Router table top idea

[Jaco]

Used +-25mm MDF for my top and for the front slides on the fence. Only W&T that can see after 5 years is on the slides and the edges next to the bit. Actually did not bother to apply any finish, which in retrospect was a bit stupid.
For the insert i used a 6mm very hard "plastic", not sure what its called.
Intend to make a new top somewhere in 2005/2006 .......

Also find it a mission to change bits and set the height.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Also find it a mission to change bits and set the height.

RR and XX. I rest my case.

Cheers
Steve

 

[frank]

jaco wrote

Also find it a mission to change bits and set the height. [/quote]

i dont get that problem i have a woodrat :wink: :wink:

 

[Chris Knight]

RR and XX. I rest my case.

I completely agree but the router table becomes a truly precision tool and easy to use when you add an Incra fence!

 

[Philly]

Ditto what Chris said!!
Cheers
Philly

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks everyone for the help and suggestions. I was going to reply earlier, but I unexpectedly had to go to Leeds and back today (400 miles and I'm shattered!)

I started to compose a proper reply but my brain just isn't working properly.

I'll have another go tomorrow.

Howard

 

[Alf]

Could some nice lady or gentleman with all the necessary information give a price breakdown on the cost of a Router Raizer, Xtreme Xtension, Incra Fence, table insert and guesstimate on materials for a reasonable router table (Norm's, say, as that seems the most popular), please? I haven't a clue.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Neil]

Could some nice lady or gentleman with all the necessary information give a price breakdown on the cost of a Router Raizer, Xtreme Xtension, Incra Fence, table insert and guesstimate on materials for a reasonable router table (Norm's, say, as that seems the most popular), please? I haven't a clue.

I think you're just trying to gather ammunition for the Woodrat debate, Alf :lol:

FWIW, materials for my competition router table were about £40. The insert plate was £20-ish I think, Incra was £141. If you are gunning for the non-Ratters, I think maybe you should leave the Router Raizer & Xtreme Xtension out of it, as they are add-on timesavers rather than essentials. (I'm not saying I wouldn't like them, Steve, especially the XX!) I'm happy enough without the extras - OK, so it takes 10 seconds longer to change bits but this is no biggie for a hobby woodworker like me. The main thing I would like to add are the Woodrat-style plunge bars, although they do seem incredibly overpriced!

NeilCFD

 

[Adam]

I think you're just trying to gather ammunition for the Woodrat debate, Alf :lol:

Either that or she's found the climb at the far end of the slope

Adam*

*Who's wondering why ALF is interested as well.

 

[Neil]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

NeilCFD

 

[Alf]

I think you're just trying to gather ammunition for the Woodrat debate, Alf :lol:

Rats! (If you'll pardon the expression) Obviously I'm as transparent as a sheet of glass. :roll:

If you are gunning for the non-Ratters, I think maybe you should leave the Router Raizer & Xtreme Xtension out of it, as they are add-on timesavers rather than essentials.

Whoaa there, just a cotton-pickin' moment. Anything beyond a piece of ply clamped in a Workmutt with a batten as a fence is an added on time-saver and not an essential. Heck, a table of any sort may be considered an unnecessary luxury, never mind the router itself... Stop adjusting the goal posts and let's have the answer to the question. We can't have "I wouldn't be without x,y and z in my router table" one moment and "oh, they're not important" the next. Anyway I protest at "gunning". It's simply that cost is one of the things frequently levelled against the 'Rat and it'd be nice to get a handle on what a router table with all the bits being recommended to make it "good" would actually cost in comparison. Not to score points, although that's always fun :wink: , but to be able to give as accurate a POV on the 'Rat as possible to the next person who wonders about it.

Cheers, Alf

Who may well have found a plateau on The Slope, if not the up gradient, and it involves wondering how best to sell off a hundred or so tools. :?

 

[Philly]

Oh, poor Alf-I feel sorry for you Girl. You were obviously misunderstood...... :lol:
Here's my angle on it.
Incra Ultra lite fence-£140
Table and top-sheet of 19mm MDF-£10
Plate for router-£25
My cheap Makro 1/2 in router with fine adjust to raise/lower in table-£45
A bit of my time to put it all together-free(ish)
So for under £250 you can have a "pro" level router table with super fence. I have built 5 or 6 tables in my time, and they are by nature an evolutionary beast. As you use it you realise how you can improve it!
Hope this helps
regards
Philly

 

[CHJ]

Whoaa there, just a cotton-pickin' moment. Anything beyond a piece of ply clamped in a Workmutt with a batten as a fence is an added on time-saver and not an essential.

Hey, you are not doing anything for my chances of moving this http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?cooki ... page=10935 up my wish list :evil: :lol:

 

[Neil]

Stop adjusting the goal posts and let's have the answer to the question

Fair enough, Alf - I'll play along with your little game for a while...

The XX is around £50 I think(?), I don't know how much the RR is. BTW, I forgot to add the NVR switch to the list - another £25.

I'd just like to say here that I'm not one of the rodent killers on the forum - I've never seen one in the flesh so it wouldn't be fair for me to make my mind up. To be honest, what would be useful to me in order to judge the 'Rat is an AlfReviewTM with lots of in-depth photos. I'm certainly very curious as to what you get for the money. From my ignorant outsiders standpoint, it looks like a chunk of box-section aluminium (like the piece I got for nothing to make my extra fence out of ) with a square of MDF/Phenolic stuck on top, with a couple of clamps which break easily if you're cack-handed (ref: woodshopdemos guy), presumably some sort of chain-drive driven by the little handle which sticks out the top, and the infamous brush, but it must be so much more than this to cost £475, and I'm genuinely willing to be converted. Mounting the router the 'correct' way up makes so much sense for several reasons (safety, router operating the way up it was designed to, no difficulty getting at the controls, etc., etc.) so it would be nice to get over the remaining value for money/build quality hurdle.

