Router table and router with lift

[ola c]

Another Triton TRA001 here. Not 100% satisfied, first one vibrated like crazy out of the box, got a replacement that are kind of OK but still vibrating too much to run really large bits in the router table.

Anyway, if having a router with built in lift (like the Triton), I see no advantage of mounting it to a insert plate, as long as you can keep the table from sagging without one. Insert plate means more surfaces that needs to be levelled and more edges the work can get stuck on.

I bolted my router directly to my assembly/router table, in i circular recess to not loose to much height, metal supports as close to the router as possible. In the top surface I routed a recess that matches the Incra rings, copied the Incra way with magnets and o-rings to adjust the height of the rings. Has worked flawlessly for a couple of years now and the clean sweep rings do a quite good job for extraction from underneath. No t-tracks (as they easily fill up with dust and just another part that causes edges where the work can get stuck). Fence bolts down in two rows of threaded inserts for close to fence routing, further away (which is quite uncommon for the work I do) it's clamped down through the holes. Have a digitial micro adjust fence so exact position of fence base is not very important. Have a youtubevideo of my router table if someone is interested. https://youtu.be/hz17-UutQNU

 

[Sideways]

It makes me laugh. Routers are designed to pull air in the top and blast it down towards the cutter to help clear chips. ...

Most modern routers are designed to exhaust from the motor casing upwards. And they are also designed to have extraction through cowling and collect chips level with the router bit. In any case most of the down draft that was created was a by product of the bits rotation.

Thanks for that. I use three old Elu's I've had forever so I wasn't aware that some of the brands have reversed the flow. It seems counter intuitive but as long as they're not trying to drag the dust through the motor it's unimportant.

 

[sunnybob]

Talk about confusing :shock:
A router is designed to pull air through the router body. Much of whats said here is confusing because a router in a table is upside down.

On a router table, its completely acceptable to enclose the router in a box to contain chips and dust.... PROVIDED....
A/ you have sufficient air flow away from the router to stop dust being sucked back up into the bearings, and / or
B/ you fit a tube around the base of the router which goes down through the box to free air underneath.

Steves black hole helps a lot in taking dust away from slots, but doesnt affect the usual below decks fall out from normal operation.
There is now a third option, which is admittedly more expensive.
After 5 years and 4 router tables, I have reached nirvana.
Buy an Incra plate, and also the clean sweep rings.
These are insert rings that have multiple slots in them. When the router is running, the router motor blows significant air upwards through the router, and this exits through the slots in the rings, pushing 95% plus of all dust up and towards the fence extraction port.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/produ ... et-6-piece

I'm a convert. Its smagic =D> =D> 8)

 

[Inspector]

Bob what do you do when you aren't routing with the fence? Round overing (is that a word?) edges or pattern routing for example? Don't the slots increase the amount of dust blowing in your face?

Pete

 

[Lonsdale73]

Buy an Incra plate, and also the clean sweep rings.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/produ ... et-6-piece

Top of my list - as soon as I win the lottery. WW ha them half price a little while back - all variants except the Triton one!

 

[sunnybob]

Just how close do you put your face to the table :shock: :shock: (hammer)

I no longer have extraction to below the table. There is a box, but almost nothing settles in it now. I vacuum it out every so often as shop maintenance.

If not actually using the fence, I set it just back from touching the workpiece and with the two sides wide apart. Doesnt collect everything, but enough to make after work clear up quite simple.

Yes, they are expensive. But how much is a new router after youve blown dust into the bearings? Sometimes, you just have to pay the price for perfection, or suffer for ever with second best.
Remember, this is my fourth home made router table, my fifth fence (no longer home made) my third router plate. think what I could have saved if I'd known Then what I know now. :roll: :roll: 8) 8)

 

[Inspector]

If you can feel the breeze and even if you can't, dust is getting in your snot maker. Not a problem if you wear a mask all the time and can open the doors to clear the air. Can't do that here. -7C at the moment and the sun is shining. :ho2 I will enclose mine but have an opening below the motor to let air in with one by the base to draw out the dust and the motor air that has hopefully done its job of cooling. A bell mouth hood close over the table should take care of the fine stuff there. Remember I advocate 6" and larger ducting that not many subscribe to. :wink:

 

[Lonsdale73]

Yes, they are expensive. But how much is a new router after youve blown dust into the bearings? Sometimes, you just have to pay the price for perfection, or suffer for ever with second best.
Remember, this is my fourth home made router table, my fifth fence (no longer home made) my third router plate. think what I could have saved if I'd known Then what I know now. :roll: :roll: 8) 8)

I'd have thought all the slots in the Magna-Lock would have been even more likely to see dust fall into the router. Wasn't the bearings I had a problem with, it was the armature. Same cause right enough.

