NYW Router Table Complete with Pics

[Mike Hill]

After 3 or 4 really long days, I finished my new router table just a few minutes ago. Could not get to the BORG because of the ice storm and used paint I had on hand for the plywood. I may have the only Ralph Lauren "Balmoral Red" router table in North America :)

I would recommend this to any woodworker with a little experience and the ability to cut large sheets of plywood. Norm must have a ton of bits because I have most of mine in one drawer. This leaves me 5 extra bit drawers. If someone plans to build one of these from Norm's plans, I will be glad to discuss the problems I ran into and some solutions.
Mike

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[Larry Fox]

Very nice table Mike. You are less likely to bump into it with it being red like that.

BTW: I have the same heater (mine is a lot dirtier though). :)

[Brad Townsend]

I'm trying to picture Ralph Lauren using a router table. I bet it would turn out red, but it would be from blood instead of paint.:D

It looks great! You did a fine job. One thing I did with mine after I had used it awhile is get rid of the PVC plumbing fixture in back, enlarge the hole to 4" and use a 4"x4"x2 1/2" dust collection fitting instead.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/btownsend/DSCN0929.jpg

Dust collection is much improved.

[Mike Hill]

Brad: Great idea! I already want to improve the pickup on the lower cabinet. Where did you get this fitting and what did you use to cut the hole for it. I sure don't have a 4" hole saw.
Mike

[Jim O'Dell]

But you have a router, right? :D I built one of the circle cutting jigs for my plunge router out of 1/2" plywood. It's crude, but it works. You do have to secure the "donut" that gets cut out, along with the panel it is being cut from, but it works very well. I found that I could drill a pivot hole and test cut to get a tight fit on the PVC piping I used. I've now got a position that is good for the 6" and the 4" that I have to beat the pipe into!! If you do a search on circle cutting jigs for routers, you'll find one so you can visualize what I'm talking about. Commercial one I saw at Woodcraft was made out of plastic. Jim.

ps: if thie is not clear at all, let me know and aI'll go take a picture of mine and post for you when I get off work in a couple hours. Oh, and you got the ice a lot worse than we did up here!

[Todd Hyman]

Brad: Great idea! I already want to improve the pickup on the lower cabinet. Where did you get this fitting and what did you use to cut the hole for it. I sure don't have a 4" hole saw.
Mike

Mike you can get the fitting from Woodcraft or Rockler. I would like to here of your issues that you came across whilw building this as I am about to start building mine.

Thanks, Todd

[Dan Oliphant]

Mike, a real fine looking router station. One comment for possible air flow improvement would be to increase the size of the three holes in the plexiglass. Size will be dependent on dust collection used, but I think you will find the air intake (supply) is not adiquate with the three small holes noe in use.

[Mike Hill]

Thanks Dan. I'm sure there is an engineering formula for this, but I was a liberal arts major and am not allowed to use them :-) The holes are what Norm recommended, but I could add a few more and then the 4" pick up for the lower dust bin. If I'm really good, I could get enough airflow to suck the router into the dust collector!.
Mike

[Brad Townsend]

Mike you can get the fitting from Woodcraft or Rockler. I would like to here of your issues that you came across whilw building this as I am about to start building mine.

Thanks, Todd It's a Woodcraft #144930 and sells for six bucks. I was fortunate enough to find one locally a little cheaper.

[Corey Hallagan]

You did good Mike! Looks perfect! And I like the designer color :)

Corey

[Henry Cavanaugh]

I like the Red nice job. I built the same table and will change to that fitting mentioned above. I will rebuild some bit drawers for more storage drawers for anyone thinking of building this unit, as Mike also found out. I have not done my door yet and was gong to make a door with 1" cut short for air draw. Any thoughts on how much? Maybe start with a 1/2" and increase it if needed.

[Jim Becker]

Great job, Mike! And I think the red looks grand!!

[Travis Lavallee]

Has anyone thought of replacing the front holes with something like the draft control setup found on a wood stove. This might allow you some fine tuning and adjustment to get the proper suction without performing any airflow calculations.

[Alan Berezin]

Hey Mike,
Nice job. I was thinking of building one and I'd love to hear your experience. I assume this is the Delux Router Station http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct3.cgi?0301

I have a Freud router table (came with a 3.25hp FT2000) which I got for nearly free. And that is about what it is worth.

[Gilbert Vega]

A little off-topic but does anyone recall which magazine built the router table that became Norm's prototype? Issue #/ date?

[Pete Harbin]

Nice table Mike. I like the red.

Pete

[Mike Hill]

[quote=Alan Berezin]Hey Mike,
Nice job. I was thinking of building one and I'd love to hear your experience. I assume this is the Delux Router Station http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct3.cgi?0301

Allan: Yes this is the one. I found it a real challenge since it was the first cabinet with many drawers for me. It is though, a simple design. Be sure and install the drawer dividers before putting on the sides of the cabinet. I did not read the fine print and missed it in the video. I was able to install them later, but then was faced with covering up some screw holes. The other difficult task is routing out the area for the router plate (make a jig), T-slots and the through slots in the top for the fence adjustment. Read carefully, take your time and enjoy it.
Mike

[Dewayne Reding]

Very nice Mike! I still have a blank canvas so to speak. Got the top laminated and trimmed in oak. Couldn't find a T slot router bit locally and got sidetracked.

