Help with a DIY Router table

[mfarrar]

Hi,

I have just cut a hole in my workbench so that I can run my Router through underneath to use as a router table. It seems to be working good but one problem is because the router goes through 20mm worktop before clearing through the top I don't have very much depth of cut. What is the best solution to this problem? I thought I could rout out the table 10mm at the bottom all round the router or is it possible to buy bits with longer shanks?

Cheers,

Mark

 

[marcros]

Is it a half inch router?

You can buy either longer bits or a collet extension. I haven't seem the extension for quarter inch- it may be available though. The extension is probably a better bet because at least you can use standard bits with it. Not all bits will be available in extra long- probably only straight bits.

 

[mfarrar]

It's for a 1/4 inch router, I just had a look and can't see any extensions for this size. Maybe my best bet is doing something with the table as like you say otherwise I may be limited to just long straight bits. I could take the top off and rout it thinner just in that area, my worry with this is thinning it might make it weak. It is MDF the worktop, any idea how thin I could take it and it still be strong enough?

 

[oakfield]

You could cut a large opening and fit a standard router table insert?

 

[ugfu]

You can make an insert from cutting board. Something like this http://alphazee.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/ ... r.html?m=1

 

[dazzer]

you can buy an extenstion collet for both the 1/2" and 1/4" routers from Rutlands here:

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+collet-ext ... 2+M_DK1061

Dave

 

[Roughcut]

you can buy an extenstion collet for both the 1/2" and 1/4" routers from Rutlands here:

http://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+collet-ext ... 2+M_DK1061

Dave

Unfortunately both of those router collet extensions will only fit a 1/2" router and the OP has said his is 1/4".

 

[mfarrar]

An insert sounds like the best option, I see that also makes it easier for access to the router. Ok so what is the cheapest diy option for this that is strong? When you say chopping board what material do you mean? I have quite a lot of hardwood offcuts so could probably use that but I have a saw that can cut metal so maybe some small sheet metal would be best?

 

[CHJ]

Spam trap post count restricting external url link quoted above.

http://alphazee.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/ ... r.html?m=1

 

[ugfu]

I think sheet of metal would be the strongest and the thinnest, but there is always chance that bit can catch on the insert. I like plastic cutting boards, they are good size for most routers, they are cheap (about 2 quids in Asda), so you can buy few and make different holes for different bits, it already has a handle cut out for easy removal of the router and is easy to cut with woodworking tools.
You just need to rout out it's shape on the top the same thickness as cutting board, Then cut out hole that router would fit and you are good to go.

 

[mfarrar]

Thanks I'm going to a supermarket in a bit so I will take a look.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Life will be much more fun with a proper insert, or something like it. A lot of the cutters that need to be used in a table are big ones - they're fairly wide, and usually you need quite a lot down below the level of the table. So having a small hole, through which the collet fits, doesn't do the job. You also need to be able to spanner the collet easily for cutter changes.

The cutting board thing is a really good idea. There's no reason why you shouldn't trim it down to, say, a 6" square, and let that into the bench top. Instead of inserts, have different sized holes (in different squares, to suit the cutters you're using), and a completely blank one for when you're not using the router at all. I'd be amazed if a cutting board didn't work really well as material for that purpose.

The only things that would possibly frustrate me with that arrangement would be three:

• how you arrange a fence,
• dust extraction,
• the need to leave it set up.

I couldn't get by without an easily adjustable fence. Mine is a commercial one that splits in the middle, which is an unnecessary complication.

All you really need of any fence is to be able to hold it down solidly (no slipping), and to be able to move it in small, precise amounts. Clamping a long straight block of wood to the bench is easily good enough (needs a hole for the cutter, obviously), and, although you need good vertical height and stiffness for machining panels etc., you can do a lot with just a good quality bit of 3x2 (and that hole!).

Micro adjustment? I mostly use plastic wedges, the sort used by window fitters, as they're available in 1mm thickness increments. That gives you 0.5mm adjustment easily if you pivot the fence at one end, and better than that if you position them asymmetrically.* Clamp a block solidly behind the end of the fence, and put the wedges in between that and the back of the fence itself. It works really well when you need to take small bites out of something: set it up to work at the finish depth on scrap, then add back, say 6mm of wedges that you can progressively remove with each pass over the cutter.

Operations like rebating make a lot of mess very quickly. Never mind health implications, there's the matter of being able to see what you're doing and not getting rubbish stuck under stock you're trying to exactly machine.

In my experience, dust extraction doesn't get loads better with the purpose built shields - as long as you have lots of 'suck' and can get the vacuum cleaner nozzle close enough (at the back), and hold it securely, it will do well enough.

Radical thought: if you have the Nilfisk/Numatic ("Henry") sized hoses you can "make" custom extractors simply be sacrificing a nozzle by carving it to shape to fit closer to the cutter. Vac shops sell a male-to-male short plastic adaptor cheaply that's ideal for this, and "crevice tools" might do, too. If the nozzle hits the cutter in use, it's not a disaster as such, but it will make you jump - not a good thing - so make sure it IS well secured.

The only real nuisance value you can't easily overcome is the need to leave the table set for long periods of time:
Imagine you're doing panel doors and machining the rails and stiles: You might well want to leave the table set, in case something gets damaged and you need to make a replacement. That's hard when it's also your main workbench!

For that last point there's no easy fix I can see (although I guess you might lift out router+plate and drop it gently back in place when you needed to - it would save some setup time I suppose).

Otherwise. persevere with the idea: I bet you can make it work well.

E.


*simple maths: if you pivot the fence at one end and the cutter is 1/4 of the way along from the pivot, then 1mm movement at the far end will move the fence in or out by 0.25mm at the cutter. That's good enough for many, many purposes! The overall fence length theoretically makes no difference (it's the ratio of distances along the fence that do), but it works more smoothly with longer fences. I get good results with a fence that's about 3ft overall.

