Router Table (with pics)

[John Kain]

I'm putting together a nice router table from ideas I've seen around this forum, Norm, and others. Most of the table is MDF, because it's flat and because it's HEAVY! Here's some pictures of the project, just for kicks.


I started by making the base with dado slots for the frame.

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Next the top: 2 pieces of MDF glued together (HEAVY!)

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Next to work on the inner-frame. The middle part is obviously where the router will sit. The top of the table will tilt up (like the table from Tokyo member) to change bits easier. The front will hopefully be fiberglass. Bottom middle will be a large drawer. Right side will be a door and left side will be 3 drawers.

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Here's the power on/off on the right side of the machine that will sit just under the top:

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Here's the furthest I got today:

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At this point I was making some plywood cuts for the drawers when my 3HP Craftsman contractors saw started making some screeching noises:mad:. Unfortunately, the noise sounds expensive. Tried starting it up once more......and the blade barely moved (along with loud screeching noise). Not good. I'll be taking things apart to see what's going on. Bearings shot?

I'd take anyones advise on what to do next about my table saw..........I'm kinda stuck without it:(

[Don Baer]

YUP sounds like bearing to me. Make sure the belts not slipping.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Unless it's just a belt - unlikely unless it slipped off and got stuck - do not turn it on again. Get the arbor and trunion off and pull the bearings.

Replacing them should be easy. Don't buy them from sears if you can avoid it. Bearings are easy to size just take a micrometer to the OD, ID ( the shaft) , and thickness. Then get a high end Prelubricated sealed beraing.

[Don Baer]

Unless it's just a belt - unlikely unless it slipped off and got stuck - do not turn it on again. Get the arbor and trunion off and pull the bearings.

Replacing them should be easy. Don't buy them from sears if you can avoid it. Bearings are easy to size just take a micrometer to the OD, ID ( the shaft) , and thickness. Then get a high end Prelubricated sealed beraing.

I'd just pop em out and got to a local bearing house. They'll be able to either match em or reccomend an upgrade. I agree with getting sealed bearing.

[tod evans]

john, check the obvious first, is the arbor nut tight? .02 tod

[John Kain]

Yeah, I checked the arbor nut and it was OK.

I'll try replacing the bearings maybe this weekend. Looks like I'm outta luck for awhile.............:(

[Julio Navarro]

That router table looks unbelivably just like the one I built, I'll put a pic up of mine!

[John Kain]

So here's an update on the table saw............tell me what you think. I took the motor apart in stages. I used to be an mechanical engineering major before switching to medicine, so I have "some" experience with this stuff.

Here's the arbor assembly. You can see the larger ball bearing in the middle. It works great. Spins around the axis like a champ.

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So I moved into the motor housing a got to the second bearings. This one (on the far right end, smaller) does NOT spin. No movement whatsoever. I'm guessing if I change it out I'll have a working TS again. That is, unless I screwed up the motor by now.

This started off as a mess. Couldn't get the screws out to open the motor assembly. I guess they used locktight or something. Propane torch....nope, penetrating oil.....nope. Finally stripped the heck out of them before getting one of those "stuck" screw removers with the reverse threads. Worked fantastic.

So, any ideas how to get that bearing off of the rod? Even if I manage that, I'll have to find a hand press in order to get a new one on.........

[Tim Solley]

Okay, I know you're in the throes of a busted table saw, but I just have to comment on the corny kegs holding up the router table sides. Are you going to brew up a Porter Cable Porter? A Bosch Bock perhaps?

I would use cornies to hold up woodworking stuff too...but they're always in the kegerator...

Tim


Mmm...homebrew and woodworking, two of my favorite things. :D

[Don Baer]

John,
I've taken a number of motors apart. I even worked in a motor repair shop in my younger days. So here's what I would do first what's on the end of the motor shaft that we cant see. If it nothing I try to hit it with a wooden malet (don't use a steel hammer). If you need to you may have to heat the bearing race to get it out. Either the bearing is going to come out with the Armature or it will stay in the end bell. In either case you will need a set of bearing pullers. If there is an automotive parts shop nearby like autozone or Napa they may be able to press it out for you.
Good luck

[Steve Clardy]

Ok. May be a problem. Maybe not.
I had a rockwell delta similiar. Bearings went out.
Got some new ones, and pressed them on.
What I did not know was, the shaft that goes through the armature, with bearings on both ends, was, a two-piece shaft. Not a solid one piece shaft.
It was a shaft within a shaft.
When I pressed the last, outer bearing on, it pushed the shaft together, making it shorter, about a 1/4". Following me?
I noticed this only when I went to assemble everything.
Shaft was to short to fit back into the housing. Took some time to figure out how the heck the shaft got shorter.
I had one heck of a time getting that shaft back to the right length.
Called Rockwell Delta [porter cable] and priced a new armature.
This was 15 years ago probably. $100.00 .WOW!!
I finally did get it straightened out and running again.
Just a note to watch for this. Have no idea whether yours is a two-piece shaft.

Looking good on the router table!!

[John Kain]

Here's the new information on this table saw. I emailed Craftsman describing the bearing and it's location in order to get it's exact specs (ID & OD). They emailed back that they don't provide that type of service over the phone or internet and it would require either sending out a Sears repairman or sending the motor in to the shop. Nice:rolleyes:. So I thanked them for their wonderful customer service, told them I'll be buying many Craftsman products in the future and strongly hinted that they note the sarcasm.

