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19K views 55 replies 32 participants last post by  JoeinGa 
#1 ·
deciding what I want and don't want on the new table

I need a new router table. I had made my first one but realized it was not the strongest design and needed a lot of improvements and additions.

It was a basic four legged table with aprons and a small crosspiece between the legs near the bottom. I don't have a photo because I've already taken it apart.

The old table had aprons that fit with tenons into the four legs' mortises. Because of the amount of stress the table received from being dragged around the shop (no casters on the legs), it really started to pull on the joints, so the tenons started to pull away from the legs.

I have an Oak-Park purchased top that I like, which a large router baseplate sits in. I want a larger top with a place to put things down, like small pieces of wood waiting to be routered, or clamps that are being moved around to hold the fence, etc. I want some overhang so that I can clamp fences and featherboards to it.

Also, I want my new router table to match the cupboards in my shop, I blogged about them HERE
Here's a couple of photos from that blog post:





They were designed using a magazine article which also has a router table plan that looks like this:


The main thing I like about that table plan is that it uses a large plywood box to keep it strong plus I like the framed sides and doors. BUT… I won't have two routers in my table, and I will have it filled in all around to capture dust and shavings.

I will have good quality locking and swiveling casters so that I can move it around easily. Plus I will have a good on/off switch on the outside. I will make my own fences for my needs.

I'll have a place underneath to store my smaller trim router plus a few drawers for router bits.

So, I will design the new table to meet these needs and hope you will follow along.

... to be continued…
 
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#2 ·
Hi Julie, Here's what I came up with. I first bought the JessEm top, router lift, fence & miter. I then got in a hurry and bought the leg unit. I was intending to build my cabinet, but when I bought the leg unit I decided to build my cabinet inside the JessEm leg unit. Here's the photos.

Furniture Table Wood Rectangle Gas

This is the leg unit before cabinet

Wood Gas Motor vehicle Machine Flooring

The finished cabinet

Furniture Wood Hardwood Wood stain Plywood

The cabinet open. The 2 drawers on the right & bottom are utility drawers. The left is a bit storage drawer & the upper center is an access to the router & lift. The router is a PC 3-1/4 Hp.

Wood Audio equipment Gas Machine Electronic instrument

The bit storage drawer. Note: It's full. It's too small and I will have to find storage outside the cabinet. Nice idea - "no Cigar"!

Cabinetry Kitchen appliance Wood Countertop Kitchen stove

The rear of the cabinet. Notice the 2 dust collection connections. I did a lot of research on this. It seems that if I take dust from the fence collection port & feed it into a "T" on the 4 inch main hose the vacuum will only pull from the 4 in. and ignore the fence feed. My solution was to feed dust from the fence into the router chamber & take everything from the router chamber.

Pop
 

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#4 ·
Hi Julie,

I look forward to following along …

Pop's … Nice job on the JessEm setup. Thanks for sharing. I was just pondering how to close my unit in (I have the full JessEm setup as well, dropped into a Delta mobile base). Contemplating doing something very similar, including adding another drawer between the mobile base and stand cross-member / shelf. Can never have enough storage space in a shop!
 
#6 ·
Hi Pop
Thanks for the pictures. There are a lot of router tables at LJ that are similar to the "Norm" one, as yours appears to be.

I am surprised by the comment where you said …"It seems that if I take dust from the fence collection port & feed it into a "T" on the 4 inch main hose the vacuum will only pull from the 4 in. and ignore the fence feed. My solution was to feed dust from the fence into the router chamber & take everything from the router chamber."

I have seen quite a few router tables with the T or Y taking the dust from both the fence and the chamber. That was what I was going to do. I wonder if anyone else can comment on that… that the fence feed will not draw with the other feed.
 
#7 ·
I'll bet I've made 4 or 5 router fences over the years but I didn't realize what I was missing until I finally coughed up the bucks for the Jessum, with a sliding rail guide that's in the picture above. Only mine is blue.

It has a t slot for vertical feather guides and an adjustable fence opening, and it came with shims for the out feed fence if needed.

Add the router lift with a 3 1/4 HP PC router and you have the best set up.

I wonder if the frame and panel construction would flex more than 3/4 plywood?
You could skin the outside with the door panel to get the look your going for.

