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Thread: Is a cast iron router table the right choice?

  1. #16
    If cost is not a problem CI I'd the way to go. The added mass makes a big difference. That being said, my Benchdog top didn't add any real capabilities over the melamine top out replaced. Like stated earlier, a good lift is makes a much greater difference in actual utility.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
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    NW Indiana
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    3,078
    I have a heavy lift with a PC 7518 in my top which is double layer of 3/4" BB. I have had it for years and zero sag. It has a light colored Formica top that is nice as I put pencil marks on it for setups. The marks wipe off easily.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    May 2014
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    When I was making my router table tops I used plywood and glued up at least 2-3 variations,up to 2" thick. I only put laminate on the top. My tables were also in locations without climate control. Where I live here in Alberta we have a pretty dry climate,my tops probably twisted as they dried out. I did not ever try mdf,but there were layers of Baltic birch tried. I own two shapers and can use my router bits in the smaller one. Rpm is 10000 max,works fairly well with a slower feed rate. The convenience of using my shaper with a power feed and the great fence make me doubt that I will build another router table,I think it would be a waste of space for me.

  4. #19
    I have never used a commercial router table and doubt I ever will. I have two home made ones but I only really use one of them. The top is a sink cutout. They are high density particle board with formica for the top. I backed it with a piece of 3/4 plywood and added an oak edge. The motor is from an old Ryobi 13amp plunge router and resides in a home made lift that attaches to the 3/4 plywood back of the router cabinet. The idea was in an old American Woodworker article. The router motor slides up and down on two 1 inch ground steel rods. Other than the motor compartment with the lift, the arrangement is like Norm's from New Yankee Workshop. So I have multiple bit drawers and a larger drawer at the bottom. It rolls around on totally locking casters and the height is just slightly lower than my table saw. I've made lots of raised panel and flat panel doors on it. A router motor isn't great at panel raising, you have to take multiple passes, but cope and stick is easy. A shaper would be better at the panel raising but I do not have the space. The top of my router table tilts up for bit changing. I can also mount a PC 690 on a moving panel on the back for a simple horizontal router table if I need that functionality. I haven't checked the flatness of the top but it stays plenty flat enough.

    It is always nice to work with nice tools but I really think a router table is best made, not bought. In it's simplest form it is just a router attached to a table with a board fence. It just doesn't have the complexity of a table saw (but I once had a home made table saw too).

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Posts
    75
    I also went with the Bench dog CI top, and built a "norm" inspired table around it. The Bench dog top has a smaller cut out, so there are only a few lifts (other than BD) that will fit, including the woodpecker lift, which I went with and am completely satisfied. I also went with the Jess-em fence, but you can easily adapt it to use the BD slots and T-nuts to tighten it down. Just throw away the rails that come with the fence. It does mean you have less precision in adjusting the fence, this hasn't proved to be a big problem, and I really like the Jess-em hold-downs, which I highly recommend. I'm also using the lift with a PC7518 router, so plenty of power, adjustable speed, and heavy.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
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    9,889
    Probably cheaper to buy a used shaper and just use the ci table.
    Bill D.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Northern Illinois
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    943
    I would say that it doesn't really matter what material the table is made of as long as it's flat (within a few thousandths). I own an Incra composite top surfaced with laminate. It is as flat as possible and, with a good base (in this case Incra's), there should be no sagging.

    Before this table I owned a Rockler table which I incorporated into a homemade base. It was thicker than the Incra top (1 1/4" I think) and, as far as I know it never sagged either; also was flat.

    So, flatness is the important thing. A review I read in Fine Woodworking a number years ago when I was buying my Incra table indicated that cast iron tops were no flatter than composite or other tops. In one case, the cast iron top wasn't as flat if I remember correctly.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
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    Quote Originally Posted by Randy Heinemann View Post
    I would say that it doesn't really matter what material the table is made of as long as it's flat (within a few thousandths). I own an Incra composite top surfaced with laminate. It is as flat as possible and, with a good base (in this case Incra's), there should be no sagging.

    Before this table I owned a Rockler table which I incorporated into a homemade base. It was thicker than the Incra top (1 1/4" I think) and, as far as I know it never sagged either; also was flat.