So, what do you think? Any chance of a review to go with the WoodRat/Bells&Whistles router table price comparison? I know its a lot to ask, but it could be a worthwhile sacrifice to put an end to all these WoodRat debates... :roll:

NeilCFD

 

[Anonymous]

Once again, thanks for all the help, comment and discussion.

With regards to my table, I think that I will first of all go with the simplest version and simply use the two pieces of MDF that I have, glued together to give a top about 30mm thick. This I will varnish and wax. In fact, one of the pieces of MDF I have is an oak-veneered piece that I picked up for a song at the local builders merchants.

If I have problems with this, I can then go to Plan B by removing the wax and varnish then laminating both sides.

I have a Trend/Rousseau plate to insert in the table so the table thickness should not be a problem. I will check that it is flat, although I believe that it should have a slight crown at the centre to maintain accuracy.

Accuracy is going to be important because the reason I am building the table is that my other table (Triton) is not big enough to take my Incra jig.
(I didn't mention the Incra before because I haven't been a forum member long enough to gloat :wink: )

The table will be slightly Norm-like, but with the insert offset to the left.

I like the idea of putting insulation in the router enclosure and as I have a bit of 2" polystyrene left from insulation my garage door I will give it a go.

I am planning to build the Router enclosure deep enough to hold a scissorjack under the router for rapid adjustment, while my DW625 has the fine adjuster on it for final tweaking.

I seriously considered the Rat but that option would have cost lots of hundreds of pounds 'cos I would have had to have a new wall built :shock:

Once I've got the table-top finished I will play with the Incra making different joints for each draw, although I think I will need about a month to plough through and understand the instructions that came with it. :?

I'll let you know how I get on.

Howard

 

[Alf]

A bit of my time to put it all together-free(ish)

Ah, I hadn't even thought to include the cost of man hours...

BTW, I forgot to add the NVR switch to the list - another £25.

Hadn't thought of that one either. Guys, are you sure you know which side you're on here? :wink:

Charley's supposed to be reviewing the 'Rat, is he not? I'll wait and make my life easier by just pointing out all the bits he missed... :wink: :lol:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Neil]

Charley's supposed to be reviewing the 'Rat, is he not? I'll wait and make my life easier by just pointing out all the bits he missed... :wink: :lol:

I know, Alf, but there is something about your reviews - the camera pointed at the bit you want to see, the friendly-to-dial-up image size, the incisive comments, the humour... have I flattered you enough yet? :lol:

NeilCFD

 

[froglet]

Alf:
Its not just the total cost, the router table route allows you to start cheap (just the mounting plate and NVR switch and a homemade fence) and add as you go the Woodrat requires a fixed all or nothing outlay of £450. While I am seriously tempted by the Woodrat this outlay is just too much for something that I have niggling doubts about and I just feel more comfortable with the router table idea which is what I am going for. I realise that this is probably a silly reaction as I have no direct experience with either router tables or the Woodrat and my feeling are probably purely based on familiarity with the router table having seen it on NYW/etc.

Having said all this, knowing me I will probably end up ordering an Incra fence with everything on it and spend nearly as much as I would have on a Woodrat :roll:

Hermes:
Which version of the Incra fence did you go for?

 

[Anonymous]

It's simply that cost is one of the things frequently levelled against the 'Rat and it'd be nice to get a handle on what a router table with all the bits being recommended to make it "good" would actually cost in comparison. :?

OK
Well, the rat is extremely expensive for a bit of extrusion and phenolic resin in my opinion as an engineer. I am happy to admit that I would be tempted if it were half the price but see no real advantage over a table despite claims to the contrary. To be honest I could not see me using just the rat and think a table would be required for large or long work.


As to router tble cost:

I have just about finished building a NYW designed 'deluxe' router table and the materials cost about £65 for top and case with loads of drawers to store things in.

The insert plate was made at work but I bought one a couple of years back for £25. NVR switch £20

So, the woodrat costs about £450 + vat and the router table costs about £90 + I rather enjoyed making it.

I do not need a router raiser or any other 'extras' to make it work well as a fine height adjuster is all that is required. The Triton router would be ideal in a table as the fine height adjuster is made for the job.

However as you know I took delivery of an Incra for xmas which adds about £145 incl vat to the price and is by no means essential but does allow more repateable setups in a short time (£265 incl vat 'v' £450 + vat)

 

[Alf]

have I flattered you enough yet? :lol:

Don't stop now, I was just starting to enjoy myself. :lol:

Its not just the total cost, the router table route allows you to start cheap (just the mounting plate and NVR switch and a homemade fence) and add as you go the Woodrat requires a fixed all or nothing outlay of £450.

Yeah, that's fair enough. Wasn't somewhere doing an HP package on it at one time? Not a bad idea really, and a system that used to be common for buying tools in days of yore. There's a humourous anecdote in "From tree to sea" where one of the boatyard lads hides up on the roof when the tool dealer's rep comes round for the weekly installment 'cos he'd spent the lot elsewhere. But I digress (surprise).

Don't get me wrong, folks; I really don't mind if you don't get the 'Rat. There's nothing in it for me, and I quite understand it takes a certain brilliance to fully appreciate it... :wink:

Duckin' and runnin', Alf

P.S. Sorry to partially hijack your thread, Howard