I'd be very interestered to hear any modifications you (or anyone else) make if you did it over again. I'll upgrade the DC to 4" for sure. Adjustable inlet air sounds like a reasonable thing to do as well.

[Mike Hill]

Dewayne: Whiteside makes the T-Slot bit and one of the guys on here clued me in. You can get it from Woodcraft the part # is 128256.
Mike

[Neil Lamens]

Hi Mike:

Router table came out great.........like the red, you've got me thinking that "a color" might brighten my shop up a bit....COOL!!!

What moblile base is that you've built around?????

Thanks for posting pix, seems to be generating some good thought.

Neil

[Dick Rowe]

Mike,

I built the same table a few years ago and really like it.

One adjustment I made after using it a while was replacing the 'captured' throughtslots that hold the fence to the top, with some t-tracks that run all the way to the back.

I found myself taking the fence completely off periodically, and with the t-track I could easily slide it off and back, rather than unscrew the bolts.

I also wasn't comfortable that the MDF top would hold up to the continuous tightening of the bolts on the underside of the table either. The t-track installation solved that problem also.

Another adjustment I made was to replace the two fence hold down knobs with cam lever clamps. I find them easier to work with.

[Mike Hill]

Hi Mike:

Router table came out great.........like the red, you've got me thinking that "a color" might brighten my shop up a bit....COOL!!!

What moblile base is that you've built around?????

Thanks for posting pix, seems to be generating some good thought.

Neil

Neil: I had 2 of these woodcraft bases. They were inexpensive, but honestly I have had problems with the wheels up. They are tough to level and move when they should not.
Mike

[Mike Hill]

Dick: Great improvements and I had the same concern about the T-Bolts and the MDF. You provide and easy fix. I am sure the others reading this thread and constructing the same table will appreciate knowing this.
Mike

[Tim Malyszko]

Mike,

Very nice table. I am actually looking at the plans I just received a couple of weeks ago to start putting together a Materials List for my next trip to the store.

Just out of curiosity, did you end up purchasing the suggested hardware kit from Rockler or did you piece it together yourself?

Thanks.

[glenn bradley]

Beautiful job and the color is mah-valuzz!

[Mike Heidrick]

Looks great. Very nice job.

[Anthony Anderson]

Gilbert, I am thinking Shopnotes/Woodsmith, but American Woodworker is sticking in my mind for some reason. You could probably google it. Regards, Bill



A little off-topic but does anyone recall which magazine built the router table that became Norm's prototype? Issue #/ date?

[Curt Harms]

Gilbert, I am thinking Shopnotes/Woodsmith, but American Woodworker is sticking in my mind for some reason. You could probably google it. Regards, Bill

Yup, it was American Woodworker Issue #44 April '95. There's a short article by Ellis Walentine on the Wood Central Site.

[Mike Hill]

Tim: I did the hardware kit. The hose in it is really too stiff to use, everything else is OK.
Mike

[David Cramer]

Really nice looking router table Mike! Keep up the good work and I'm sure you'll get years of use from that baby! The red looks fantastic.
Kudos to you and your project.

Dave

[Frank G]

dan and Travis make very good points. From you your pics you have good suction and may be starving your collection. Make some type of sliding window. Overkill is better so you can restrict if necessary.
Usuall disclaimer: I don't know nothing.

[Jim Becker]

Gilbert, Norm's router table did indeed debut in the magazine cited. Since then, it was updated so It's probably worth considering getting the current plan to take advantage of the changes which improved it nicely.

[Gilbert Vega]

Gilbert, Norm's router table did indeed debut in the magazine cited. Since then, it was updated so It's probably worth considering getting the current plan to take advantage of the changes which improved it nicely.

Thanks for the info on the magazine article. I was trying to remember how much different the "new" version was over the old one.

[Pete Brown]

As far as air goes, wouldn't you get really close by matching the openings in the front to the port in the back? IOW, if you had a 4" port in the back, you'd want holes in the front that would have the same area as the 4" port:

3.14 * 2 ^2 = 12.56 (total area in inches for a 4" port)

Divide by the area of a handy hole saw size (say 2") and you get:

3.14 * 1 ^ 2 = 3.14
12.56/3.14 = 4 2" holes

So you would need four 2" holes to make up for one 4" hole in the back. Similarly, if you had 1" holes, you end up with:

3.14 * .5 ^ 2 = 0.785
12.56 * 0.785 = 16 1" holes (notice the pattern)

I know there are issues with turbulance and other stuff, especially with many smaller holes, but I would think this would get you really close without having to have louvered doors. This also ignores any draw through the router bit hole or leaky doors :)

Pete