Bob wrote:
Wanting to move beyond the limitations of my old Craftsman tabletop
router table and my trusty PC 690 router, I am looking to move up to a
more substantial router and table. I'd like to put a new router in the
33" wide right-side table extension of my contractor table saw. I
think that the experience of the helpful wReck-ers in this group might
prove valuable.
1. What are folks experience with this strategy vs. a separate router
table? Does the dual use of the table extension real estate cause any
significant conflicts or PITA restrictions? My shop, like many others
is a bit crowded.
2. Does the existing 3/4" particle board need to be reinforced, like
with another 3/4" layer of MDF?
3. I am looking at two router strategies:
a. Milwaukee 6525-20 router with a Woodpeckers aluminum router table
plate
b. PC 7518 router with a router lift (Woodpeckers Precision Router
Lift, Jessem Mast-R-Lift)
On item 2., I'm leaning toward the Milwaukee+plate vs. the PC+lift. My
reasoning is that the Milwaukee seems to be a somewhat better table
router and already has top surface adjustment capability. I am hoping
to avoid going under the table for bit replacement by using offset
wrenches from the top. Will this work? This option is a lot less
expensive, too.
Does anyone have experience with any of these options that they'd like
to share?
Thanks for the help.
Bob
I'll start by saying that my needs are simple, and I'm a novice router
user. I needed to make rails and stiles for shutters, as well as
moulding for the framing of the shutters, which required the use of a
smaller panel raising bit. Not only is my available space limited, it's
likely that it will be months between projects so I didn't want a
stand-alone table.
Based on these considerations, I went with the extension wing approach,
deciding to build a very simple "one time use" table with the
expectation that I would learn alot in the process of building and
using it and would want to later use the new knowledge and skills to
build a better on that would be permanent.
I "laminated" two pieces of 3/4" MDF (actually just screwed 'em
together) after rabbeting the top piece to overhang the fence rails
such that the top was flush with the tablesaw surface. The bottom piece
matches the rabbeted dimmension and completely fits between the rails.
THis seems quite stiff, but in the final version I'll probably glue
some strengthening ribs underneath because I'm getting a tiny bit of
sag (barely noticeable now, but time will tell if it gets worse).
For the fence, I used MDF for sacrifial material on the "off" side of
the tablesaw fence and cut T-Slots for featherboards etc.
I posted about this in the past. For more detail, DAGS in the rec on
"Stoopid" Simple Router Table.
Since then, my needs grew to require a mitre slot which was easily
added with by leaving the table in place and using a separate router
with the fence as a guide.
I'm extremely pleased with it's operation using a PC890 router which I
selected primarily because of the ability to set the bit height from
above the table. That's fairly handy, but most of the time I find that
it's just as easy to reach under the table. I have a Rockler plate on
the shelf thats's waiting for the next generation of the table. I'm not
motivated to install it because the current setup is working fine.
Tom
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