DIY Router table

alexlyons

Ok so Im going to make myself a router table and looking for a bit of guidance with it. I'm modifying plans I got freely available online. I'm using spare timber I have obtained so it may not be completely perfect and the height will be a bit lower which doesn't bother me, I'm also going to enclose the table and add a dust box which should help with the mess.

I cut some similar timber to length for the legs, attempted to route the recesses in the 2 pieces of one leg for the rail but that didn't really work and I ended up with a gap that was to big. As its a functional piece and not an aesthetic piece I'm thinking of just but joining them and screwing them together to save time, however it would be good practice to try these joints.
What do you think?


These are the part of the plans and final product



The two Posts for one leg


The rail between them, note the gap


The other timber posts. I have more and can use the two above as stretchers if I go with the butt joints

slimjimmc

If you're only worried about the gap in the 2nd last photo just stick in a slip of wood to fill the whole gap while you're gluing the joint. Once the glue dries it'll be as solid as ever.

Nice little project.

alexlyons

Cheers, I might just keep going with the joints as is, worst case i just wedge them up and best case is once I get the right depth setting, as awkward as that is, it'll work fine.

I'll keep posting pics etc

m1nder

I would humbly suggest that the frame is what it is. Make it up anyway you can as long as it's rigid, square and robust. But the table top is far ore important. It really needs to be very level and of such construction that it does not suffer seasonal expansion. So a good hardwood laminated with some man made material. But work hard at getting it level (as in all exactly on one plane). Softwood is not good stuff generally for precision builds in the Irish climate.

alexlyons

ye thats the plan with the top, haven't decided what material exactly yet, most likely a sandwich of ply, hardboard, edged with hardwood and veneered both top and bottom. However I haven't found the veneer yet.

oh and on the frame, thats the reason I was trying to decide to just screw and glue making it rigid, or try the lap joints to get my practice up while building it. I'm going to try the lap joints

slowburner

m1nder wrote: »

I would humbly suggest that the frame is what it is. Make it up anyway you can as long as it's rigid, square and robust. But the table top is far ore important. It really needs to be very level and of such construction that it does not suffer seasonal expansion. So a good hardwood laminated with some man made material. But work hard at getting it level (as in all exactly on one plane). Softwood is not good stuff generally for precision builds in the Irish climate.

+ 1 about the stability and flatness of the bed. And it will have to bear the weight of the router without sagging.
See here for a most useful site, once you know the weight of the router, the span of the bed and the material you'll be using, you can calculate how thick it needs to be:
http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator.htm
The fence makes or breaks a router table imo - this is something you should research in depth. You will need to consider dust extraction, side to side adjustability and forward to back adjustability on the left side of the fence to compensate for heavy cuts.
Here's a mighty fine one to have a look at:
http://www.patwarner.com/routerfence.html

alexlyons

thanks, check that website, put in 3/4" ply and it said there'd be no sag, i might make it thicker than that, probably veneer it and edge it. won't get on to the top for a while though

m1nder

It's not really sag you are worried about, most wood will carry the weight of a router. What you need to be worried about is getting the top dead flat (all in one plane). You need this for accuracy when feeding wood to the router bit. Any undulations can cause issues with the routed resulting workpiece. I would consider making a table top out of metal if I could. Failing that, use stable heavy board such as birch ply laminated to a plastic or melamine (excuse spelling). The top needs to be dead flat and stable.

alexlyons

assuming the table sits level, and i use a sheet of ply which would be flat anyway, I assume the table top will be flat, as there is nothing to throw it off?

slimjimmc

Yeah, if you're using a wooden top then an engineered material would be more stable that a solid wood. It would also be a good idea to seal the worktop all over with a suitable wood sealer to reduce moisture absorption.

m1nder

alexlyons wrote: »

assuming the table sits level, and i use a sheet of ply which would be flat anyway, I assume the table top will be flat, as there is nothing to throw it off?

Not too worried about level as such. Think FLAT! Perfectly flat in one plane. Plywood is not that flat on its own and would not make a suitable working surface. You need a smooth surface that has low friction for your work pieces to run along.

alexlyons

what about an 18mm melamine panel? i am thinking flat, hence why i said it

m1nder

What I did previously, was build a router bench and bought a Trend router table top. This was machined out of cast iron, had the tracks, fence and took various inserts and clearence plates etc. I fitted this top into my bench top and it worked well. You would need adjuster threads at each corner of the table top to get it perfectly flush with the rest of the bench.

m1nder

alexlyons wrote: »

what about an 18mm melamine panel? i am thinking flat, hence why i said it

You didn't, you said "level" and you said "plywood" not melamine. That's why I responded the way I did. I'll bow out now. Best of luck

alexlyons

unfortunately buying one isn't on the cards due to budget constraints.
the plans i have show a very good top and fence which i'll put up soon.
sorry if that came across wrong, i appreciate I said plywood, then suggested melamine when you said its not a great surface on its own. I said earlier that I was going to veneer it, which would make it smooth. I said I was going to use ply which would be flat anyway, so I was thinking flat.

Again apologies if it came across wrong, you have been quite helpful and would appreciate your input as it continues, i was just confused and thought i wasn't understanding you correctly

galwaydude18

I would use laminate for the top.it will be smooth and material will glide over it easily

slowburner

galwaydude18 wrote: »

I would use laminate for the top.it will be smooth and material will glide over it easily

+1

alexlyons

would laminated melamine be good?

slowburner

T'would.

alexlyons

good stuff, I'm going to head to woodworkers.ie in terenure and grab some early next week

slowburner

Another thing you'll have to think about is the table insert. this will have to be strong enough not to droop but not so tick as to interfere with the plunge capacity too much. Most folk buy one but there's an opportunity to be creative here if shillings are scarce. I used a steel lamp base on one router table - it did the job.

woodturner

Compact laminate would be ideal for the top. It can be drilled and tapped to receive the fixings for the fence

alexlyons

where would one obtain compact laminate?
and i'm thinking a sheet of acrylic for the insert/base plate, but i can only get 4mm, would that be enough?

woodturner

Woodworkers and hobbies in Dublin may have it. We used it for a job in work a while back I'll find out where we got it.

alexlyons

this is going well folks, ill get some more images up later.

the frame is build, top cut to size, hole marked out and base plate made. I got an acrylic sheet in church town stores. 2x2 for €8 something. Its a bit to thin for a base plate so I envisaged doubling it up, then remembered about the old table matts that i kept with a view "they'll be useful for something".

So I now have a solid base plate, however the width of the router handles is wider than the base plate so I'm going to have to figure a way to get the router through the hole, maybe at an angle or something.

slowburner

alexlyons wrote: »

this is going well folks, ill get some more images up later.

the frame is build, top cut to size, hole marked out and base plate made. I got an acrylic sheet in church town stores. 2x2 for €8 something. Its a bit to thin for a base plate so I envisaged doubling it up, then remembered about the old table matts that i kept with a view "they'll be useful for something".

So I now have a solid base plate, however the width of the router handles is wider than the base plate so I'm going to have to figure a way to get the router through the hole, maybe at an angle or something.

If you are leaving the router in the table, could you not take the handles off?

alexlyons

I did think of that but to reasons why I can't.

1. I want to use it out of the table as well
2. the switch is in one of the handles, however taking one handle off might work but reason 1 means theres no point