Rousseau Router Plates?

[Wade Lippman]

I just installed one of their plastic plates.
The rings are just about impossible to remove. The instructions say they can be sanded down to make them work better.
It seems to me that they should work properly when sold, and the customer shouldn't have to sand them down. I am reluctant to sand them, fearing that they will perhaps over time get too loose to hold.

Anyone have experience with these?

Also, the right edge droops about a 1/16" below the surface. Presumably it is so nothing gets hung up on it, but it seems weird. Anyone have problems resulting from that?

[Anthony Whitesell]

I bought a while ago the Rousseau 3002 Lift and just finished building the table for it. The rings are a royal PITA to remove if the notches aren't aligned. On the bottom of the rings there are three bumps and the plate has three notches. If I take the time to align them they pop in and out with just the right amount of effort. If they get turned or I'm in a hurry and don't line them up, they go in almost as easy (not really enough difference to notice they didn't align), but they don't come out so easily.

[James Hart]

They might not do his anymore, but several years ago I installed one of their plates and it wasn't flat. I read the package and it said that all of their plates were manufactured with a slight crown. Said something about ensuring consistent depth of cut.
Got rid of it the next day.

Jim

[Wade Lippman]

They might not do his anymore, but several years ago I installed one of their plates and it wasn't flat. I read the package and it said that all of their plates were manufactured with a slight crown. Said something about ensuring consistent depth of cut.
Got rid of it the next day.

Jim
right, its not flat. You install it so the left side and and center are flush with the table, and the right side dips a hair. Unless what you are routing is very small, it shouldn't make any difference, but seems odd.
Did you get rid of it because it gave bad results, or because you were concerned that it would give bad results?

[Mike Cutler]

right, its not flat. You install it so the left side and and center are flush with the table, and the right side dips a hair. Unless what you are routing is very small, it shouldn't make any difference, but seems odd.
Did you get rid of it because it gave bad results, or because you were concerned that it would give bad results?

Wade

Ordinarily I don't like to post negative comments about equipment, but I'm going to make an exception here.

I could not get the Rousseau plate to route T&G's on edges with any consistency. The installation direction were also different for mine than yours.
According to Rousseau the plate was supposed to be installed with the crown proud of the table to allow the material to "float" over the top. It didn't work,and I installed like you have. It didn't work in that configuration well either. the initial cut into the leading edge would chatter and vibrate. I still didn't like it. I want a dead flat reference on a router table.
Those rings are a pain in the beehind though, aren't they?
In the end it just didn't work for me. I ended up making my own from 3/8'' acrylic.
I still have the Rousseau, and the hardware( somewhere, I think). I've tried to give it away twice, with no success. I hope you get yours to work, because they are fairly expensive.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I wonder if they expect the weight of the router and lift to pull the plate flat. As I have a Rousseau lift (not just a plate) mine is dead flat.

[frank shic]

i've got three of those rousseau plates and i'm not convinced that the intentionally engineered hump is evened out by the router's weight. i only use them on through cuts and have replaced the remainders with aluminum router plates from rockler. BTW you can knock out the rings by using a small stick or scrap and whacking it with a hammer.

[Brian Dormer]

Wanna have some fun? Try routing a sliding dovetail with one of those "humpback" router plates. You'll NEVER get it to fit right.

Don't ask me how I learned that. (slowly I turned....)

I'm sure the engineer that designed the plate had good intentions.... and never used a router a day in his/her life.

Chuck the humpback and get a Jessem, WoodPeckers, Rockler, Bench Dog...

BTW - MLCS sells the Rousseau plates - so avoid those too. MLCS bits are great and Customer Service is top-notch - just don't buy a plastic plate from them.

[John Hain]

Same here with the crowned plate.

My M12V pulls a bit, but not enough. My plate rides up on the right just enough to cause some problems here and there. My rings come in and out pretty well though.

Admittedly, I haven't had a problem with the plate when doing projects. I do sliding dovetails on the dovetail jig so haven't even tried getting them to fit with the plate.

When I upgrade my table, I'll go with a different plate, something more solid.

[Gary Keedwell]

I agree a sagging plate will cause depth problems but going the opposite way (hump) will give depth problems too.http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/sweeper54/woot2.gif
Gary

[Jared Cuneo]

I'll add to the not-so-happy camp.

I wish I would have bought a dead flat one instead.... :(


JC

[JayStPeter]

Yet another advocate for avoiding Rousseau router plates here. While they have a reasonable sounding explanation for not making them flat, it's still a terrible idea.

[Robert Meyer]

I have had a Rousseau plate for about 5 years used mostly in my dedicated table with edge bits. My original table top was made of 1 1/2" particle board from a sink cut out. My problem began when the plate began rising higher in the crown until I couldn't smoothly pass a board across the plate as it struck the plate edge and stopped... suddenly! I corresponded with Rousseau service department and they indicated that the plate has a crown for (can't remember reason but it was soooo lame I had to wrap my head in duck tape to keep it from exploding). They claim if you lay a flat edge across the plate hole from front to back the plate will have a 1/32" drop front and back. Mine was 1/32" back 3/32" front. Of course there is no fix other than route the rebate the plate sits in a bit deeper (front & back) to make sure it is flush with the table top. Unfortunately, your plate measures 12 x 9" and not many really flat plates are this size. Hartvilletools has a plate this size they claim is flat but it looks like the Rousseau check it our before buying one. You can insert a Rockler Large Aluminum plate 9 x 13 if you redo your cut out. The plate you will love, The Woodpecker aluminum, is only 11 3/4 deep so you would have to add a filler to you cut out, not a good idea I think.

[frank shic]

brian, i'm feeling your pain with trying to cut sliding dovetails which are probably one of the TOUGHEST joints to cut. i'm also imagining the expletives that are flying out of your mouth!!!

[Paul Kinneberg]

I have had a Rousseau plate for 8 years and the inserts have always been a PITA but I have no other complaints. I am now working on a new router table should be done tomorrow with a jointech digital lift but I haven't checked those inserts yet.

[Dick Adair]

And I always was curious how a top plate like this could warp. Do the other brands fit in the same cutout?

[frank shic]

dick, it's intentionally "crowned" so that when you put in a heavier router it supposedly flattens out although i have yet to observe this effect with my bosch 1619!

[glenn bradley]

It seems to me that they should work properly when sold

I think you've gotten a consistent message here. I'd return it and take a look at a different vendor. I have no complaints with the Rockler plates I use but they are smaller than your current plate. A lot of folks like Woodpecker's plates. It just seems there is a lot of negative press on the Rousseau plates.

[JayStPeter]

Unfortunately, your plate measures 12 x 9" and not many really flat plates are this size ... The plate you will love, The Woodpecker aluminum, is only 11 3/4 deep so you would have to add a filler to you cut out, not a good idea I think.

I have some nice 1.5" thick shelves that are laminated on both sides in my shop now from making the transition from Rousseau to Woodpeck.