Also, don't casters move even when they are locked? I can think of several other ways to move the cabinet without wheels. Maybe you could at least get wheels that don't swivel. Nothing worse than a shaky router table.

Just a thought. one of many.
It's kinda like living with a 3 year old in my head. Why? Why? Why?
 
#8 ·
Julie, my cabinet isn't really a "Norm" cabinet. I don't think I've seen his design. I sorta made mine uo as I went along. The dust collection design was the result of talking with several dust collection mfg. They said that the vacuum would favor the larger pipe because of ease of pull and ignore the smaller pipe due to resistance.

reewwood, note that my casters are pointed front to back not side to side. Only the front casters swivel. The back are set front to back. Since most feeds are across the router table from side to side the stationary rear and the front locked don't move that I can tell. I really like JessEm products. I looked at everybodys since I was working at a woodworking store at the time and came down on JessEm.

Pop
 
#9 ·
Hey Pop,
I noticed you have a roller stand which is a great choice.
Almost all of my floor machines are on HTC roller stands. That's what I would recommend. I saw in a catalog some wheels that lock to keep it from swiveling. That would help.
The pull out router drawer is killer. Nice cabinet.

Another idea I like is mounting a bracket with 2 HD wheels on one side, sitting on the floor.
When you want to move it, just tip it diagonally on to the wheels and pull it in to place.

This won't work if you store everything router related and the kitchen sink inside. But, If your looking for mobility, weight is something to consider.

Plus 2 wheels are cheaper than 4, and you will have the widest stance possible. Wheels mounted underneath can make a tool a little top heavy. So many options and they're all good. What to do.

Julie, be sure to let us know what you come up with. Thanks
 
#10 ·
Mark, I really hate HTC mobile bases. I have a few but I don't buy them anymore. When I was working in the woodworking store I put dozens of the darn things together. If you have one you know how they come, a pile of angle iron & a handful of bolts. When I found the Jet mobile bases it was the answer to payer. No bolts, just slip the angles in and secure them with a spring loaded plunger.

The mobile base in the router table is arranged so that the rear wheels are non-swivel and the front wheels are swivel. The rear wheels are set to roll front to back of the table. My thinking is that most of the feeding on a router table that would push the table is from side to side. With the wheels set as they are I'm not getting any movement.

Pop
 
#11 ·
making the top

As I said earlier I have the yellow Oak-Park router top. Here's a photo of it:



(Since the opening for the router is offset (not in the middle) I am going to have my router sit on the right and have doors and drawers on the left. I think a problem with the "Norm" type router table is that putting the router in the middle leaves a narrow space on each side for holding router accessories. We'll get to that in a future post.)

I need a solid frame around my yellow router top because I want it larger than the 29 1/2" x 15 3/4" that it is. I am also trying to use materials I already have, to keep costs down so I'm using a piece of 5/8" thick laminated plywood which once was a side panel in my kitchen. I'm cutting out the exact size of the yellow top and leaving about 4 to 4 1/8" around as a frame. The finished outer size is 23 3/4" x 37 3/4".



Underneath that, I'm adding 3/4" plywood, which I am cutting out in the middle, leaving a 1" inner ledge for the top to sit on. Also, since the yellow top is thicker than the laminated plywood top piece, I need to router out a little of the ledge so that the top sits perfectly flat inside the outer framed piece.



Here is what they look like put together:



This just shows the yellow top in the top piece of the new top, and the routered out part of the bottom piece that will accept the top:


I suppose I will have to add a solid wood edging all around the top which is now 1 3/8" thick.

Next I will design the base, given the finished top sizes.

... to be continued …
 
#17 ·
starting the base

I'm designing my router table so that it fits with my router and accessories. My Hitachi router will hang upside down on the right hand side. It will need clearance around it for my access to raise and lower it and also for bit changes which I usually do by popping out the whole base and sitting the router on the top of the table.

I also have a small laminate trimmer type router that I usually have attached to a large 12" x 18" plexi base. I use it mostly for routering out designs, so to be able to keep it inside the router table, ready to go, will be helpful. So, the left side will need an opening wide enough to allow that base to sit inside.

