Track Installation Question

[Steve Siwek]

Hi everyone. I'm building a router table. My question is, when installing the T-Tracks, are the verticle tracks installed equal distance from the center hole? If so, is there a general guideline as to how many inches from center they should be?

Thanks for the help.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I would most likely put the vertical tracks evenly spaced, so if you had a 24" wide table with the router center at 12", my tracks would be at 6" and 18".

Just make sure they are parallel. This will allow you to move the fence position without binding or having to cut slots in the fence mounting to allow for track variance.

And it you put a horizontal track, in front of the bit, give yourself enough space, from the bit to use a miter gauge, but not too much that it's too far away to use the slot to hole a feather board..

Here's my Woodpeckers router table top.



https://hosting.photobucket.com/imag...ableTop(1).jpg

[Paul F Franklin]

If by vertical tracks you mean the ones from front to back that are used to secure the fence, then the spacing depends on your fence. If you are making your own fence, then spacing is up to you. Assuming you are using some kind of router mounting plate, you want the tracks to be at least far enough apart to allow room for the plate. But I would recommend keeping the tracks closer to the outside edges of the table, maybe 4 inches or so from the edges. The reason for this is that any break in the table surface is a place where pieces you are routing can catch or get hung up if everything is not perfectly flat and even. Even a few thousandths variation can be enough for a work piece to snag a bit. Keeping the tracks spaced widely means they are out of the picture when routing smaller pieces. Keeping the spacing wide also makes it a little easier to make tiny adjustments in fence placement as the distance to the "pivot" is longer.

[Steve Siwek]

Thanks everyone, your responses are a big help!