# Router table.



## Digit

Inspired by others on the forum, plus a chronic shortage of space, I've finally got round to modifying my SIP T/S saw to take my router. The Fence is at the design stage and will, hopefully follow tomorrow.
Then there's the over head router to follow!






This is the top with the router mounting holes drilled.





Here the view of the underside after machining.





The router complete with dust shield and lit mechanism ready for mounting in position.





And here mounted in position and the table saw extension bolted on to the T/S.





This is the router NVR switch and speed control attached to the T/S leg. I wired the assembly into the input of the T/S NVR so as to ensure that only one lead power was was required.





The view from above showing the height adjuster handle in use.

Roy.


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## trousers

Roy
Interesting stuff.
Is that cast iron top the rh extension table from your saw? Can you change the bit from above the table?
Observation - hole in the table is quite small?


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## Digit

No, it's the left hander. Yes I can change the cutter from above as the router's base has been removed and the pillars attached directly to the underside of the table.
The hole is 38 mm in dia as I find that large enough for the work I do.
A larger hole could be cut if required.

Roy.


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## trousers

Hmmmmm
Will have to look at my router to see how the base comes off the pillars.
Is that the router - raizer?
I've been formulating some ideas along your lines but i don't think I've got the metal bashing skills. But I do know a man who does.
Yours looks like a really good conversion, and not too pricey 8)


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## Digit

I've not come across a router where the base cannot be removed, but the pillars are usually tubes, so the ends must be plugged then tapped with a suitable thread.
The raiser is home made and is an easy job if you have access to a lathe.

Roy.


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## OPJ

Looking good, Roy. I particularly like the dust shield - might have to pinch that one for myself! :wink:


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## trousers

So do you find the router to be rock solid under the table, fixed by just the pillars? 
My initial reaction was that, without the base to steady things, there would be some play. However, I s'pose it's really the same thing.


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## Digit

No movement at all on it's previous set up where it also had no base, it feels nice and solid.

Roy.


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## lemonjeff

Roy,
Are you going to do the overhead set-up on your T/S ?

Jeff.


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## white_sw

That looks great. Might even consider do that with my SIP. Can I ask where you go the "NVR switch and speed control" from ? 

Cheers,
Sam


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## John. B

Interesting project Roy, 
I assume the top is cast aluminium. What did you mill it with? An endmill? and in what? 
What machine did you use, a router?

John. B


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## Lord Nibbo

I must say you've done a very neat job in milling out the underside of the table top extension, but I feel you could have gone closer to the edge nearest to the mitre slot on the main part of the table making using the mitre slot a lot better. Just my 2p worth. Overall still an excellent job =D>


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## Digit

The over head router I already have Jeff but I'm remaking it to attach to the T/S. I recently acquired a suitable pillar complete with mounting flange that will simply bolt to the T/S.
The NVR and speed control are the NVR innards from a scrap cheapo T/S from the local tip, as is the cranked handle for the raiser, and the speed control is from an Electrolux upright vacuum cleaner as the router had no speed control.
If any of you follow the same route and want further info please ask.
The top is cast iron John and was machined by a local company.
I considered moving nearer to the slot Me Lord but tentatively I have reserved the slot for mounting the overhead fixing. Assuming all goes according to plan! :roll: 

Roy.


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## neilyweely

Digit

That looks great to me mate. That inspires me to get that barrie irons outta the store room and into the dining room to set it up.

So, think we will be showing off all our new abilities soon, eh?

Cheers Roy

Neil


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## white_sw

that's brilliant Roy. I have been looking to add a variable speed controlled to my lathe for a long time. I hadn't even thought of
an old vacuum cleaner speed controller. I only threw out an old one a couple of months ago too ! Car boot sales for me I guess....

Sam


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## Digit

Before fronting cash at a car boot sale Sam it's worth trying your local repair shop. All shops get stuck with scrap machines that the customer decides is too expensive to repair, the repair shop then has to pay to get rid of them.
Mine was given me as a complete cleaner, which enabled me to copy the connections before dumping the remainder at the local tip.

Roy.


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## Digit

And here the fence. Now for some dust extraction!






Roy.


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## DaveL

white_sw":2d4704y6 said:


> I have been looking to add a variable speed controlled to my lathe for a long time. I hadn't even thought of
> an old vacuum cleaner speed controller.



Sam,

I think you need to check the type of motor you have on the lathe. :-k 
Most lathes use induction motors, while vacuum cleaners and router have universal motors. An induction motor runs at a speed that is determined from the number of poles in the motor and the frequency of the supply, universal motors don't take any notice of the supply frequency, in fact they are really DC motors with brushes. The speed controller will vary the the average applied voltage to control speed of a universal motor, this will not work on an induction motor. ](*,)


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## white_sw

Thanks for the advice Dave.... I'll investigate and research further.

Cheers,
Sam


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## PeterA

I also have a Hitachi TR12 in a router table. If I feed it 110v instead of 220 will it run at half speed?


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## Digit

Certainly at reduced speed, yes.

