Table Saw With Double Router Extensions

[Chris Padilla]

...my great grandson could probably use these router tables and they wouldn't show any signs of wear.

...or really close moderator buddies who are quite young....

[Todd Franks]

Keith,

That is one good looking setup.

Since you say you don't use your table saw much anymore, I wonder if Chris could replace your center section with a cutter head and a way to raise one of your router extensions. Now that would be a serious jointer.

I need one of those for my Griz. I just need to figure out how to hide the expense from the LOML.

-Todd

[Jason White]

Sorry, I should have been more specific with my question.

What is the advantage of a steel "router table" vs. a cast-iron one?

I think Keith answered my question pretty well.

I imagine with steel, you don't have the same issues with having to let the material "age" like you do with cast iron. Plus, there's always a chance the iron will age some more and not stay totally flat over time.

JW

Jason,

I can't post a link to another forum but simply Google: steel vs cast iron

You'll find some interesting stuff

An exerpt:

wrought iron has no carbon, old mild steel had .03% carbon, .35% is the start of high carbon steel, bearing races generally have 1.0% carbon. cast iron has as much as 3 to 4% carbon much of it in a free state, picture a glass full of marbles representing iron molecules and you fill in the void with black pepper representing the carbon. Mild steel has a tensile strength of around 60,000, cast iron is around 36,000 and is brittle, it will break before it gives or bends. Pig Iron called that because of the way it was originally cast it looked like a bunch of piglets nursing their mother, has much more carbon before it is refined into usable cast iron. Cast iron is refined into mild and other steels by removing a lot of the carbon and having other alloys incorporated into it.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Very NICE!! As I was hassling back and forrth changing cabinet door bits the other day I sure wanted a setup like yours!

[Keith Outten]

Since I started making signs I found little use for my table saw. Understandably there has been a major change in the way I work and the machines that are used most frequently. Surprisingly I use my router tables more than ever even though I own a CNC router, probably because it produces in higher volume and never gets tired. I found that there are still jobs that are best done by hand and even though they don't take long the number of plaques or sign blanks that must be processed in large groups means that efficiency is more important than it used to be.

So I find myself with stacks of sign blanks that need a couple quick passes on the router table before they can be engraved, painted or sanded. I am always looking for the most inefficient link in the process in order to either reduce my time or make something easier. A duel router setup reduces setup time and more importantly makes it easier to keep tolerances where they need to be. I am forgetful these days, my age has reached the point that I have to be more careful and I try desperately to remain a creature of habit....keep doing things the same way every time once I get a technique down pat. I have a serious fear of machining 300 sign blanks and find out that I setup something incorrectly and have to scrap $1300.00 worth of material and two days work. This can happen so easily if a router slips just a little causing the depth to change from the proper setting.

I never used to do it but I find myself making setup jigs and fixtures all the time now. I am also more aware of safety than I used to be since I rely on keeping my digits where they are to make a living

.

[Todd Crawford]

Looks great!!! Can I have the cast iron wings you removed for this set-up?