Router Insert Plates - Bespoke?

[billw]

So I look at router insert plates for a table and they're not cheap, and a lot of them have multi-plates to accommodate every router ever made. For a 10mm thick piece of aluminium with a specific set of pre-drilled holes, would it not be cheaper to have one made for the specific purpose?

 

[clogs]

only if u have a mate that's in engineering.....
thanks to all this Computer controlled machining, small batches and one off's are now not done anymore cheaply......
apart from that where would u buy small pieces of ally plate if it wern't for ebay.....? lots of stockist will only cater for industry.....
lastley anything made with a hole slightly outta wack is a real pain in the longrun....
so we have to buy whats available out there......
my idea is it hurts to spend big but after a few days of use u forget the pain.....

 

[marcros]

Do you actually need a plate? A board with a hole in would do the job.

 

[TheTiddles]

It’s easy enough to buy a piece of flat plate and drill it yourself, by then you really need different size inserts.... that’s less easy. The unfinished metal will leave marks all over your wood, so home anodising next? Or you could use stainless

Aidan

 

[billw]

Do you actually need a plate? A board with a hole in would do the job.

Well yes I did wonder that, I just assumed (dangerous territory) that having a metal surface was somehow more appropriate.

 

[TheTiddles]

Well yes I did wonder that, I just assumed (dangerous territory) that having a metal surface was somehow more appropriate.

As with just about everything here, the obvious question is... what are you making? If you are only ever using one cutter on large workpieces just use a bit of ply and off you go, if it’s for fine box making joints and huge tenons... you’re going to need more than a crude solution

Aidan

 

[billw]

As with just about everything here, the obvious question is... what are you making? If you are only ever using one cutter on large workpieces just use a bit of ply and off you go, if it’s for fine box making joints and huge tenons... you’re going to need more than a crude solution

Aidan

Good question and the answer is I'm not 100% sure. What am I making? Anything from boxes to small scale furniture I suppose. The appeal of having the table is to do things like tenons, and maybe rounded corners on edges. I look at a lot of router bits and think "if I ever need to buy that, I've gone too far"

 

[TheTiddles]

I just table routed some tenons on 30x100mm oak, about the neatest tenons I’ve ever done

I’d recommend only buying tools when you have a problem to solve, or you can end up with something that doesn’t really help your end goal.

Aidan

 

[Doug B]

The reduction rings for the cutter aperture you get with a shop bought plate are essential if you are using a range of cutters of differing diameter, I’m not saying you couldn’t make reductions rings but that’s the tricky part.

 

[mikej460]

I'm making a temporary router table to do the glass rebates on our new greenhouse. I've spent hours looking at all the insert plate options and here are some simple observations I've garnered from other forum members who may have there own opinions based on their actual experiences:

• Simple hole cut in the table - cheap and easy solution but restricts the size of cutters you can use and could cause problems attaching your router if the table is too thick. I've seen it working well on bench top tables on Youtube.
• Plastic inserts - Cheap but prone to sagging.
• Phenolic Inserts - stronger but may not support larger routers and need drilling
• eBay aluminium inserts - strong and cheaper than bespoke but reported problems with machining errors plus you will need to drill them to support your router, Around £35-£40 and I was seriously tempted.
• UJK aluminium insert with universal base a solution that enables you to fit any router without additional cost or machining (other than a lift hole for Tritons) but the universal base does add a lot to the thickness of the insert plate so you need to be sure it will fit and that you can still raise the router enough to change cutters. At £130 it's as expensive as a bespoke plate except you can use it again and again for any router and/or table should you change.
• Bespoke Inserts - Top of the range such as Incra to suite your router, for example they are pre-drilled for Triton router lift rods for above table raising and lowering. You need to be sure it will fit your router model and they are £115 to £130 and I've settled on an Incra from Wood Workers Workshop for my Triton TRA001. I made the decision to buy quality items for my table that I can use on my final router table once my workshop is rebuilt next year.

hope this is useful

 

[DBT85]

I assume at this point someone jsut sells the different reducing rings to use on your own table?

Its another of those things I could print I guess.

Already decided to print some little plastic bit holder insert things becase I'm too tight to pay £7.50 for 10!

 

[billw]

Already decided to print some little plastic bit holder insert things becase I'm too tight to pay £7.50 for 10!

Me too, can you print me a set for £5 incl P&P?

 

[DBT85]

Me too, can you print me a set for £5 incl P&P?

Ha. For a fiver now that I have the machine I could probably print a hundred!

 

[billw]

Ha. For a fiver now that I have the machine I could probably print a hundred!

OK I'll have a hundred please. Where do I send the £5?

 

[porker]

The reduction rings for the cutter aperture you get with a shop bought plate are essential if you are using a range of cutters of differing diameter, I’m not saying you couldn’t make reductions rings but that’s the tricky part.

I got a couple of reduction rings for my router table laser cut in 3mm stainless plate a couple of years ago for £14 delivered from a company called lasermaster.co.uk

 

[DBT85]

I got a couple of reduction rings for my router table laser cut in 3mm stainless plate a couple of years ago for £14 delivered from a company called lasermaster.co.uk

They'd also make a custom plate if you gave them a drawing.

 

[NickDReed]

Has anyone tried one of the plates from banggood?

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I assume that the various inserts are to use giant bits and have the bottom edge of the bit just below the table? I saw just the other day on on a YouTube video (posted on the router table thread) that you can use use a ply or mdf diy table with standard small hole, but overlay a thin sheet of more ply with a cutout for the larger sheet. You only need need a few mm, as I understand it. Anyone tried this? In other words, make entire tabletop sized inserts to go over the table.

 

[Brans]

I was lucky that I have access to the flatbed router with the millers for aluminium and I did my own insert plate and insert rings. You can see how it turned out in the next video Installing a router in a table saw If I were you I would try to find some smaller precise engineering company that is milling aluminium as any aluminium plate has to be planed first and then milled. For the finish I have just sanded it to 1200 grit, cleaned it good and it doesn't leave any marks on the wood.

 

[Doug B]

I assume that the various inserts are to use giant bits and have the bottom edge of the bit just below the table? I saw just the other day on on a YouTube video (posted on the router table thread) that you can use use a ply or mdf diy table with standard small hole, but overlay a thin sheet of more ply with a cutout for the larger sheet. You only need need a few mm, as I understand it. Anyone tried this? In other words, make entire tabletop sized inserts to go over the table.

It would work in principle but you are losing depth of cut so would more than likely end up buying a collet extension so I can’t see any monetary saving over buying an aluminium plate.