Roy.


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## PeterA

Thanks!


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## Aled Dafis

Very nice Roy. That's pretty much how I did mine also, but I've left the base on my Triton router, just in case I'll need to use it freehand sometime.

If you don't mind me asking, who did the machining for you? Machine shops in this part of the world are few and far between, and it's always good to know that there's a place down the road to get jobs done.

Cheers

Aled


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## Digit

Mike Pearce runs an engineering business and sales on the local estate mate.
Nuts, bolts, steel, drills, bearings etc etc.
That casting was 'cased' and ended up costing me £35 for the machining, which was expensive based on his normal charges.
I bought that router S/H with a damaged base, it had been dropped, and with no speed control it was a bit of a beast free hand with large cutters, hence my decision to table mount it permanently.

Roy.


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## joesoap

DaveL":6p1qjhyc said:


> white_sw":6p1qjhyc said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have been looking to add a variable speed controlled to my lathe for a long time. I hadn't even thought of
> an old vacuum cleaner speed controller.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sam,
> 
> I think you need to check the type of motor you have on the lathe. :-k
> Most lathes use induction motors, while vacuum cleaners and router have universal motors. An induction motor runs at a speed that is determined from the number of poles in the motor and the frequency of the supply, universal motors don't take any notice of the supply frequency, in fact they are really DC motors with brushes. The speed controller will vary the the average applied voltage to control speed of a universal motor, this will not work on an induction motor. ](*,)
Click to expand...

Now that's some useful info in that few words . One to be bookmarked , Cheers ! Dave.


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## jimi43

Excellent work there Roy. I have a purpose built router table and recently modified it to incorporate a motorised lift. I am still playing with some issues though and want to incorporate a digital vernier into the baseplate to indicate raise height. So far my research indicates that dismantling a cheap Chinese one from Maplin (£9.99) is eminently feasible....just got to get the port coding sorted out.

This is the prototype:







I will post a separate thread when I get this working perfectly if people are interested enough...

Cheers

Jimi


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## Digit

Please do.

Roy.


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## mikec

Hi Jimi,

I also would be very interested in more details of the router lifting project.

Thanks for posting your work so far.

Regards,

Mike C


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## jimi43

Mike, Roy.....

Sure thing...will post something maybe this evening in the Jig forum if I get through with a project I am in the middle of today....

This is still "work in progress" and ideas pinched from others who have done similar but I am trying to get over the issues of torque and even lift as well as the digital display I mentioned.

Cheers

Jimi


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## Digit

This is how I measure cutter height Jimi...






it's a micrometer that I picked up for a pound at a car boot sale with the anvil cut away and fitted into an Alloy block.

Roy.


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## jimi43

Hi Roy

Yes...at the moment I use a Mercer dial gauge (another bootfair find for a squid) which gives me accuracy down to a zillionth of an inch...set up exactly as you have your block...although I like your aluminium block better! I might just dig in the "junk metal" box to see if I have a bit that big today!

My fiddling is just that...the remote gauge is so I can do some fiddle research into the i/o port on these cheap digital verniers....to remote the actual sensor from the LCD display itself. The great thing here is the simplicity of use - press button - zero...raise bit....relative reading instantly. No - it is the raiser that is the head scratcher.....I can easily see why the complicated (read expensive) ones have chain driven ganged raisers to balance the lift torque to two or more sides!

I will post the project so far in a separate thread so as not to adversely hijack your one....thanks for letting me mention it though.

Couple of questions....firstly tell me the reasons behind the dovetail fence opening idea....and secondly where did you get the raiser crank knob in the top pic....the ones you find on table saws?

Cheers mate

Jim


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## Digit

Sorry Jim but I don't understand your question about the fence mate. 
The raiser handle was from an old saw with a burnt out motor, I collect them from our re-cycling centre for the NVRs. 
Strangely enough the matter of the router rising evenly, though I understand the concerns of the makers of raisers, doesn't seem to be a problem. 

Roy.


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## jimi43

Hi Roy

The question relates to this photo:






What was the reasoning behind making the two adjustable sub-fences angle backwards giving the impression of a dovetail in this shot? 

I have phenolic plates on mine...which are angled backwards too...just curious.

Jim


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## Digit

With you now. The dust extraction hose fits on the top and with the sub fences close together there is a loss of suction without it being 'dovetailed'.

Roy.


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## Digit

Earlier I posted some pics of my new router table here. Lord Nibbo suggested that the mounting might be better nearer to the T/S's T slot. I explained that I was reserving that for the mounting point for my new over head router, and here it is!











Originally the mounting was part of a photographic copying stand that I obtained from my re-cycling centre. It has been modified by shortening the shaft and removing a boss from the underside so that it would mount flat on the T/S.
The more eagle eyed may notice the spanner for raising and lowering the head, when I salvaged the stand the knob was missing and I haven't as yet come up with an alternative, hence the spanner!
For those people who kindly offered to read my literary efforts, this is why you haven't received anything yet, plus coming to terms with a new computer.
A computer whizz kid I am not!

