Adding My Router Station Back to the Table Saw

[Jim Becker]

I'm "between shops" and using a smaller space (garage) as a temporary shop until I can get a building up. I couldn't fit the slider in there so I sold it to a 'Creeker who does commercial work and was resolved to work without a table saw for the duration. That lasted one small project and through a stroke of fortunate timing, another 'Creeker had a nice cabinet saw available that I could shoe-horn into the space. I picked that up on Sunday and reassembled it. Then I got to thinking...hmm...I can gain a little more space with some slight adjustment to things, including putting my BenchDog cast iron router table solution "back" on the table saw. It was actually designed to be used that way originally and I did have it attached to the slider in the old shop. So today was the day to do that work.

The PCS I picked up had just enough rail on the right side with the existing cast iron table table extension in place to be able to provide solid support for the BenchDog top after I removed the 4" add-on from the back side of the BenchDog unit. The PCS has a 27" deep table and that was a match; the bolt holes for mounting were also in the right places.

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To accommodate the fact that I have exactly two hands/arms, I bolted a piece of plywood to the top of the unit (with the box re-attached) so that it could be suspended between the rails while I crawled on the floor to deal with bolts and washers and nuts, oh, my...

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Of course, no "simple" project goes unpunished. A run to the local hardware store was necessary as for some reason, my "vast inventory" of bolt-like hardware neatly organized on the wall did not have even a single fastener of the correct size/length to do the job. And when I got back with the goodies, I also discovered that I'd have to release the box in order to have access to work on the bolts. I left it hanging there with one fastener and supported by a roll of paper towels on top of a gallon can of paint. Hey...it worked. A couple of straight edges/levels, a bunch of clamps, a few bad words and some passing time were all that was required to get the thing secured and level with the saw top. I did have to drill a couple of small holes through the rails and the router top to make sure the outboard side was fully supported and locked to the rails with sturdy fasteners.

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The ~4" wide BenchDog cast iron extension piece that I separated earlier got mounted on the other end of the saw for safekeeping. I may use a a cheap scissor jack under the router cabinet to provide additional support while the machine is parked as it would be easy to release if I need to move the machine for some reason. Jury is out on that.

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So this setup is ready to rock and roll. And I'm waiting for a nice Advil to balance the effects of wallowing on the floor to make it all happen. :D Of course, now I have to move.a few things around without screwing up how I setup the dust collection and electrical drops. :o

[ChrisA Edwards]

Nice little project there, I hope you come to appreciate what a nice saw that is that you have there.

[Mike Kees]

Nice little project there, I hope you come to appreciate what a nice saw that is that you have there.
Chris that may be a nice saw , but this man has owned a slider . I have a felder k700 slider in my shop as well as my Unisaw that I have owned for about 25 years. kept the Uni basically for sentimental reasons but do still use it occasionally. The Felder gets the majority of the workout in my shop ,once you experience a slider there is no going back.

[Lisa Starr]

I think you'll like the router table located there for your temporary shop. Mine was in that spot for years and I really felt it enhanced both the saw and router functionality. Now that I have the new slider, my router is in a different cabinet.

[Wayne Cannon]

You'll love the router table & saw combo. It's great for staging parts. My router fence is perpendicular to the table saw fence, which (after removing the table saw fence) provides a nice long outfeed table for routing long moldings.

[Alan Lightstone]

Jim, what are you using for a router fence for that router table? In my particular cases, that's always been the limiting factor as it reduces maximum crosscut width that you can use on the table saw. Especially with the shorter rails of that SawStop. Of course, I was using an Incra LS Positioner and a Ready-2-Rout, which both have large footprints, but are you just planning a simple removable fence?

[Jim Becker]

Nice little project there, I hope you come to appreciate what a nice saw that is that you have there.

Yes, it's a very nice saw and I feel fortunate to have it available to use. The timing was very nice in that respect and the cost was right, too. Mike is correct, however...my goal is back to a slider once I have a building. Based on my historical use, I may go short-stroke, but it will still be back to a true slider when I can. If I have the space, the PCS may still hang out at that point if I feel it will be useful. It's a clearly a quality product in most respects. I'm not a fan of the tee-square fence design, much preferring a high/low design (used mostly in the low position), but that's what's on it and I'll get used to it. This is a tool to serve a need and it's a good one for sure!

