There are many ways to "skin this cat". First however I would recommend that you invest in some books.
Pat Warner contributes here on the board and has posted some excellent router info. His website is excellent. If you have never heard of Pat, he is a well respected authority on the Router as a tool.
Bill Hylton, whom also contributes here from time to time is also a well respected authority on the Router.
Both of these gentleman have written many articles and published books on the subject.
John Lucas here on the board has an excellent "how too" website presented in pictorial essay format. I think John has previewed and Demo'd about most router systems on his site. Johns website can be found at www.woodshopdemos.com.
If you are sold on the router as the tool instead of a shaper table for cabinet making you will need a large router, 3HP and above. It will need to have a 1/2" collet to accept 1/2" shank bits. It can be plunge or fixed. If you go for a plunge router look at the models that allow you to adjust the height from above the table. For a fixed base router, where the motor is removable, just about every manufacture of aftermarket router lift systems fit the large Porter Cable routers. Kinda the chevy's of routers dependable and everyone stocks parts for them, An important feature at 2pm on a sunday in the middle of a project ;) .
The panel bits come in two configurations. Horizontal and vertical. The horizontal is a wide flat bit, they can be a little intimidating at first. They are "normally" sold in "sets" The set will have three or five "bits" to cut the various panel profiles required. Freud, Amana, CMT all make quality sets.
The table can be made, or purchased. The only requirement is that it be sturdy and have alot of weight, put the mass down low also. Bench Dog, JessEm', Jointech, and incra all make table top/ fence systems. There are more I'm sure.
One more book to add to the collection is a book on basic carcass construction, and one on cabinetry specifically. That was two wasn't it? Point is the books will save you alot of upfront hassles. Taunton Press has some excellent books on the subject.
It's a challenging project that you are undertaking, but if you go slow and be patient you will learn an enormous amount. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions either. There are some fabulous cabinet makers on this board that will have the answers you need, and help keep your frustration level down.

[Tim Morton]

I too am a novice woodworker, and the one piece of advice i can give you is to build your own table. Or at least TRY to build your own table. You will learn so much and all the mistakes you make will be on the router table itself and not in the cabinets you plan on building with the table. I built one and made mistakes, but had fun and it cost me a sheet of plywood and some glue and screws. You will find alot of tables here if you do a search. Good Luck.

[Scott Donley]

I too am a novice woodworker, and the one piece of advice i can give you is to build your own table. Or at least TRY to build your own table. You will learn so much and all the mistakes you make will be on the router table itself and not in the cabinets you plan on building with the table. I built one and made mistakes, but had fun and it cost me a sheet of plywood and some glue and screws. You will find alot of tables here if you do a search. Good Luck.Ditto what Tim said :)

[Andrew Ault]

Tim speaks wisely. I've never learned much from buying something. I have learned much from trying to make things.

If you make a table and use it, you will know if you want something different. Then you can build it or decide to buy it.

For many operations, a router table can be very simple.

[Jim Dalton]

If you have a table saw, you can put your router on an extension and use your table saw fence. Look at what David Marks has on his website
http://www.djmarks.com/stories/faq/Can_you_provide_some_information_on_your_table_saw _router_setup_46705.asp
You can see it in action on DIY. Find out when they are showing " Wood Works".

[Allen Bookout]

John,

Welcome!!!!

Good sites for information and products:
Pat Warner: www.patwarner.com
MLCS: www.mlcswoodworking.com (For a good video called "Making Beautiful Raised Panel Rail and Stile Doors" - for a demo using router table)
Woodpecker: www.woodpeck.com (top notch products)

I know that there are many more that others will add.

I took one of Pat Warners suggestions and bought a Milwaukee 5625. Great product with variable speed and above the table height adjustment. I made my top out of MDF (two layers of 3/4 inch covered top and bottom with laminate to keep out the moisture and stressed to a frame), used a Woodpecker aluminum insert milled specifically for the 5625 and could not be happier. Mr Warner used one layer stressed to a frame, cut a hole in the top and bolted the router directly to the top. Probably works just as good for less money. You do not need to buy a lift for this set up so even though the router cost more that some it turns out to be less in the long run.

Many others will have their ultimate set up and I am sure that they all work fine.

Hank and Mike said just about everything that is really important as far as I am concerned. Very flat table top, straight fence, hole in the top for the bit to go through, and some way to raise the bit up and down. Every thing else is just gravy.

Good Luck!

Allen

[Jeff Booth]

This is my first post, I have enjoyed reading the forum.

I too am a fairly new woodworker, or more correctly a recently returned woodworker after having a childhood filled with some woodwork with my father.

I have the Bosch 1617/1618 (with the variable speed motor) which has really great height adjustment and I bought the extension handle for ? $10 that makes adjustments under the table a snap. I also have literally no problems changing bits with the router on the table, so for me I don't see the need to buy a lift. My first router table served me for a year, it was a piece of 3/4 plywood scrap with a hole in it that I would clamp to my bench with a hardwood scrap fence. That worked, but it made a mess and it was not so versatile.

Then eventually I got around to making my own table using found objects including 4' of 4" aluminum angle for the fence and a counter off of somebody's discarded corner cabinet as the top. This is a good copy of some of the store designs you see out there, but without the access to a machine shop at my job I doubt I could have made the fence so easily to have all the bells and whistles it has. I guess that was a good experience and recently I closed around the open stand to further improve dust collection below, but my table has evolved one project at a time, for example at first I did not have leveling for the plate and relied on a fixed depth pocket that the steel plate I made sat in, but that would eventually lift from sawdust and eventually I wanted the fine tuning that leveling screws adds. I have 2 mdf fences that I often use to edge joint by slipping paper behind the outfeed fence, I also have a single 5' long piece of 8" tall mdf that I use as my 'tall' fence, that is pretty good for vertical operations. I think I have been lucky, but I am pretty sure from what I have read that the Bosch 1617 router has been a major part of why I am so pleased with the tool. I happen to be a Bosch employee (with tool purchase discounts) but I still think that router is really awesome, my only gripe is that the template system is not centered with the bit.

Nonetheless, after all that I have to say that the typical melamine top and fence deals for $ (150 - 200) that you see everywhere are really a pretty nice thing. My fence is probably a little nicer than those but my table and plate are not quite as nice and I spent a long long time getting there.

That is my 2 cents.

J

[Andrew Ault]

Jeff,

It is great to see a new person here! Welcome from a relative newcomer.

There are ways to center the collar on the bit.

Search this forum for some ideas.

Pat Warner makes a little kit to do this: http://www.patwarner.com/sundries.html

- Andy