Roy.


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## Chems

That great Digit, I've been following this with great intrest. You may not be a computer wiz-kid but you are a router mounting wiz-kid.

Whats the advantage of having an overhead router to an under the table jobbie? I always imagined if you could move it about on an limited axis hand held then it would have great pluses but yours is literally an inverted under-slung model. Will you be using the same fence arrangement for over and under routing?


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## Digit

Hopefully yes I will be using the same fence arrangements Chems. The main advantages to over head routing, I find, are when producing such things as mouldings.
Imagine trying to produce a half round on a normal router table, it's a bit like sawing the branch you are sitting as the contact area with the table gets less and less as the machining progresses. Machined on the overhead the timber is moved along on a flat base.
Also think of anything where you need to watch carefully what you are doing, stopped grooves for example are much simpler, then of course there's pin routing.
I probably use the overhead more than the table.

Roy.


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## Jake

Very clever recycling, Roy - it looks great.


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## Chems

Ah yes I can see how it would be useful for things like stopped dados etc. What you need really rather than the spanner is a big 3 handle like you have on a drill press.


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## Digit

Yep! I'll be watching my re-cycling to see what turns up I think.

Roy.


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## jimi43

You are a man after my own heart Roy!

I go around everywhere thinking "what can I use that for...?"

Sometimes that makes a better solution than the commercial one!

I got some VELUX window opening screws the other day...solid brass and long! I am in the process of designing a nice hardwood dogged vise! I think they will be IDEAL!

:wink:


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## Digit

Yep! It's amazing what can be adapted with a bit of thought Jim

Roy.


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## Digit

Until very recently Chems all my projects have been large, French door porch entry, stable door rear entry, built in wardrobe and no WIP pics 'cos my workshop is too small to frame such large jobs in my camera.
But I did recently manage a couple of small bracket clocks. Now these needed a half inch radius on the dome, four inch long by one and a half inches wide.
Trying to produce such on the end grain was a real problem, and free hand on a router table probably lethal! This was my solution...







a sled!
The hold down is a modified 'F' clamp and the whole assembly tracks along the fence. With an overhead router the work piece tracks from left to right of course.

Roy.


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## jimi43

Hi Roy

Do you have a shot with the piece in place or can you put a piece in place and photograph it so I can get my head around what you are doing here...this looks very useful!

NOW...where did I put that enlarger!!!   

Jim


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## Digit

Does that help Jim?
Cutting an Ovolo, for example, across the end grain, or even a shoulder as shown would be a nightmare, this way makes it safe and easy.

Roy.


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## jimi43

Hi Roy

Yup mate that is superb and thanks for taking the time to show me.

I now know what an OVALO is too! I looked it up!

See...me...I would have done that with my bandsaw and a very sharp chisel or two....then some sanding but this solution is both clean and smart!

I want to build a side and an overhead adaptor for my table...come Spring proper! The router is an incredibly versatile tool and I want to max out the usefulness by adding jigs and fittings.

Cheers for the continued inspiration

Jimi


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## OPJ

This week, I knocked up my own simple dust shield for my Freud router, after seeing Roy's idea.






It's not as large as the one Roy made but, it does stop all the rubbish from falling in to the router - which, I think, is the most important thing. Plunge bars and the rest can all be brushed off.






As I didn't fancy taking my router apart to fit mine :wink:, I sunk three rare Earth magnets in about 3mm deep in to the 6mm acrylic - these locate on the heads of three machine screws, fitted around the collet.

So far, it appears to be working well. Thanks for the inspiration, Roy!


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## Digit

You're welcome. Mine is just coming up for a bearing change after about four years in a table so I think shields are worth having.

Roy.


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## gms02a

Roy,

I have the same TR12 Router (in fact two of them). I've tried to adjust the speed by lowering the voltage to 180V. It slowed down, but under the load started rapidly overheating.
Just for curiosity, I plugged in a multimeter - the current drawn by the router was over 11 amps (had 1/2" straight bit in it, cutting 19 mm MDF). 
I let the router cool down and checked the current under normal voltage (240 in Oz). It was just ~ 4.5 amps with no load and 7.5 amps cutting).

It looks like the max current drawn by the TR12 should be no more than 7 - 8 amps under the full load. 

That's why mine was getting hot!!!. 

I believe since, that prolonged lowering the voltage would cook a router, no matter how tough it is. 

I don't want to discourage you, but it would be a pity to kill the TR12. 

Btw, the other TR12 is permanently mounted in a simple table - I use it only as a jointer with 1/2" 60 mm bits. Works like a champ.

The table looks great.

George


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## Digit

Hi George. To be honest despite the home build speed controller mine tends to spend most of its life revving like crazy, but your point is well taken.
One of the daft things about brush motor control that appears to be ignored by designers is the rather obvious fact that as you slow the damn things so you slow the cooling fan!
Doesn't help!
Your observations are one of the reasons that I fitted a dust shield to the router in its inverted state, the cleaner the router the better the cooling fan can perform its allotted task.

Roy.


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