Router Table - Home Made.

[The Sheriff]

Wanted a rise and fall router table for a while but could not justify the exorbitant cost.

So came up with this.

The guides were 12mm so I tapped one side M14, old guide still fits if I need to revert any time; and it works a treat.

Perhaps does not look as pretty as one that cost £100’s but it works for me.

 

[robgul]

That's pretty neat - the router I have in my (similar) home-made table has the guides fixed in with some sort of pin that I can't seem to remove - I shall persevere as the threaded rise and fall is useful. I assume you still use the "plunge lock" in conjunction with the threaded rod?

 

[baldkev]

Well done. Does it work smoothly?
What fence setup will you have?

 

[mikej460]

Many years ago I bought an aftermarket adjuster that screws into the tallest turret bolt on my old Dewalt 1/4". It worked very well on my Dewalt mini table (since sold on) but it is really a micro-adjuster and needs many turns to raise the cutter above the table due to the fine thread. It was great for fine tuning though.

 

[The Sheriff]

That's pretty neat - the router I have in my (similar) home-made table has the guides fixed in with some sort of pin that I can't seem to remove - I shall persevere as the threaded rise and fall is useful. I assume you still use the "plunge lock" in conjunction with the threaded rod?

Yes all the functions still work

 

[The Sheriff]

Well done. Does it work smoothly?
What fence setup will you have?

yes very smooth, used some thick grease on the thread that tales away any chatter. With the thread pitch being 2mm a quarter of a turn is 0.5mm in height so fairly accurate as well.

As can be seen in the photo just setting up some “T-Track” for the fence, not yet finished.

 

[Tcrowe]

I was the same and couldn't justify the cost of it so bought this adjustable lift as seen in the photo . Works well. Can remove the springs from the router so it moves easier but I haven't found the need for it yet.

 

[TRITON]

I reckon that handle sticking out the baseplate will impede its ability to route edges

 

[The Sheriff]

I reckon that handle sticking out the baseplate will impede its ability to route edges

Never thought about that

 

[robgul]

I was the same and couldn't justify the cost of it so bought this adjustable lift as seen in the photo . Works well. Can remove the springs from the router so it moves easier but I haven't found the need for it yet.

That's exactly how my table adjusts the height at the moment - little scissor lift which, IIRC, cost about a tenner from China. Works fine but I really want to remove the guide springs to make it easier (see prev post) I fitted the larger knob on the lift for finer adjustment. The whole table stores away under the main bench and just clamped on when I use it - working at a good height for me (being tall) Power is through the cable to the NVR switch and then the metalclad socket/plug.


Edit: for clarity, the router is switched on and kept on with a cable tie on the LH handle in the pic - hence the separate switch

 

[TomGW]

Looks like a simple solution. I had considered something similar but was afraid that it wouldn’t move smoothly when lifting on one side only.
I ended up with a small “lab lift” too but choose one with a single scissor action, to reduce the number of hinges and potential ‘play’ in the action. Approx £8 on eBay. I think that I’ll copy the larger knob idea too.

 

[accipiter]

I initially used a small scissor lift also with one of the "Parkside" router tables. Unfortunately I didn't account for the airflow from what would be the top of the router (when used in the "plunge" orientation). Having the "top" then turned upside down and resting on the riser of the scissor lift cut off airflow and "killed" the router I was using. It was only an old Bosch I'd had for about 40 years but...

I now have a Bosch POF 1200 AE set up on a homemade table top using an "Upper milling lift retrofit kit for Bosch POF 1400 ACE 1200 AE top milling machine Ref: OFLiftPOF1400" which has a 65mm collet attachment. If your routers also have a 65mm collet that would fit this then it may also be of use? ADD: Checked the collet area on my Trend T7E and it's appears to be 65mm... So I've ordered another and will confirm fit when it arrives.

It is now made from galvanised steel. The thread got stripped (I hadn't lined things up properly) and I ended up having to fix two nuts either side of the plate for the "riser" bolt to run through... YT address in the screen grab pic but I'll do another post should anyone want the direct links to web and YT.

 

[eribaMotters]

Here's one I made earlier:- Router table and box | UKworkshop.co.uk

Colin