I could not get the bearing to budge. So I took it over to the grinder and ripped off all but the inner ring. Couldn't budge the inner ring, so I ground it somemore untill I noted something that REALLY pissed me off. The inner ring is fused to the axis. No way to get it off. So I hooked it up to my grinder, centered it, and basically machined it to 15mm using a caliper. I ordered a 15mm ID double sealed bearing from McMaster and I'll give it a try. Who knows if it will work. I do know, however, that after my Craftsman router died after 2 years of service and after this table saw debacle...........I won't be purchasing craftsman power tools anymore.

[John Kain]

OK, table saw is machined to 15 mm and awaiting McMaster bearing.....

In the meantime....here's the router table top done today. That's Home Depot Laminate in black. Why black you say? Free!!!

Note the edge of the laminate on the left side of the 2nd pic. Can't make it out? Too bad! That's why I got the black laminate 2' X 4' free!!!!

Black isn't the best....but.......

[John Kain]

Router table top.....................

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[John Kain]

Here's the pic with the scar on the left side of the laminate......

Can you find it? I got this 2ft X 4 ft panel for free because of the defect!

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[Steve Clardy]

Don't see no scar here:D

[John Kain]

Black permanent marker hides the line very well. I couldn't be happier with HD for this laminate. I'll make it worth their time/money by buying there next time instead of Lowe's..............


Nice work Home Depot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[John Kain]

Here's an update.........

I still have no functioning table saw, but I managed........

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[Brad Schafer]

looks darn good to me. what's the eye bolt in the middle base bottom for (he asked in an ignorant and slovenly tone)?

b

[Ted Jay]

looks darn good to me. what's the eye bolt in the middle base bottom for (he asked in an ignorant and slovenly tone)?

b

I'll make a bet it has something to do with the "jack" in the first pic. It has an eye hook on it. Is it to attach your "mobile Jack" onto, when you want to move it?

[John Kain]

I'll make a bet it has something to do with the "jack" in the first pic. It has an eye hook on it. Is it to attach your "mobile Jack" onto, when you want to move it?
Yep, the router base has wheels set 1/8" off the ground in the back. When I want to move it, I just take the "jack" and prop the table back about 10 degrees and can freely move the table anywhere. The damned thing weights way way way too much to slide around!

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Edit: sorry about my dog's butt in the background!

[John Kain]

Well, it's been awhile since I've had time to work on the table. I finally got everything together but fence. Here's update pics.

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[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Hadn't been back to this thread in a bit.
WOW OMFG COAFSWHFABBHTMHCM you really had a nasty go round with sears and their lovely product didn't you?


Something almost as troubling happened to me with my very first TS over 30 years ago. I kept taking the motor back & they kept giving me another bad one - seems thay had a bad lot. Eventally I gave up and bought a Dayton.

In all the years since I have never purchased another power tool from sears.
It's amazing how bad products and piss poor customer service affects things.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey John, nice going on the router table, and with the Sears stuff, keep us posted on the outcome of the TS.

Your table is just about the twin of mine.

http://www.ablett.jp/workshop/images/router_table/rt_finished.jpg

but I had to buy my laminate :(

What kind of fence are you planing on?

I really like mine with the zero clearance insert and the DC on top.

Works great!

[Tom Andersen]

John K, how did you assemble the MDF on the corners? Screws, dowels, glue? I find screws difficult to use because the MDF will split, and dowels are a lot of work.

[John Kain]

Cliff, Sears was pathetic to deal with. I finally grinded their bearing off, machined the shaft, then fit a new double sealed bearing on. Works great now. I won't be buying Craftman power tools for awhile though.

Stu, one of the reasons our tables look so alike is because I kinda copied alot of what you did. Hey, imitation is the highest form of compliment, no? For the fence I'm using MDF with dust collection like you have. I'm in the process of getting that together now. I'll probably have an adjustable sliding fence, just for kicks. The zero clearence is awesome. Duel DC from the bottom and the top will work very nice......

Tom, all the joints were done using dados, glue, and screws. I admit, I pulled a Norm for some things.......("just a couple of brads to hold it until the glue sets.......")

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Well then John, your table also looks like tons of others, as I copied lots of stuff from here and there.

Can't wait to see the whole she-bang :D

[Bruce Wrenn]

Around here HD charges for everything. Was really surprised to see that they don't have pay toilets in stores. Have you considerd making the lift from American Woodworker, April 2004. It mounts to the front or back of cabinet. Really cool. Their top also lifts for access to bit changes. This means that you don't have to buy router plate for top. Instead, you can make a set of rings out of 1/2" MDF to neck down bit opening hole. If making lift from AWW, consider mounting to front of cabinet, then you don't have to reach over fence to do height adjustments. Also reverse the location of motor mounting hole and dust collection hole. This makes the motor closer to the lift mech. If you have a Johnstone's Supply in your area, they stock a 3/4 X 35" piece of shaft that can be cut to make lift rods,( they will be 1/2" shorter, no big deal) and MSC stocks bearings. I like Norm's original router table fence dust collection along with John White's idea of using a piece of flashing under top to deflect most of the chips. You might want to make digital height gauge in current issue of Shop Notes. Cost less than ten bucks, but measures to the 100th of an inch

[Charles Bruno]

John,
Great looking router table! On your bearing issue I wish I read this thread earler. Do you have an industrail supply center near you? When I need to replace bearinge or gears I go to a company called Kaman bearing, take the part with me or the numbers that are on the bearing and they usually have one in stock. I've done for many items inculding my sons wheelchair.