"BIG JOE" wrote in message
om...
Hi All

I am considering purchasing this unit instead of building my own fence
for my Norm Router Table, currently under construction. It comes in
16" or 24" configurations and the choice between the two would
significantly affect how I build the top.

The uses will be mainly as a regular router fence, and I like the dust
collection and split fence design. In addition, I would like to use
it for dovetails for small boxes and possibly some straight line inlay
work as well.

The base of my cabinet is 32 wide x 23 deep. The carcass is already
constructed. Due to the placement of the drawers, router bay, etc., I
can't use the fence side-to-side, it has to be front-to-back, which
means I will need to make the table top much deeper to accomodate the
fence (additional 8 inches), even deeper if I go with the 24 inch
model (19 inches). Even though the 24 inch model is only 8 inches
longer, based on what I can tell from the literature, it will need a
table that is 11 inches longer (longer rear base?). I will be cutting
my top from a 4x8 sheet of 1" melamine that has been collecting dust
in my garage, and must weigh approx. 200lbs. I'm concerned the longer
top (the extra depth will have to overhang the back as I don't want to
interfere with access to the drawers/door) will make the table
unstable or may flex without a base underneath it.

I would appreciate any comments or concerns with the proposed setup,
as well as anyone who might have a take on 16 vs 24 (yeah, I know, it
depends what I want to do with it).

Thanks
Joe

I bought and have used the same fence in the 24" size on my table for 18 mo
or so. The top is 25"x33" with the router centered.

I ended up making a 10" table extension (triangular configuration, brought
flush to the top, shimmed for alignment) out of massive amounts of birch ply
to accept the fence mount and maximize the useful top area. I probably
would have configured it differently (end mount fence) if I had chosen the
fence before the table was constructed. Other than the footprint, it's a
sweet setup. Let me know if you need some pics.

Eric