"Lewis" wrote in message

I'm getting ready -- finally -- to mount my router in the end of my table
saw extension. I'm planning to use an auxillary router fence mounted to
the
TS fence, and stand facing down the length of the extension. Two
questions:
First, how far back from the front end of the table (in my case, the end
of
the TS extension table) should the router be?

What will you be routing? If you will be routng a dado in a 48" panel, yo
want it far bakc. If you are doing edges of smaller pieces, you don't want
to be leaning all the time. In my case, I have a table and the bit is about
1/3 back. This is nice and close for 99% of the work, but working from the
other side th e bit is back further and it is easier for large panels.


What is a good way to decide
how much table should be in front of the bit? 18" seems to be a
comfortable
reach, but that seems to be a little further back than most tables I've
seen. Pat Warner's, for example, appears to be 13-14 inches

If 18" is very comfortable, you must be tall and have long arms. I'd go
closer to 12". But I'm not you so do what feels good. With 60", I'd
consier a second space and fil it iwth a blank when you don't use it in that
location.



Or is there some
reason to keep the bit closer to the front?

Bending and reaching is tough on the lower back.


Second, I have a piece of 3/8" aluminum approximately 9X12" for the
mounting
base. I'm thinking of cutting it down to 9X9, so it's a little lighter
weight, and so I can put a smaller hole in the extension table.

I'd look at commercially available router lifts that you may be dreaming
about. Then I'd make the cutout that size of slightly smaller. Easy to
enlarge compared to filling in. Cutting 3" off the plate is not going to
save a lot of weight.



What are the
advantages and disadvantages to a big plate vs. a small plate?


Beats me.

A 9X9 plate
should be big enough to mount any router, right? I'm planning on using my
DW618, leaving the fixed base more-or-less permanently attached, and I'll
use the D-handle base Santa is bringing for hand-held routering. Even if I
get a bigger router in the future, I would think 9X9 would be plenty
big --

Once you take the router n and out a few times you'll be hankering for a
second router. I don't recall the last time I used my hand held. Once I
got the table set up, I used the hand held maybe twice. YMMV.

Happy (US) Thanksgiving!
Lewis

To you also.
Ed