Rockler Router Table Deal

[John Karam]

I currently have a porter-cable 694vk that I'm hoping to give a home (underneath a table). I want a good lift set up.

Rockler is offering a router table package deal for $317. I'm not familiar with this set up, I have used a bench dog lift in the past and liked it. Anyone have opinions on this?

A link to the deal:

http://www.rockler.com/logon/V8708land.html?ref_id=4085&ref_t=Z&originid=68277369

[Todd Hyman]

I wanted you to be aware that this does not include a router lift since you have experience with the Bechdog lift and I would suugest that you get one with a lift.

[James Phillips]

For comparisons sake

I just bought a top and fence from MCLS for $190 and a $60 sheet of maple ply and built a table I think is uch nice for a grand total of $250. I have cabinets not just dead space below

[Paul Johnstone]

I really think you are better off building a cabinet out of plywood.
Make a plywood top and get a piece of Formica (about $40) and glue it on
with contact cement. That's what I did.. Now I have a top that is 32" by
48". I supported the top well and shimmed it to be very flat.
Get some casters from hartville tool.. they are about $7-8, and lock
the wheels and the swivel.
You might not want or need a table that big. Make it the size you choose.
The point is, you can use the saved money on a jointech or incra fence system
which is much more versatile than the rockler fence, or a router lift.
I just don't see the point in buying a router table when our hobby is woodworking
after all, and it's easy to make something much better. Making it yourself lets
you put drawers and dust collection in as well.
Also, if you make your own router table, you can make it the same height as the
table saw and use it as an infeed table for big plywood sheets.

[Greg Cole]

I have a Woodpeck RT that's less than a year old now. Very little to not like about it other than it sags at the insert plate @ 1/8" :mad: ...... so the one thing wrong with it is a BIG thing. Shoulda brought a straight edge to the WW show when I bought it I guess... (or listen to my advice offered below.. LOL). It has 2 angle iron stiffiners underneath too, but I'll either try to flatten it or get pissy & pitch it. Depends on the day I decide to try....
I love the lift from woodpeck (made by Jess'em) and the rest of the router package is Incra & damn good stuff.
My advise is two fold.... either save your dollars & pennies for a cast iron one (Bench Dog, MLCS & Veritas I think offer them in CI or steel), as my next one will not be anything less than steel or CI.
Or just make your own and you should have a better chance of obtaining & maintaining true flatness.... and you can put t-track etc right where you want it etc.

Cheers,
Greg

[Ellen Benkin]

I don't understand the price of this Rockler offer. I have a Rockler top and the metal base and I'm sure that, together, they didn't cost anything near that. Maybe that includes a router?

[John Karam]

Thanks for your guys thoughts, I went and looked at it today in store and didn't care for it much (oh and ya it doesnt have a lift...which i hadn't noticed! thanks for pointing it out Todd). And after thinking about it some more, with your opinions, I think I am going to build my own set up around a bench dog.

Thanks again for your time.

[Bryan Rocker]

It may be just me but as I see the price of these specialized router lifts get more accurate and more expensive I wonder where the line is that you go ahead and invest the money in a shaper and be done with it. By the time you spend the money on a good lift,$200-$300, a good router, $200-$300, and either build a table or buy one you are easily into the $500 range. You can pick up a Grizzly 1035 1 1/2 HP 110/220 shaper for under $500 new. With that you get cast iron top and now you are running 1/2" and 3/4" shanks instead of 1/4" and 1/2". I am not sure I see the value in paying that much for particle/plywood tops dedicated stations when you can invest your money and buy a real machine........

Just my thought.....

Bryan

PS I am off my soap box now.....

[John Karam]

I've not considered going the shaper route instead, as I have little experience with them. I've have used routers and router tables quite a bit and know what they are capable of. However, it does bring up a decent point worth looking into. I am just not sure if i will be losing versatility by buying a shaper oppose to having a router table set up. Besides the ability to take the router out of the table, what would I be "losing" by going with a shaper instead of a router table?

[Dan Lautner]

"With that you get cast iron top and now you are running 1/2" and 3/4" shanks instead of 1/4" and 1/2""

You would be running them at 10,000 RPM which is too slow for many router bits. Router bits are readily available and dirt cheap compared to shaper cutters.

Dan

[Phil Sluder]

If I am not mistaken, the PC 69X fixed base has the ability to adjust height and lock rotation (change bits) without removing it from the table. You just need to get the PC adjustment handle and a special PC cam to lock the rotation . Rockler has the blue anodized base plates with the holes already in them for this specific PC 69X router setup.

Phil

[glenn bradley]

My dad picked this up when it came with a free PC690. It is a surprisingly solid table and leg set. With the $100 rebate it sounds pretty good. The stand is sized to make adding side, back and doors pretty easy. Apply that $100 rebate to a good lift and you're looking pretty good.