 

[petermillard]

A lot of the cutters that need to be used in a table are big ones - they're fairly wide, and usually you need quite a lot down below the level of the table....

It's a 1/4" router so I don't think he'll be swinging any big bits with it, though +1 to most everything else.

FWIW I had a bench-mounted 1/4" router for many years and it worked fine just doing simple rebating, rounding over, grooving etc... in MDF and softwood. The router base was set into an 18mm MDF top to give a bit more reach and I used several 1/4" routers of the same type to save changing bits - just swapping the whole body out was easier than messing about under the bench. This worked fine until the routers started lunching themselves in the middle of runs, so I bit the bullet and dedicated a 1/2" router to a bench with a removable fence.

HTH Pete

 

[Eric The Viking]

A lot of the cutters that need to be used in a table are big ones - they're fairly wide, and usually you need quite a lot down below the level of the table....

It's a 1/4" router so I don't think he'll be swinging any big bits with it, though +1 to most everything else.

Sorry - missed that! It also means the "leave it set" thing probably doesn't apply either.

FWIW I had a bench-mounted 1/4" router for many years and it worked fine just doing simple rebating, rounding over, grooving etc... in MDF and softwood. The router base was set into an 18mm MDF top to give a bit more reach

My first 'table' I still have. It's a MFC wardrobe shelf from Ikea's scrap bin, with a thinner circle routered in the centre to take the bases of my Bosch POF500/600 routers. I just screw it onto a Workmate-style set of legs. Like yours, it works a treat.

They don't need to be complex to be very useful.

 

[mfarrar]

Thanks for all the advise, I didn't get a chopping board in the end but instead tried with a scrap piece of 10mm thick oak veneer, figured it would do to experiment with and will replace when I get hold of something better. To do a quick test I just double sided taped some wood down as a fence ( not great I know but just to try ) I'm thinking I will probably double slot the worktop and bolt through a fence so I can slide it and clamp down easily. I'm still not getting a great deal of depth of cut even with the 10mm, the dust extractor is limiting the plunge quite a bit, as it does a good job I don't really want to remove it so maybe I will have to just buy some longer cutters. Not had much chance to test it today but will hopefully have a play with it more this week.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Ditch the router's dust extractor!

Check this on yours, but the routers I have all blow air out of the motor towards the cutter, i.e. upwards in a table. You'll make a mess if you're slotting or trenching, as the dust can't escape to the top, but otherwise the DX can be mainly above the table (vacuum cleaner hosepipe!). There's a thread somewhere about Steve Maskery's router table mod to fix this too, which could be applied to your situation, even with a small homemade plate (needs a bit of work on the plate though).

If the cutters are 1/4" shank, you really don't want to be using long cutters - they won't be strong enough (safe). There was a thread recently about a cheap ones bending into an L-shape - extreme example, but scary all the same. I have one long-shank 1/4" one, by Trend, but it's a bevel cutter and not intended for high sideways loads.

Either go for a full-sized router (eventually) or see if yours will take 8mm or 3/8" cutters. The latter are rare here, but 8mm can be had and they're usually professional quality, and a lot stronger than 1/4" ones. They'll cut better and almost certainly last longer.

 

[dc_ni]

Is this what you were talking about Eric?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrDO6CipASE&list=UUwQll2Vb7ndCw--Y4lVORYA

also found this:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.maskery/resources/fence/fence.htm

 

[Eric The Viking]

Yes about Steve's video! It really does what he says. It's on the list for my own table - needs a new top, ands when I do that I'll also do the extraction hole in the plate.

His fence is brill too. I've seen it for myself - the height makes end-machining of boards really easy. I'm aiming to make one myself as I have a couple of mitre lock cutters, which need one of the boards to be passed over the cutter held vertically.

 

[siggy_7]

To answer the OP's question about mounting the router, I would just cut a recess around the router. My benchtop router table is made from two 12mm plywood pieces laminated together, I cut a disk out of one of them before gluing but there's no reason why you couldn't rout a half-depth recess, it's just a bit more work. I use toggle clamps for quick attach/detach. Thread is here: https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/bench-top-router-table-t66404.html

On dust extraction, I find using the port on my Draper to be effective at sucking dust through the table. Of course, that only addresses one point of dust collection - for edge forming extraction at the fence is more effective, and for grooving operations you need a more fancy extraction set up. On my main router table I've made custom plastic inserts with grooves in, essentially a DIY Incra clean sweep insert. In combination with the fence extraction, I have essentially zero mess to clear up afterwards. For a 1/4" router I wouldn't worry too much about making a hole through the table rather than inserts, since you probably won't be using cutters above about 35-40mm anyway?

Eric - worried about losing your setup? Get an Incra My main table is build into my saw, if I need to remove the fence to use the saw I have no problems at all in returning to the precise set-up in about 2 minutes of adjustment time, and most of that is in sorting out the cutter height because my Triton's fine winder isn't very smooth.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Eric - worried about losing your setup? Get an Incra My main table is build into my saw, if I need to remove the fence to use the saw I have no problems at all in returning to the precise set-up in about 2 minutes of adjustment time, and most of that is in sorting out the cutter height because my Triton's fine winder isn't very smooth.

a: I'm not worried.

b: There's nothing an Incra can do that can't be done with a well-made jig and about two quid's worth of threaded hardware. In any case it wouldn't work on a general bench, as you'd have to move the whole thing out of the way, thus defeating the object.

c:. I'm not a millionaire!

I bet they're wonderful to use, genuinely, but I have better ways to spend any spare cash.