    So, flatness is the important thing. A review I read in Fine Woodworking a number years ago when I was buying my Incra table indicated that cast iron tops were no flatter than composite or other tops. In one case, the cast iron top wasn't as flat if I remember correctly.
    Agree with the post above.

    I made my first router table out of two pieces of 3/4" ply with laminate on top. Flat as a pancake and never sagged or warped. I lived in FL, TN and TX, never noticed any movement in the top.

    I eventually bought a Woodpeckers router table lift and stand, put a PC 7518 in it. That cost around $1700. The top is Phenolic, flat as a pancake.

    I did replace the the metal stand with a cabinet I built

    The original stand and my cabinet





    Plenty of support there.

    My only regret, I wish the top was slightly ;larger in front of the router bit.

    I also have the Incra laminate router top in the right wing of my SawStop. No flex and flat.

    From my experience, I can't see any major benefit in a CI for my needs.

    Also, I've neem looking at Shapers over the past couple of months, I'm not finding anything less than around $3000, new or used, that offers me more capability that my router.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
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    N CA
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    I built "Norm's RT" and got a lot of use out of it. It did not make the trip across country. I am finishing another like it with the Rockler AL insert, double 3/4 laminated MDF with a t-track. Dust collection from the fence and cabinet is good. I am not happy with the fence I made and will modify it. I run the 3 1/2 hp PC plunge router in it and built my own lift with a bit of all thread and a rod coupling mounted to a plate. All I have to do in release the lever, reach into the lower cabinet and dial it to where I want it with the handle and the bit is at eye level at that point. I have a bad case of the "I wants" for the SawStop Router table insert, but I just can't spend the dough on it and the lifts, while really convenient, double the cost which is substantial. I'm saving my pennies for a Domino which I cannot build.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Marina del Rey, Ca
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    Cast iron is best. I made mine from an ancient, repurposed table saw top and built it onto my primary Unisaw so it could also use the Unifence.

    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Tulsa, OK
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    190
    This may not be the so popular option, but it works for me and has worked well. I utilized 2 of the Craftsman aluminum router table tops and incorporated them into my cabinet saw. It was not a direct fit between the rails of the cabinet saw so I had to also use some 1" or maybe it was 1.25" aluminum square tubing. I know these tops are no where near as good as some of the nicer aftermarket ones, and they do not compare to a cast wing router top add on. But I already owned one of the Craftsman tops and my dad gave me his. I do not have 2 routers mounted, although I guess that I could, but the second one did give me additional table top space. I keep my PC router permanently mounted and I have a Dewalt plunge+fixed base for other stuff. Might add that in comparison my additions were considerably cheaper that some of the aftermarket tables and lift devices. Would I like to have some of those aftermarket goodies HECK YES, but the reality of it is I cannot really justify the cost. Resized952018040895175904951556.jpg

  12. #27
    I had a few of the craftsman variety router tables .As a result i rarely used my router .Now I've built a crude router table as a wing on my Delta contractors saw and wow what a difference . I know the table as is has a limited life span. Next time i will either buy a cast iron wing and make it fit or upgrade the saw and make sure it supports a cast iron router table wing

  13. #28
    Join Date
    May 2008
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    MA
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    2,255
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Finazzo View Post
    I would not be raising panels or using super large diameter bits. Do not want to spend a crazy amount
    For smaller work a router table may be a better choice. (imo, but that is just me). Shapers do not run the rpm to get good cutting speeds for small dia bits. They are generally larger (fence, inserts, tooling, etc) - I am not sure what it is like to run a 1/16" dia bit in a shaper as an example.

    Shaper tooling is expensive. And you may likely want a feeder to go with it. So $$ (a used shaper itself can be had very resonable, but that is 25% of the cost if that)

    So do a little research between the two before jumping into a shaper.

  14. #29
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    I like cast iron tables. I went with a thick MDF/melamine top because the CI ones available at the time just didn't have the real estate I was after. My current one is 32" x 24" and if I couldn't share the tablesaw surface with it I would want it bigger still. Like the shaper / router table conversation; what is best will depend on what you want to do.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  15. #30
    I made my own router table and it was just fine. Was it a shaper? Nope. The questions that you ask tells me that you should be looking at a light duty shaper.

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