Router table material... and its cheap

[Bill Huber]

I just got a new router table and I don't know why in the world I did not think of this.....

Most commercial office furniture installs have a lot of it around from removals. I got a 5 ft x 32 inch slab for $25 about 2 years ago.
They call it a work surface and it is like a rock and about 1 1/4 inches thick and weighs about a ton. well maybe not at ton but it is really heavy, it also has a very nice vinyl edge covering. It is also used in tables and thinks of that type for the office.

I am not really sure what it is made of, very dense fiber of some type. It is very strong and stable. I have had mine for 2 years now and it is supported only on the very ends and it is still flat. I know Steel Case and Herman Miller have about the same stuff.
The top is Formica and would be very good for a router table.
So I guess what I am saying if you plan on making a new router table you may want to call around to some office furniture installer and see if you can get it.

[Phil Thien]

I've seen this stuff before and it often has steel inlaid on edge into channels in it. Similar to what Mr. DeCristoforo (sorry if I butchered the name) spelled out in another thread here. Sometimes the steel is concealed. Often you can see the stuff from the bottom. On some of them I would imagine the steel would get in the way of adding a router lift.

[Bill Huber]

I've seen this stuff before and it often has steel inlaid on edge into channels in it. Similar to what Mr. DeCristoforo (sorry if I butchered the name) spelled out in another thread here. Sometimes the steel is concealed. Often you can see the stuff from the bottom. On some of them I would imagine the steel would get in the way of adding a router lift.

The work surfaces I am talking about do not have any steel in them, they are just the high density type board. You can cut it any size you want then route a groove around it and put the vinyl edge on it.
My home office has and 11 foot made of of two of them and then a 5 foot tee that comes out from them.

[Chuck Lenz]

I just got a new router table and I don't know why in the world I did not think of this.....

Most commercial office furniture installs have a lot of it around from removals. I got a 5 ft x 32 inch slab for $25 about 2 years ago.
They call it a work surface and it is like a rock and about 1 1/4 inches thick and weighs about a ton. well maybe not at ton but it is really heavy, it also has a very nice vinyl edge covering. It is also used in tables and thinks of that type for the office.

I am not really sure what it is made of, very dense fiber of some type. It is very strong and stable. I have had mine for 2 years now and it is supported only on the very ends and it is still flat. I know Steel Case and Herman Miller have about the same stuff.
The top is Formica and would be very good for a router table.
So I guess what I am saying if you plan on making a new router table you may want to call around to some office furniture installer and see if you can get it.
Thats what I have Bill, desk material in cubicles is what I got it from.

[Bill Huber]

Thats what I have Bill, desk material in cubicles is what I got it from.

How does it work out?

I have a friend and we were talking about making her a bigger table then the little one she has.

[joe greiner]

Sounds a lot like kitchen countertop material, except perhaps thicker. I used a sink cutout at a cost of zero. The only defect was the access cut from the center to the edge, which I filled with polyester resin and scraped flat. The initial puncture at the center didn't matter, because that's where I put the router hole. Salvage countertops could also be used, provided there's no water damage to the core, or delamination of the topping.

Back to the office furniture: Some chair mats are (or were) made of very robust plastic about 1/4" - 3/8" thick. Worked fine for the router mounting plate, and as salvage its cost was also zero.

Joe

[Russ Filtz]

These aren't like phenolics are they? There are many different types of phenolic board. Maybe it's some kind of cheapo version? Phenolics are fibrous, heavy, but usually expensive! I've got several full sheets waiting for me to do something with.

[Chuck Lenz]

How does it work out?

I have a friend and we were talking about making her a bigger table then the little one she has.
Bill to tell you the truth, I haven't made the table yet. But I do have a 23" X 18" X 1 1/4" slab ready to go as soon as I figure out how I want to build the stand. It's just going to be a benchtop, I don't have the room for a fullsize roll around cabinet. With that small of a top I can't imagine a sag. Yesterday I was at Lowes and I looked at the Freud and Bosch benchtop router tables and the tops only looked to be about 3/4" thick.

[Bill Huber]

Sounds a lot like kitchen countertop material, except perhaps thicker. I used a sink cutout at a cost of zero. The only defect was the access cut from the center to the edge, which I filled with polyester resin and scraped flat. The initial puncture at the center didn't matter, because that's where I put the router hole. Salvage countertops could also be used, provided there's no water damage to the core, or delamination of the topping.

Back to the office furniture: Some chair mats are (or were) made of very robust plastic about 1/4" - 3/8" thick. Worked fine for the router mounting plate, and as salvage its cost was also zero.

Joe

No, it is not like a kitchen counter top, it is much more dense then they are and heavier then counter tops.
I have a table that I will be cutting before to long and I will take some pictures of the inside when I do.
It could be MDF with a heavy laminate on both sides still just not sure.

[Bill Huber]

Bill to tell you the truth, I haven't made the table yet. But I do have a 23" X 18" X 1 1/4" slab ready to go as soon as I figure out how I want to build the stand. It's just going to be a benchtop, I don't have the room for a fullsize roll around cabinet. With that small of a top I can't imagine a sag. Yesterday I was at Lowes and I looked at the Freud and Bosch benchtop router tables and the tops only looked to be about 3/4" thick.

I just replaced my Bosch table with the new one, that was a good little table.

I have a table top that I am going to cut for a friend to make a new router table out of.
I will let you know how it cuts and works.