router table without miter slots

[Günter VögelBerg]

My router table is the wing of my Grizzly table saw. It's not the fancy one with all the slots--it's just a hole in the table. I went with this because historically I never used a router table much, but I am finding myself using it more since I have rigged up good dust collection. I sometimes want to use a jig attached to a miter gauge but I can't because the closest miter slot is too far away to be stable. I thought about making a piece of plywood with a miter slot cut into it but I am afraid I would not be able to get the height of the bit I need. Thoughts on what I could do to be able to use a miter gauge?

[Bruce Wrenn]

First, there is no law requiring miter slots in a router table. Could you use something that rides along either the fence, or the edge of the table. A picture is worth a thousand words.

[Rick Potter]

You will find that many people here, myself included, do not use the miter slot on a RT, or don't have one at all.

Check Sommerfeld's web site and watch videos on making a router table, he explains it. One thing you DO need is a fence setup. Many shown on YouTube.

[Tom Dixon]

My approach is that when a tool does not meet my expectations it is time to buy or build a replacement. Safety is always first in my shop and when I have to start rigging things that might compromise my safety I know my needs have surpassed the capabilities of the tool. My take is that you have reached the stage where you should consider buying or building a dedicated router table to get the miter slot you desire and if you can swing it, a router lift will change your life.

[Jamie Buxton]

What material is your existing table? Is it cast iron, or is it wood of some form? If it is wood you can mill a miter slot into it. If it is thin, you might want to add wood underneath to reinforce it where you cut the slot. If it is wood, you might choose to inlay a metal U-channel for better wear.

[Derek Cohen]

If you wish to rout edges of boards or panels, simply use a backer block against the fence.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Charles Taylor]

If you already have jigs that are made to ride in the miter slot, then I suppose most of us are not helping when we say we either don't have or don't use the miter slots in our router tables. I added a miter slot (a commercial aluminum track) to my router table when I built it, used it once or twice, and ever since then have opted to make jigs that ride against the fence instead.

The exception is when I want to use feather boards. I have some commercially made ones that will tighten into the miter slot. That's where the slot is handy for me, and where I'll eventually get around to making a fence with a slot/track near the upper edge.

[glenn bradley]

Welcome to the camp of those that find a miter slot on a router table distinctly valuable. One is not right and one is not wrong, it is just a matter of how you do things. I do not know the dimensions of your wing but, drilling the edge and bolting on a piece of hardwood with an aluminum miter track set into it should be no big deal. Cast iron drills amazingly easy and I would follow the bolt pattern of your existing wings. This will assure that these holes will still be useful if you change things up. I put my miter slot about the same distance from the bit as my tablesaw miter slot is from the blade. This lets me use jigs on both without a lot of adjustment. Let us know how you make out.

Tenon jig on both:

424785 . 424786

Circle jig that mounts to the miter slot:

424787 . 424788

Miter gauges, feather boards, box joint jigs, stops, etc.

[andy bessette]

Never have found the need for miter slots in my router table, even though it has them.

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