From: Dan Drabek

Location: Santa Cruz, CA

Hobbyist or Pro: Hobbyist

Project Name: A simple, inexpensive router table

Wood Species: MIxed

Finish Used: Minwax Wipe-On Poly

Project Description:
I don’t use a router all that much in my woodworking, but decided that a router table would be helpful for certain jobs. I saw no point in spending hundreds of dollars on a high-end table, and the cheap plastic bench top tables left me cold. With more time to spare than money, I decided to build my own. My wish list was that it be lightweight, small and easy to transport; quick and easy to build; capable of precision work; simple and pleasant to use; and should cost about $50 or less. No sweat.

Most of my work is on the small size–building and repairing stringed instruments, etc., and my shop is tiny. So I was looking for a small, portable table that I could set up outside the shop with a minimum of effort. I decided on a table 21″ x 16 1/2″. It needed to be 14″ tall to allow me to drop the motor out the bottom for bit changes. Since I wasn’t mounting a plunge router, and the motor is easy to remove, I saw no need for a mounting plate. The lack of the plate simplified the setup and would be less prone to warping and vibration. The top was to be made of two sheets of 1/2″ thick MDF board glued together, which is reasonably strong and stable. Since MDF is basically glorified cardboard, it’s weak point is friable edges. So I decided to edge it with 1/4″ thick strips of wood. Before gluing, I cut a disk out of the bottom layer of MDF with a saber saw to just fit the base of my router. That gave me a thinner top for mounting, but with little or no loss of strength.

I made a trip to the local big box store and bought two 24″ x 48″ sheets of 1/2″ MDF for about $17. I splurged on stainless steel nuts and bolts for another $6. A combination outlet with switch, and 8′ extension cord dinged me another $18. Finally I added a stick of kiln dried pine for another $3, and I was all set. Cost was around $45 including tax. I cheated a bit and used a few pieces of hardwood from my scrap bin for making the fence and edging. I had some scrap teak for surrounding the table, a piece of hard maple for the fence, and some scrap black locust for the adjustable faces for the fence. Any stray lumber would have worked, but the woods I had should wear well. I made the knobs by epoxying long nuts into levers I made from some scrap cut-off left over from a laminated banjo neck I had built. A little fancy I suppose, but it works, and my wife likes them.

The simplest fence would be a two by four, jointed flat and square on two sides, clamped to the table. I wanted something a bit better, and easier to adjust. I like the simplicity of a fence pivoting around one end. So I drilled a hole through one end of the fence support and the table top and ran a 4″ carriage bolt through both. On the swinging side, I installed a second carriage bolt through 5″ long arc I routed through the table top using the first hole as a pivot for my router’s circle guide. This gives me about 2 1/2″ of travel at the cutter, which should be enough for any edge routing I do. If I need to rout beyond that limit, I can remove the pivot bolts and clamp the fence to the table as needed. I have plenty of overhang to do this. I routed a mortise under the curved slot and inlaid a piece of 1/2″ thick hardwood to toughen the slot where the carriage bolt rides. I wouldn’t trust the MDF to hold up well without this reinforcement. The adjustable faces are attached to the fence block with #14 round head stainless wood screws. A 1/8 turn loosening of each screw will allow the faces to be adjusted to fit the cutter. A quarter turn of each wing knob will lock everything square to the table.

The only critical joinery is the fence. The bottom of the fence must be dead flat, and the cutter side must be flat and at an exact right angle to the bottom. This can be done on any jointer. Finally, the adjustable faces must be of even thickness throughout. If so, then they will also be square when screwed to the fence.

Since I planned to carry this table around a lot, I eased all edges with a 3/8″ roundover bit to make it easy on the hands. I installed the switch to allow turning the router off and on without reaching under the table. I gave everything several coats of wipe-on poly to seal and harden the MDF. I gave extra coats to the top and added a coat of paste wax.

My Bosch router can be fine adjusted through a hole drilled in the top, but it’s so easy to adjust by reaching under the table, I doubt I will ever bother hunting for the allen wrench. The only problem I’ve encountered with the design is the fence. The adjustable faces stick up above the fence block and can interfere with the turning of the knobs. They only require a quarter turn to lock or release, so they function fine unless you want to completely unscrew them. Either the fence should be higher, or the faces should be lower, or the levers should be smaller or taller to clear. After I use the table a bit more, I’ll decide which is the best way to go.

