Mini Router Table

[Tom Bender]

Since I made this small table I hardly ever use the big one.

Router 5.jpg

That small piece of Purpleheart is taped on to accommodate some parts that were slightly curved in two directions.
The table is just an oversized base with ribs convenient to clamp it in the vise.

Router 3.jpg

The base is covered with peel and stick vinyl flooring. It gives a nice slick surface.
Setup is way easier than a table mounted router.

It works great on small to medium sized parts. Bigger parts get clamped in the vise and the router gets used hand held.

[Don Peters]

Tom,
Your post takes me back from my current dual lift router table to my boat building career forty years ago. In those days we hadn't figured out how to put a router in a table. We just clamped our PC 690's in a vise..... gently. I'm still using them: one in a table lift and one hand held, original bearings and brushes. God I miss those days
dp

[william walton]

My first attempt at a router table was mounting a small Craftsman router on one end of a 12" x 24" 3/4" board. Screwed a short 2x2 on the other end and clamp that in a vise. Router sat on the bench. Amazing what work you can do with so little.

[David Buchhauser]

Tom,
Here is one I just put together after reading your post. I had a spare router plate left over after I added a router lift to my router table. I don't have a nice large vise to clamp with (like yours) so I made 4 legs from aluminum, cut a steel base plate, and bolted it together so I can clamp it to a bench or table. My fence is a piece of mdf. This will work great for the lids for some small cedar boxes I am making. The piece shown was a sample I was practicing on. Thanks for the idea!
David

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[David Utterback]

Nice adaptation. Thanks for sharing. I also like the flanged exhaust inlet. Did you build that or find it somewhere?

[Jim Becker]

This is a handy solution, including one that could be used for quickly allowing multiple profiles to be available while processing some small moldings that require multiple pieces of tooling to pull off. Very nice idea!

[Jon Grider]

I like it, sometimes less is more. My router table is simply a 4 sided square rabbet routed into the extension table of my TS that I drop a mounted router in as needed. I like your idea, I'm going to make one like it.

[Tom Bender]

Nice adaptation. Thanks for sharing. I also like the flanged exhaust inlet. Did you build that or find it somewhere?

In my misspent youth I worked as a tinsmith before discovering wood. That bit of ductwork connects to my 2 1/2" flex to the Oneida unit. Works ok.