Best VALUE router table.

[Woodypk]

Evening all.

I’ve done a quick search for ‘best router table’ on the forum and have seen that the JessEm rig seems to come up on top but unfortunately is out of my price range.

Looking at the lesser priced options out there - UJK, Charnwood, Trend and others, what would you experienced bunch say the best value table/router combo would be?

I’m looking for something that doesn’t need realigning every 5 minutes and that when you set it up, it gives you results you’d expect, even if that means taking a little more time to set it up.

I know that the super expensive ones have fantastic specs including 3 second adjustment for everything that moves, but I can live without that so long as the table/ table and router combo is reliable.

Secondly, I’ve never used a table with the phenolic type top. Is this to be trusted as far as stability or is a cast iron top definitely the way to go?

What would be your suggestions?

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Sideways]

Best VALUE is DIY.
I would spend to buy some alloy extrusion to make a long straight fence.
For the top, an easy way is to put the router on the underside of a piece of say 18 or 25mm MRMDF, mark around the router baseplate and rout it out so that only 6, 8 or 10mm thickness is left. Then clamp the router firmly down into that recess using it's fence rods.
Use a cutter to punch a hole through the remaining thickness of the board.
Glue formica on if you want slippery.
Make this from trespa / high pressure laminate / valchromat / whatever offcuts of the better materials you can get cheaply.
If it isn't stiff enough, make a wooden underframe that just leaves space for the router but stiffens the slab. I've done that before using 3x1' maple and just dropped 6mm perspex on top as a surface. Not durable but it was what I had to hand. I've done similar and routed a mitre gauge slot in the top but that was rarely used and discarded long ago.

Really simple router tables are quick to knock up and almost throwaway. The fence is worth keeping. Remember you don't need parallel movement for the fence. Leave one end fixed as a pivot and move just the other end. The movement between the fence and the cutter is halved compared to the amount you tap the end of the fence so you can adjust in quite small amounts.

Consider your task. I needed long thin lengths of moulding for one job so made a router table that was only about 8" wide, but over 3' long to give good support in and out.

I did buy a 25mm thick phenolic offcut thinking it would make a good table but it turned out to be slightly curved. That scuppered the router table idea as it is too stiff for me to undo the cupping. They must have had a full size sheet of this leaning against a wall for years to bend it !
Ordinarily, I find these high pressure composites very stiff and the melamine surfaces are nice.

 

[Ollie78]

A lot of people manage fine with mdf tops and various inserts. My own router table is made of 2 18mm sheets of coated MDF glued together (liberated from some kitchen components) a cast iron top would be nice but is absolutely not required.
I am on my third iteration using the same INCRA fence ( brilliant thing ) and a motor lift combo I got from Rutlands which has a crank adjustment (much better than the Triton router I had before ).

In the end what matters most is fence accuracy and repeatability and ease of raising and lowering the router bit, support for the work and ergonomics handy as well.
The rest is all nice but not necessary.
Have a look for second hand ones on ebay Record power used to do a good one with a sliding table which is handy.

edit, just found one on ebay, a good design these ones, the sliding carriage is rare on router tables and shouldn`t be.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26613910...cLRqRi9G9j12xa9BbE90WbNdU=|tkp:Bk9SR6Tc4IrOYQ
Ollie

 

[Jameshow]

Look at Triton router tables as a left field option big and sturdy as you'd expect from down under!!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/17561301...tixoXeJTeO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Mickjay]

I would agree with Sideways and Ollie, the best value is a home made one. Mine is two pieces of melamine (?) surfaced 18mm MDF glued together, with a cut out for a rockler aluminium plate which has a Makita 2301 router slung underneath. The router has a machine screw adjuster usable from above the table via a hole drilled in the plate which gives pretty accurate positioning. The fence is just 2 pieces of the same MDF glued into an L shape with a couple of stiffeners and a dust extraction port, which I just clamp to the table. Legs are just X shape from pallet wood, for folding when not in use, think old ironing board ;-). I've used it for rail and style doors, skirting, architraves, picture frames, etc. I'm very happy with this setup and I'm not sure what extra an expensive bought one could give me.

