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Thread: Router Table Cabinet

  1. #1
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    Router Table Cabinet

    I recently purchased a router table and it came with a useless cross legged stand. My shop is also severely lacking in storage so I figured I'd build a router table cabinet.

    This was a significant project for me on the design front as I used Fusion 360 from start to finish. I'll never go back to Sketchup.

    rendering.jpg
    The cabinet has three drawers and two pull out trays. The left tray is for router bits and the right tray is for stuff like feather boards, wrenches, etc.

    Filling up the router bit trays.jpg

    Filling up the drawers.jpg

    The dust collection is a little obtrusive but I can take it off in about 30 seconds and store it in the router compartment.

    Adding the dust collection.jpg

    I am getting a lift and a new router soon and then this thing will get a workout. Looking forward to using it a lot.

    I have a video for anyone that's interested.


  2. #2
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    Very nice, Tim!!

    One small suggestion...if the design doesn't have any air coming in from the front at the bottom of the door to the router compartment (not obvious from the photos, etc, consider adding that provision. It will greatly improve the performance and "sweep" most material out of there. You have what looks like a 4" port to the box and the air has to come from somewhere. It's a math problem. I used that principle with my own setup and it's been stelar in performance.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #3
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    Very nice design and build. What do you prefer with Fusion 360 that SketchUp lacked? Unless you are driving a CNC with the output, for $495/year vs. free it would need to do a lot more/easier on the modeling side for me to justify the cost.

    John

  4. #4
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    Thanks, Jim!

    Yeah, I wondered about the airflow. I figured I'd just cut a slot along the bottom of that door. I haven't really even used the router table since building this cabinet so not sure how it works right now. I'll do some testing though at some point.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    Very nice design and build. What do you prefer with Fusion 360 that SketchUp lacked? Unless you are driving a CNC with the output, for $495/year vs. free it would need to do a lot more/easier on the modeling side for me to justify the cost.

    John
    Fusion 360 is free to start-ups making less than 100K per year, or a hobbyist for not for profit use.

    Wayne

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    Very nice design and build. What do you prefer with Fusion 360 that SketchUp lacked? Unless you are driving a CNC with the output, for $495/year vs. free it would need to do a lot more/easier on the modeling side for me to justify the cost.

    John
    Thanks, John!

    Sketchup has just never felt right for me. It feels glitchy and actions/tool behave differently in different situations. It's quite possible it's my own hangups but I only gotta please myself.

    Fusion 360 is free for business under $100k revenue per year and hobbyists. Plus, I am selling the plans so I would have to buy Sketchup Pro which is $600 or $700. Once I got through the Fusion 360 learning curve (which is greater than Sketchup) I started to hit my stride. I love it. It's lacking some features, especially on the plan making side, but it's still in its infancy so it will only get better.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tim M Tuttle View Post
    Thanks, Jim!

    Yeah, I wondered about the airflow. I figured I'd just cut a slot along the bottom of that door. I haven't really even used the router table since building this cabinet so not sure how it works right now. I'll do some testing though at some point.
    Yup...a slot at the bottom of the door is perfect and you can use a little math to figure out the right size to give the necessary area for air inlet to balance things out "in general" for the router table.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #8
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    Thanks to you both for letting me know Fusion 360 is free for hobbyists. Another question. Can you do rendering directly in Fusion 360 or do you have to export it out to a rendering package like you do with SketchUp? I'd love to be able to create renderings like you did above but just haven't been able to figure it out. A few folks have told me they use Kerkythea (sp.) but it's Greek to me. I'm not the dullest tool in the shed, but I do like simple, straightforward processes.

    John

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by John TenEyck View Post
    Thanks to you both for letting me know Fusion 360 is free for hobbyists. Another question. Can you do rendering directly in Fusion 360 or do you have to export it out to a rendering package like you do with SketchUp? I'd love to be able to create renderings like you did above but just haven't been able to figure it out. A few folks have told me they use Kerkythea (sp.) but it's Greek to me. I'm not the dullest tool in the shed, but I do like simple, straightforward processes.

    John
    Yeah, that rendering above is from Fusion 360. I spent maybe a whole 2 minutes setting it up. What's pretty cool is that you can either render locally or use their rendering cloud. You have to buy credits for the cloud but probably pretty handy if you're doing an animation and dont want to tie your computer up for a couple of hours.

    You can make some pretty amazing renderings with Fusion 360.

    https://imgur.com/HfxT7AM

    https://imgur.com/JJW6zO1

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Fusion360/c...renderings_in/

  10. #10
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    Thanks for the follow up Tim. I'm going to have to look at Fusion 360 after I get a new PC or upgraded graphics card in the one I have.

    John

  11. #11
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    Your cabinet looks similar to mine which was made following Norm's plan. When you make the slot in the door, you would improve the effectiveness if you place a radius on the exterior edges. Sharp edges on air inlets create turbulence which interferes with laminar flow, the latter being most efficient. Let us see the final project. Good luck!
    Rustic? Well, no. That was not my intention!

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