I don't have much to compare with but I think the Triton offers good dust extraction with a port that points directly at the cutter. I use a Kreg insert with an aperture nearest in size to the bit I'm using which I think helps reduce the amount of dust falling towards the router and a volume so low the dust extactor can easily draw it away afore it has time to build up. The Black Hole was certainly a game changer.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I'd have thought all the slots in the Magna-Lock would have been even more likely to see dust fall into the router. Wasn't the bearings I had a problem with, it was the armature. Same cause right enough.

I hope they don't do that as I've bought a set, too! But the Trend blows a veritable gale out the bottom (er, towards the table!), so I don't think it will let dust get in directly, until it's turned off...

... Hmm.

E.

 

[sunnybob]

The fan on the end of the router blows a gale up through the machine and out the top. you can see the dust from the bit being blown upwards through the slots. The fence extraction port takes anywhere from all, to most of it, depending on the particular operation in progress.
Once the router is switched off, I use a wide brush to sweep all the surface dust into the fence port straight away, which stops it blowing about the workshop. Anything that does go onto the floor is vacuumed up at the end of the working day, or even after that router session if its early in the day.
The box under the table does have a vent to allow the fan to work, but I dont have extraction to the box. The amount of collected dust is minute.

Yes, I ALWAYS wear a mask when making dust. And my garage workshop has the roll up door open when I'm working, so multiple air changes constantly.
When the temp drops below 12, my fingers get cold and thats it for that day. 8)

 

[Raymond UK]

I like the look of the Incra insert plate with clean sweep insert rings. Something to set some pennies aside for.

I use a Triton TRA001 in a homemade table. For the top I glued 15mm melamine to 18mm MDF and it has been flat/straight for the last 4-5 years. I use a Trend insert plate which does show signs of wear and the insert rings (plastic) wear pretty quick. The router is enclosed but I have left the rear open for some airflow and extraction on the router and fence.

I think building the table and fence, including T-tracks, feather boards, castors, nuts, bolts etc. came to about £90.00 (excluding router plate, router and JessEm guides) so with your £400.00 budget you should be pretty safe to buy the router and build your own table.

 

[sunnybob]

Your table is a lot prettier than mine :roll: .
I made the top the same way though, and edged it with some cherry that I had.
I gave up on making fences, i just wasnt happy with the accuracy and finish I could get so I bought the UJK pro fence. very pleased with that, apart from a really silly idea they have of fixing the rear dust port with two of the knobs that tighten the fence. (hammer) (hammer) .
Everytime you move the fence, the dust port comes loose and moves so that when you retighten and use the machine dust comes out from the imperfect seal. :roll: :roll:
I'm building myself up to making yet another table at the end of this year. If I do, it will be my last and I will make it presentable to the general public. :lol: 8)

 

[Raymond UK]

Thanks

I used a piece of kitchen worktop with a homemade aluminium plate before and a makeshift fence. This table I’m quite happy with but it’s not perfect.

I don’t have the need for the t track on the table no more as I’ve done away with my feather boards and would like some steel rulers in the table top.

When I build this table I thought the amount of drawers for router bit storage was overkill but you soon fill these and run out.

 

[sunnybob]

You sure you can live without T track?
I use mine for clamps to hold stops in place for blind grooves far more than I use feather boards.
My next table will definitely have a T track and a mitre track just as I have now.
I made this box from a solid lump, on the router table using stop blocks, to cut the inside out.
https://pbase.com/john_cooper/image/167022278

 

[Raymond UK]

Not sure. I have only ever used stop blocks on the fence T track to be honest. Then again, I might need to use the featherboards at some point when using large stock.

I like the box! I never seem to get the time to make something like that. The router table has the same router bit in 95% of the time. There's not much variety going on on this table...

