Router Table #2: Pictures and current progress

Well this one is for Karson. Here are some pics of the new router table currently in construction.

This picture is just a view from the front. The top consists of 2 pieces of 3/4” MDF glued together sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of black formica. I have not added the solid oak molding around the table top yet, but it’s ready to go. Probably will happen tomorrow, along with the face frame for the cabinet carcass. The top will be a bit over 25” X 36” when the oak molding is on. By the way, the top is not mounted yet. I just placed it onto the cabinet for the pics. You can see the drawer fronts inside the cabinet. The fence is in pieces right now and has not been assembled yet. It is made of MDF. I still have to get some laminate on it, drill some holes, create the dust collection port and fence faces, etc. I am waiting on my t-track to arrive also. If you look closely, you can see the pocket holes in the carcass on the inside I did with the Kreg jig. Awesome.. Just awesome!

Here is the router table at an angle. The PVC piping on the table will attach to the back of the cabinet for dust collection. The side port off of the PVC pipe will be attached to the fence dust port with clear corrigated flexible tubing. Please excuse the mess in the shop. I am going to try to get most of the shop cleaned up this weekend. This was the first time I had ever laminated anything, and it turned out great. The sawdust on the table makes it look like it is messed up in the pictures, so please ignore this. You can see on the top front part of the side, there is a 3/4” X 3” piece of solid oak that runs across the front for additional stability. I did the same on the bottom of the front and back of the cabinet to keep the table from sagging any. I should get quite a few years out of this one.

In this picture you can see the dust collection port (4”) on the back of the cabinet, and the back of the fence. The only visible pocket holes are 8 on the back. The rest were done within the cabinet where the drawers will hide them. I wanted to do these on the inside also, but there wasn’t enough room within the side drawer areas to screw them in properly. I will hopefully plug the ones on the back tomorrow.

This is a distance shot of the router table. The small PVC fitting will go into the fence dust port to attach the hose. I placed small temporary castors on the bottom to move the cabinet around until I can get some good locking castors.

This is the cabinet dust collection area that will house the router. I kind of followed what seems to be the standard for this. I still have some final cleanup and sanding to perform before finishing.

Here is a closer pic of the fence back. I still have a lot of work to do to get this sucker finished. You can see the table saw that I restored a while back with the Delta T2 fence in the background. Still works like a charm.

This is a pic to show that the fence has not been assembled yet.

Just another pic from the back of the cabinet.

I’ll start keeping up with the pics during the progress of the project. I have just been so anxious to get this thing done to start using it.

-- Jamie, Kentucky