 

[Jameshow]

Offcuts of buffalo board are easy to come by on eBay which have a phenolic film onto a plywood core.

 

[Spectric]

I’ve done a quick search for ‘best router table’ on the forum and have seen that the JessEm rig seems to come up on top but unfortunately is out of my price range.

I think this is where many of us started on the quest for a router setup and worked our way towards some goal, but in hindsight we overlooked the spindle moulder which should also be investigated as a serious option. Been a lot of threads and discussion on this topic so worth a look and there are some experienced users of the spindle moulder around here.

 

[XTiffy]

I have a Aluminium/cast iron router table, which looks identical to that Record one that Ollie78 posted, that I will be selling as soon as I can extract it from my barn (been stored for several years!) I have a Hitachi 1/2" router fitted. As the table top is on gas struts it makes adjustments or cutter change very much easier. I did use workshop made versions for years but it was always fiddly to adjust.

 

[Yojevol]

I've just taken a very simple approach to a new router table. I'm downsizing from a full spindle moulder and I wanted an easy solution small-scale replacement. Low and behold, up pops @whippedUP 's Rutland table. I picked iit up a few days ago but haven't used it yet.
It comes with built-in router with ½ and ¼" collects. I think it's going to meet my future needs. It seems remarkably good value from Rutlands.
Brian

 

[MarkAW]

A lot of people manage fine with mdf tops and various inserts. My own router table is made of 2 18mm sheets of coated MDF glued together (liberated from some kitchen components) a cast iron top would be nice but is absolutely not required.
I am on my third iteration using the same INCRA fence ( brilliant thing ) and a motor lift combo I got from Rutlands which has a crank adjustment (much better than the Triton router I had before ).

In the end what matters most is fence accuracy and repeatability and ease of raising and lowering the router bit, support for the work and ergonomics handy as well.
The rest is all nice but not necessary.
Have a look for second hand ones on ebay Record power used to do a good one with a sliding table which is handy.

edit, just found one on ebay, a good design these ones, the sliding carriage is rare on router tables and shouldn`t be.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26613910...cLRqRi9G9j12xa9BbE90WbNdU=|tkp:Bk9SR6Tc4IrOYQ
Ollie

This is exactly the same as my charnwood one. They must be rebadged.

 

[Woodypk]

Thanks for all the replies.

I’ve made a couple of DIY tables, like mentioned in this thread, suited to specific tasks.

I’m getting fed up of building them now and would like to get a ‘good’ one right out of the box, even if it may not be ‘the best’.

I like the sliding carriage on the record, I believe the old Axminster router table was built the same way - maybe even a rebadged version.

I’ll keep a look out for the ones mentioned in this thread and see what I can find online.

 

[Woodypk]

I've just taken a very simple approach to a new router table. I'm downsizing from a full spindle moulder and I wanted an easy solution small-scale replacement. Low and behold, up pops @whippedUP 's Rutland table. I picked iit up a few days ago but haven't used it yet.
It comes with built-in router with ½ and ¼" collects. I think it's going to meet my future needs. It seems remarkably good value from Rutlands.
Brian

Brian,

I have this same router table.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news - hopefully your experience will be different - but the reason I’m looking for a good table is because I found this one to be of very poor quality.

The carriage that holds the motor has quite a bit of slack in it, the motor spindle also spins eccentrically, the pressed steel top is fairly wavy, the table slots aren’t parallel so there’s no hope of fitting a zero clearance runner and the fence is a bit of a joke to be honest.

Perhaps I picked up the worst out of a bad bunch but it doesn’t leave me with a tool
I’m happy using (hence the quest to find something more suitable).

 

[Orraloon]

Having the router in the extention wing of the table saw is a great space saver and gives you a huge table to work on. I made a fence with dust extraction port and that clamps to the saw fence.