 

[Trainee neophyte]

...
I made this box from a solid lump, on the router table using stop blocks, to cut the inside out.
https://pbase.com/john_cooper/image/167022278

I think I may have a bash at one of those - solid lumps I have in profusion. I am currently turning firewood into kindling in quite a big way, but it's all good fun! First, build the router table (how hard could it be?)

 

[sunnybob]

Considering the overall cost of the router table, a length of T track is pretty small potatos, isnt it? :lol:

Router table, difficult? I started woodworking 5 years ago from a standing start of ZERO experience with the machines. I made my first router table in less than three hours.
Pretty? NO
Dead flat? NO

Usable? Oh yes. =D> =D>

 

[MikeJhn]

Hi i am in the market for a router table and router. I have an old table which is a pain to change router bits, has no lift and an unbranded router. Table would go onto bench, so dont need full height table.
So typically looking for a table with lift and suggestions for a router. I dont do that much routing, so typically £400 is all i want to spend. Any suggestions

If you are looking for a cheap first router table look no further than the Lumberjack RT1500 router table: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lumberjack-RT1 ... B00ZOYF7RS compact and can be modified to have a better fence within your budget, below are two posts I made concerning my own:

Just an update on this, I am back in the UK and my workshop is in France, but I need to carry out a bit of timber moulding, so got hold of a Lumberjack RT1500, this was a shop soiled model on e-by for £100.00 delivered, have to say its a very solid all metal construction unit with a very smooth lifting mechanism, came with four different collets, so all eventualities taken care of, the fence is a bit off the wall and does not slide well on the metal table top, the mitre gauge is the normal loose affair, but not beyond the whit of man to sort out, as with all router tables and saw benches come to that, the bottom of the unit is open so chips off the router heading in that direction end up on the bench, again not beyond the whit of man, as I get to use the table I will update on here.

After using the Lumberjack for over a year now, it has proved to be a very durable and useful addition to my UK workshop, I have upgraded the fence to the Axminster UJK compact Router table one as the plastic job with the Lumberjack was not to my liking, the motor has proved to be adequately powerful enough with a 1/2" bit to rout out 62mm high Oak with this cutter: https://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/On ... a_702.html

Just goes to show, in use these cheap units can be very different than the opinion of someone who does not have one and guess's how good it is.

 

[MikeJhn]

I found the problem with the Triton was the switch interlock, IMO in a Router Table with a lift it gets in the way as you have to grope around the router to unlock it after a bit change, or get down on your knees to find it, any other router does not have this and IMO again a MucsleChuck makes sense with any router in a table with any Router, it make bit changing effortless.

 

[Brandlin]

I find the triton switch lock helpful. Under the table I can find it with one hand while stood up (and i'm 6'4"). I agree its not hugely ergonomic, but its not a product killer for me.

Not seen those muscle chucks before.

A collet has long been preferred to a grub screw for the simple reason that a collet ensures that the bit is coaxial with the motor, whereas a traditional grub screw clamps the shaft against the opposite face of the hole, thereby making it immediately non-coaxial. It looks as though the muscle chuck guys circumvent this problem by having a close tolerance bearing surface in the chuck so that the grub screw causes as little axial misalignment as possible. Collets are pretty cheap to make and fit for purpose, but the machining on that musclechuck will make it a more expensive.

I'm a little doubtful that "One spanner on a traditional collet =slow" but "one allen key on a grub screw = fast" when it comes to bit change speeds.

Also looking at my router table- I can get a spanner around a collet above the table, but an allen key - particularly a t handled one doesn't have enough space to turn above the table surface... It looks really clunky to get an allen key in and then turn it whilst knocking knuckles against the router surface.

Lastly does the grub screw not mar the shank of the bit? Yes i know its hardened tool steel but its a single point load (only a 4mm grub screw) bearing on only one location on the shaft.

The video on the website even talks about 100 inch pounds(*) of torque required on the grub screw and for some applications using a torque wrench to check! May well be marketing twaddle and unecessary of course... but suggesting another specialist tool is recommended to change a bit is somewhat against the whole raison d'etre of the product.

(*) bloody horrid imperial units = 11 Nm in sensible. I've never measured the torque needed ona collet but i can't believe its significantly more than this and its bearing on a much larger surface area of the bit shaft.

So... MikeJhn... you are clearly an advocate, and I'm interested. What have i missed or misunderstood? At the moment it looks like a solution looking for a problem...