[Jim Becker]

I think you'll like the router table located there for your temporary shop. Mine was in that spot for years and I really felt it enhanced both the saw and router functionality. Now that I have the new slider, my router is in a different cabinet.


You'll love the router table & saw combo. It's great for staging parts. My router fence is perpendicular to the table saw fence, which (after removing the table saw fence) provides a nice long outfeed table for routing long moldings.

It works fine for me as I don't use the router table setup a lot for my projects as the CNC is employed for many things I might have used the router table for in the past. If I was using the router table constantly, I'd want it as a separate workstation to avoid interfering with using the saw.


Jim, what are you using for a router fence for that router table? In my particular cases, that's always been the limiting factor as it reduces maximum crosscut width that you can use on the table saw. Especially with the shorter rails of that SawStop. Of course, I was using an Incra LS Positioner and a Ready-2-Rout, which both have large footprints, but are you just planning a simple removable fence?

I have the BenchDog fence made for the cast iron table setup...it's just not shown in the photos. It goes on and off in just a few seconds. I never leave it on the surface when it's not actually in use.

[Jeff Ramsey]

I put a Bench Dog on my Unisaw, with a Jessem lift and it's served me well. The Bench Dog fence isn't great and it's on my list to replace with something better, but I've been procrastinating as something else always seems to be higher priority. As I recall, mounting the Bench Dog wasn't bad with the aid of a deadman 2x4 clamped to the Unisaw. I still haven't solved the underneath dust collection as a custom box would get in the way of changing bits, and I don't feel like removing a dust collection box everytime I change bits, which is often.

[Jim Becker]

Jeff, I just raise the router up with the crank and change the tooling from above. The "box" gets rid of a lot of the chips and it's designed with an "air sweep" so that minimal debris collects in the corners. I agree that the fence isn't the best, but it's done the job pretty well and with the minimal use I put on the workstation, I'm not inclined to replace it. BTW, I used that piece of plywood in the same manner you mention for the 2x4s. It was in the corner of the shop while the 2x4s were in the shed out back. Given the heat...I didn't feel like walking into the back yard. LOL

[Ronald Blue]

What's the timeline on the new shop Jim? Are you going to be able to get it done this year? Around here and it seems most places contractors are swamped with work and unless you got on their list months ago this year is a lost cause. Building a shop though would be a more attractive (in my opinion) job then a home addition for example.

[Jim Becker]

Ronald, the timeline is fluid because we need our old property sold first before I can commit to a building project here at the new property. In some respects, the delay is fine because the cost of building materials has started to trend back down and it will hopefully be back to "reasonable" when I can begin the project. The old property is taking longer to sell because it's somewhat unique and in a higher price range that has less of the real estate "feeding frenzy" going on like we experience trying to buy our "downsize", finally getting this place after six failed offers on other properties.

When we have an accepted offer, I'll commence with the zoning approval dance and begin more serious "shopping" for the actual building. It will either be post-frame (wood or metal, depending) or a similar pre-planned/componentized structure most likely. I'm fine with any of these choices and it will come down to best cost/value. I seriously doubt it will be a fully stick-built structure, although I will get a quote or three for that, too.

[Ronald Blue]

We fell into a similar situation when we built our new home. Our old home fell in a price bracket that greatly narrowed the potential buyers pool. As a result it was over 2 years before we finally sold it but we did rent for a year which helped out. In the end we let it go for less than appraised by a large amount but when everything else was factored in it was not as painful as it sounds. Good luck with your sale. It only takes one buyer.

[Dave Cav]

Nice setup, but yeah, you'll want a slider again eventually. I actually put a Saw Stop CI router table in the left wing of a Powermatic 65, despite the fact that the PM motor is also on the left side, and none of the holes lined up. I had to move the router table about four inches to the left to accommodate the swing of TS motor, and accomplished that using two pieces of 2" square steel tubing. This made it easier to match up mounting holes, too; just drilled the tubing in the correct locations to mount to the saw table and the router table. It works great, and I positioned the whole assembly on the back right side of my MiniMax SC4E slider. It takes up no additional room in the shop and gives me a cabinet saw for the infrequent times it's more convenient than the slider.