Why is it good to have a horizontal router table?

[James Spillman]

I'm thinking of making or buying a horizontal router table. If you have one, how does it help you when doing projects? Could you tell me the different ways you have used one? Thanks.

[Lee Schierer]

A table mounted router allows you do do cuts that are either very difficult or dangerous to do with a hand held router. For example you can use larger diameter cutters in a table mounted router more safely. You can also make dado type cuts on wider boards than can be accommodated with the fence on a hand held router. Routing multiple pieces is much faster with a table mount because the router is held in place and you can quickly route the next piece without messing with clamps. You can make grooves in the ends of pieces using a tall fence more easily than you can do it with a hand held. You can make your own custom dowels with a table mounted router and a fence.

Oops misunderstood the question.

[John TenEyck]

I designed and built my own horizontal router mortise. I offer a model for sale but also have a SketchUp model you can download for free to build an earlier but fully functional version. Take a look at the attached link for details, including many of the things you can do with it.

https://sites.google.com/site/jteneyckwoodworker/current-projects/horizontal-router-mortiser

John

[Bob Potter]

John
Enjoyed the video and pictures Great job.
Bob

[Wayne Cannon]

Routing recesses or rabbets in the ends of long narrow pieces is very difficult and dangerous on a regular router table or with a hand-held router, but easy on a horizontal router table.

I built mine from a kit by Woodhaven. It looks very similar to John's, above. It has a table with two axes of motion for the work (in-out & left-right) and the router can be moved vertically (up-down).

[Stan Calow]

I like to use sliding dovetails for a lot of things. It is hard to get a consistent cut on the end of a long board held vertically on a regular router table. I considered a horizontal table more than once for that purpose, but don't have the space.

[John TenEyck]

I like to use sliding dovetails for a lot of things. It is hard to get a consistent cut on the end of a long board held vertically on a regular router table. I considered a horizontal table more than once for that purpose, but don't have the space.

Yes, that is an easy operation on a horizontal router mortise:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LiWHKXTe9mJ494AV7gWQwMb6AJqZfinVt9Q8lS0Ha8I6OqbyiL yAftfgnexdUB2Kb87SBJRHum7AaiWDWKmPzM6ncod234NNhKYj kQflFP4YdNWlaH-RLb2Lc-xf7yxVnrrhtcD4jngPOykuij77p1DMp56DP3cTzIdG3S5KWU6e BW4sNszqrbQPqu9B9wW4Un_H0lwTCRKUxw1pw5Oe2uc5LGCoCw IdQXEXvlrMIZlCVDaxzndvaRF54P6k7uus8vSYRLYNrYY9E7Xs 9K07UgFUfpcO7gaFXm52prAM1PdeIu91hr0_i-CT_5dl9O9xl_H7CfWKhV2IygT1AU0E9ubr-08E71GuAcuf8RfwT7ky_amFwe6axZGO_qgasrUhQhgyb_8i5Zy WVPgZGU8zBDGPZJLDZqQVV1xH7pRR0nPFCWWSh8wfBKVuoSE4B fc9uQjlVuTihrbZOcj58fTUF6wCt78E02qlI_BbBCj7P8wLZMl jYHA6KYlKJ3S851fa0aXxD19OkDYCK2KW0wzFN24y2BrsEKixk mH7xS0N6jyy82XIow8Bqaj8BcYW00lXtjmlCa9nLYqYiLzRJNH x0lAL9bkTMsMhYqj7V8qaGHp8oZ7EQ8TDsQxbOX41Fdz9w3XmK 9Ya8TvRS4gXyg6XqhTesqiVmAxlLmJfzu5PQQh1obkfo0x4WNs k0Q=w835-h626-no

These boards were definitely too long to do vertically:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4M4NZle1uNcsXKo9JSh3tUJuaCa6-wsTM8_6R8rsTJm-Nr6GetDTJi8oyr-pAqoPH8cKokombdAhPhUvjdnxUkGC0lS_DYF7c9WJ_Pkmvb2Gm Vy47Xd_gfZkyOYWmM97XRDte4YHb3Tsn49_Grjgg4iuVUpuyV4 9_TumDvzLT-fBLjJq-WCtVqUT2I6MJZXXFe3F5zQ1X1-d5MLTMndNp8tHen9LmxOkYcywf1kkhrjII4QWM2XAFSQecI3Q1 s_nBJXQ2Rh3-d_fiEMrXgPmufvqc2hbQgUp__MUxVgPKf8y6UGMfVcjD7vTulL Ia-_zKcebCVSRaoLDEutwAUXhUCTTEvdTu-xJv9jYleyQ-NIVwnZDPLa12J2XcAZME8AZZAYAUIvGNd3px-kbWY939nh5vXvlTJobjbOGGro8V9xUnrhT_5uvCplGZsl3j5qT VKUBQQu_eY5AcdfskniXYlHHVN5ehxrI2-N-Tq_iB6HOfPP40yT-yboPK8-u1DN2dzgmXCVKeuMbsEuhXY9krGc9j9N0K-U28pPFZyWcAkFw4Yow_bplJ_VQ6ej6O8XnCqrDyg1kBYK0P2nW zpQ1iPV5XYRuL1v56Y7SEt5l1XgSmsGE67o6tqE1msJOZze3gE V-kFLY-25YAR_EdKXy72QEH2D9K-Hb0TuQHCZ2kzP1qofBy1vNAOCzvQ=w835-h626-no

John

[James Spillman]

John, thank you for making the excellent video. Your machine would ease a lot of tasks in any workshop. Just wondering as to the size and approximate weight of your setup minus the weight of the router.

[John TenEyck]

You're welcome, Jim. The machine has dimensions of about 24" wide x 18" deep x 15" high, and weighs about 35 - 40lbs depending upon what you hang on it, such as the Rockler on/off switch. The X-Y tables lift off so you can transport it in lighter sections. I purposely designed it with some extra mass in the X-Y tables to resist any surprise pulling by the router bit. When the runners are fit properly, whether made of wood, plastic, or aluminum, the tables slide with low but required effort by the operator. The machine shown above is now about 8 or 9 years old, still working fine, and has never needed any repair or rework. The MDF has proven remarkably durable sliding on the maple runners. I cut thousands of mortises with it before designing an improved machine. I gave this one to a friend who continues to use it.

If you do build one and the RH in your shop changes a lot seasonally, you would likely be better off using plastic or aluminum runners, though I suspect wood may still work fine if you use a stable QS species.

John