Please help me to help my 86 year old dad

[James Hart]

Bought my dad a PC690 during Amazons great sale. I'm trying to install it into the Craftsman router table he has. No good deed goes unpunished. The table is really not the type where I can see successfully drilling and countersinking new holes.

He's 86 and lives 1,500 miles from me. I'm trying to send him something he can just screw in.

I've cut a 1/2" thick piece of phenolic to perfectly match the Craftsman base plate. Drilled and countersunk for the PC 690. Drilled to match the Craftsman holes in the table. Drilled an opening in the center.

Question- He'll need to screw this to the PC, that's the easy part. Then he'll need to screw it all to the bottom of the table. I'm thinking of countersinking the nuts onto the underside of the phenolic and epoxying them in place. Thought of tapping the phenolic, but I have no idea if that's do-able or if it will be strong enough to hold.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

[Sam Yerardi]

Jim,

Phenolic can be drilled and tapped but in this case I would opt for the countersunk epoxied nuts as you described. I used to work at a laser manufacturing plant and we made phenolic fixtures all the time that were drill, tapped and/or epoxied. My concern would be (as far as depending on the tapped approach rather than the nuts) that vibration might work against you eventually. It may not be a proble but I think the nut approach might be sturdier.

[Justin Bukoski]

James, most phenolic inserts for table saws are drilled and tapped. I think that would be the best way to go along with a little blue loctite.

[James Hart]

Before I bust out the drill and tap, does anyone else have any thoughts?

[Sam Yerardi]

Jim,

I think drill/tap/epoxy is a good route to take. I'd use the locktite like Justin suggests.

[Steve Mellott]

James:

I may not fully understand this situation, but my router plate is attached to the table from the top. The phenolic plate is countersunk and the screw goes into the router table top. Can you duplicate this arrangement - all the connecting is done from the top of the table.

Steve

[James Hart]

Steve,

The PC router holes don't match the Craftsman tables holes. I thought about drilling holes in the Craftsman table that would let me tighten the screws that attach the phenolic to the PC from above the table. I don't think this made the situation any easier.

Sorry this is a bit confusing.

Thanks,

Jim