I put the whole thing together over a weekend. It’s not furniture grade construction, but it doesn’t really need to be. The MDF is glued and screwed to the inner frame, and should easily stand up to hard use. (you build wooden boats that way). It works quite well for my purposes, is precise and easy to use, and was built within my planned budget.

From: Brad Lockwood

Location: Stratford, CT

Hobbyist or Pro: Hobbyist

Project Name: Router Table

Wood Species: Birch Ply/Maple/Polar

Finish Used: Standard Stain with General Finish Dye stain, 3 coats of General Finish Wipe On Stain. I also used Shellac on the top.

Project Description:
This was my second project and I needed a good Router table. I wanted to see the effects of different finishes on different woods and what happens if I don’t do the light sanding after the water base stain. I also wanted to practice dovetail, rabbet joinery, inlay (t-tracks for the miter and fence). I also ordered and installed the Jessem Router Lift, which I bought after watching Marc’s router lift segment. Marc was right on with his analysis in my opinion.

As you can see from the full front photo, I fully integrated the dust collection using hose connected to the fence and a pickup from the router cavity. I placed plexi-glass on the door to the cavity and placed a light in there as well that turns on when the router is on. The very bottom door area is for storage. The left side drawers are sideless as I drilled holes to hold the bits. The Top right side drawer is a false front to hold the switch and the 3 lower drawers are half blind dovetails using the MLCS jig.

I learned a lot about finishing, dovetailing, drawer guide mounting and many other techniques as well. Now I have a top-of-the-line table and lessons learned. So as my friends say, this is the most furniture like router table east of the Mississippi.

I also mentioned the Wood Whisperer Guild in the video. If you are interested in joining, you can check out the details here. And don’t forget to visit the new Wood Talk Online Forum!

Here are some links from the past that involve the evolution of my shop:

• Article – Evolution of a Workshop
• Article – My Humble Beginnings
• Video – October 2009 Shop Tour
• Video – A Moving Experience
• Video – Updated Shop Tour
• Video – The King and His Castle

My question is basically about a router table. I am just starting out in the woodworking arena as a hobby. I have a Dewalt Miter saw, a Bosch Table Saw, Bosch router (fixed and plunge kit) and am looking to start some woodworking. I have carved a section of the basement out for my shop. 16×10 – and have been reading and researching for a few months. So much so I haven’t even turned on the saw or router yet, and I must say I am glad. Based on your site alone I have learned so much from you on safety and doing things that I shudder at what I might have been like if I jumped right in.

Since the router did not come with a bit I am also looking to get some router bits and was looking at a good intro set if you have any suggestions but more importantly, I felt a router table would be my next purchase and a good way to round out my starter shop. Was wondering if you had a suggestion for a good router table. I see the tops for sale at Rockler and they seem good. I know you need to have a nice wide surface and a level surface and a good fence and I wanted to know your thoughts. I would prefer to get something self standing but I see you can buy the top and some legs separate. I guess I could always make some legs but might be easier to start with something made and then maybe one day strive to something better with storage etc. I know a router table can be made out of any flat surface to serve its purpose but I feel that it is important to get something halfway decent to learn on and grow with. Any thoughts you could lend to this would be greatly appreciated and keep up the good work. Thanks

And here was my response:

As for the router bits, there are a few things you can do. And it depends on the type of woodworking you plan to do and how much money you want to spend. What I usually recommend to beginners is that they pick up an inexpensive starter set. Something like this: Price Cutter Bit Set. Although these are inexpensive bits that probably won’t last very long, their real value is the fact that you can use them until they are ready to throw away. And by that point, you will be in a much better position to make a judgment call on which bits you use the most. Then you can simply replace those bits with their higher quality cousins. And what do you do with all the inexpensive bits you never used? Just hold on to them. One day you will find a use for them and you’ll be glad you kept them around.

Now if you are one of those “buy your last tool first” folks, I would recommend a set like this: Eagle America 12-Piece Set. A solid investment!

Now for a stand and table, the Rockler setups are a pretty darn good bargain and they are hard to beat. Can you find a better table? Sure you can. But you will pay quite a bit more for it too. So I would say that most of the Rockler setups are going to treat you right. If you want to buy a higher quality table that you are much less likely to replace in the near future, I would take a look at some of the models offered by WoodPeckers or Jessem. Hope that helps. Thanks Craig and take care.