Jim Dwight
02-21-2021, 3:19 PM
I've commented several times that I think router tables for hobbiests like me should be made rather than purchased. I tried a home made table saw but decided that wasn't a great idea for me. I also had a wooden bandsaw but I now am happy to have a Jet steel frame bandsaw which is much more capable. But I see no need to "upgrade" from my home made router table. The current one is at least the third, may be the fourth, I've built. I has a built in lift which is based upon plans in an old American Woodworker magazine. The basic idea is the router motor (currently PC7518 for me) is on a carriage that is supported by two machined steel rods bolted to the back of the router table. The carriage has oilite bushings that ride on the rods. A piece of 5/16 all thread moved the carriage up and down so one revolution changes height 1/16 of an inch.
I am including 4 pictures. In router table 1, you get a front view of the router table. The drawers on the right are for 1/4 inch shank bits and the ones on the left are for 1/2 inch shank bits. There is a drawer on the top for collet wrenches and miscellaneous stuff. There are two small drawers below the bit drawers for more junk and then one big one at the bottom where I keep a trim router and edge guides and more junk. You can kind of see two of the fully locking casters that are on the front. There is a gap at the bottom of the door in the center to admit cooling air for the router motor.
In picture 2 you get a side view of the top and can see one of the very short pipe clamps that hold the fence to the top. You can also see the 2.5 inch hose to the fence for dust collection and the shaft of a 3/8 drive socket spinner (kind of like a brace) that I typically use to raise and lower the bits. You can also see the edge of the fence showing the portion in the middle can be opened or closed depending on what I am doing.
Picture 3 is from inside the motor cabinet. The four inch hose goes to the top of the carriage the router motor is on so that I am pulling air from the collet area not the bottom of the motor. I think this is important do the DC helps the router motor cool, it doesn't fight the cooling fan of the router motor. You can see the carriage and see a little bit of where the machined rods are bolted to the cabinet at the bottom of the picture. At the top of the picture you see an edge view of the block that clamps the PC7518 motor.
Picture 4 is from the top with the router top raised. You can see the piano hinge supporting it and on picture two you can see the knob that clamps it down when it is pivoted down. The pivoting top was in the American Woodworker article and I think it's a great idea. It's much easier to change bits with the top pivoted up. You can also see the block supporting the machined rods at the top and the all thread that moves the carriage.
I am not trying to say you cannot improve on this or that commercially offered router tables do not have advantages. I think they do. But I am saying that this router table works well enough for me. I messed with several ways of making mortises before getting a domino and now I am done with machines for that joint. With this router table, I am done with the need for that tool. It works (at least for me). Height changes are easy to accurately make. Fence changes can occur by moving either one end or both. I get in the general range moving the whole fence then fine tune by only moving one end. That is an easy way to make fine adjustments. Dust collection is good and my router motor does not overheat.
On picture 2 you can also see how I did the electrical. The router motor plugs into a metal electrical box that has a light switch in it. When changing bits it is thus very easy to unplug the router and then to plug it back in when you are done. To turn on the router you flip the light switch.
I am including 4 pictures. In router table 1, you get a front view of the router table. The drawers on the right are for 1/4 inch shank bits and the ones on the left are for 1/2 inch shank bits. There is a drawer on the top for collet wrenches and miscellaneous stuff. There are two small drawers below the bit drawers for more junk and then one big one at the bottom where I keep a trim router and edge guides and more junk. You can kind of see two of the fully locking casters that are on the front. There is a gap at the bottom of the door in the center to admit cooling air for the router motor.
In picture 2 you get a side view of the top and can see one of the very short pipe clamps that hold the fence to the top. You can also see the 2.5 inch hose to the fence for dust collection and the shaft of a 3/8 drive socket spinner (kind of like a brace) that I typically use to raise and lower the bits. You can also see the edge of the fence showing the portion in the middle can be opened or closed depending on what I am doing.
Picture 3 is from inside the motor cabinet. The four inch hose goes to the top of the carriage the router motor is on so that I am pulling air from the collet area not the bottom of the motor. I think this is important do the DC helps the router motor cool, it doesn't fight the cooling fan of the router motor. You can see the carriage and see a little bit of where the machined rods are bolted to the cabinet at the bottom of the picture. At the top of the picture you see an edge view of the block that clamps the PC7518 motor.
Picture 4 is from the top with the router top raised. You can see the piano hinge supporting it and on picture two you can see the knob that clamps it down when it is pivoted down. The pivoting top was in the American Woodworker article and I think it's a great idea. It's much easier to change bits with the top pivoted up. You can also see the block supporting the machined rods at the top and the all thread that moves the carriage.
I am not trying to say you cannot improve on this or that commercially offered router tables do not have advantages. I think they do. But I am saying that this router table works well enough for me. I messed with several ways of making mortises before getting a domino and now I am done with machines for that joint. With this router table, I am done with the need for that tool. It works (at least for me). Height changes are easy to accurately make. Fence changes can occur by moving either one end or both. I get in the general range moving the whole fence then fine tune by only moving one end. That is an easy way to make fine adjustments. Dust collection is good and my router motor does not overheat.
On picture 2 you can also see how I did the electrical. The router motor plugs into a metal electrical box that has a light switch in it. When changing bits it is thus very easy to unplug the router and then to plug it back in when you are done. To turn on the router you flip the light switch.