The top is 37 3/4" x 23 3/4" and the base needs to sit inside that so that there is an overhang for me to clamp fences to. Also consideration has to be to allow the top frame I made to sit firmly on the base at the correct spot without interfering with the router hanging there.

So, the right hand side will be larger than the left, with the right opening about 15 1/2" wide to hold the Hitachi and the left side only needing to be about 14" wide. The inside depth will be about 18 1/2" to allow that small router to sit inside. A "center" divider will not really be in the center. I like my table high, so I'm not bent over it. I have to take into account the height of the casters I bought from Lee Valley, plus the height of the top, it will be about 38" high.

As I said in my first post HERE, I want my table to match my shop cabinets. I will make an interior box from plywood and then surround it with flat panel framed sides and back. The box will just be on the bottom half, with the center divider going up to the top. (When I read this it sounds confusing, for which I apologize, I do think the photos will explain better than my words)

I'm using 3/4" plywood for the bottom and 1/2" for the sides and the center shelf and dividers. A dado is made for the side to sit into the top and bottom piece.



The lower "center" will be two 1/2" ply pieces glued together for strength as well as for a place for the doors and drawers to rest against. It will sit in a dado. The upper center is first screwed through from the dado underneath before the bottom piece is glued in.


The base is then glued and clamped together.



Here it is ready to be covered by the outer prettier pieces!



...to be continued…
 
#22 ·
making the sides and back

The sides and back of my router table will be pine, 2" wide stiles and rails with plywood panel inserts. I had quite a bit of left over 3/4" thick, 2"- 2 1/2" wide pine strips of varying lengths from other projects and used that.
Since I didn't take photos, I'm borrowing ones from my earlier post about making my shop cupboards, which have exactly the same style:



the center rails have grooves on both the top and bottom to hold the panels:



and go together like the side of the shop cabinets:



The sides would extend past the plywood box at the front by about 1/2" which would enable me to frame the plywood edges of the inner box to sit flush with the edges of the stiles on the side pieces. (You'll see that below later) The back fits between the two sides. Of course, this has all to be pre-planned so that everything works out properly. For some reason my mathematical mind enjoys challenges like this.

So, here's one of the router table sides completed, it's 19 1/4" wide:



The back is 29 1/2" wide and doesn't have a centered "center stile" because the side where the router sits is wider than the other side: (The router hangs on the right side when looking from the front, so on the back piece, the left side is wider)



I decided to use a maple frame around the whole inside of the top of the table. I notched out the middle plywood support to hold the frame more securely. Here you can see the back and left side attached and where the frame is:



In the last photo you can also see the covering of the plywood edges is attached but not yet trimmed neatly. Also I shellacked the inside of the whole cupboard.

Here's a closeup of the maple frame, which the router top will sit on:



And here is a closeup of the 1" wide edge covering which is even with the bottom of the top shelf and extends past the 1/2" thick plywood on the horizontal part. Vertically it is centered on the top divider (1/2" wide) and completely covers the bottom divider (which is 1" wide):



... to be continued…
 
#25 ·
the doors and drawers

It's time to add the doors to my router table.

They are made with pine, with 1/4" thick plywood panels, the same as the sides. I run a groove down the middle of the stiles and rails for the panels to fit into, which also allow the tenons of the rails to fit into the stiles:


The door in front of the router will have a plexiglass panel, so the groove needs to be thinner for the plexi than for the tenons. So, I put a narrower groove using the table saw, to hold the plexi and then put wider grooves at the ends of the stiles using a router.





The drawers are fronted with pine, here's the basic layout:



Every part was given about 5 coats of wipe-on polyurethane. I attached the three doors with piano hinges and put on the casters. The top, which still needs to be framed, is screwed on from underneath with L brackets:



Now… a few questions for you all (I might repeat these in the forums):

How do you store your router bits? I'm not sure if I want to keep them in a drawer in their respective little clear holders that most of them came in, or if I want them inserted into a board with holes drilled into it. If I take them out of their holders then I don't have their sizes or names on them, plus they aren't protected from knocks. If I put them into a board with holes they are easier to grab, plus I can hold more that way. Any thoughts?

Do I need air flow in the router compartment? I will be connecting dust collection, so will I need to drill holes for air?

What type of ON/OFF switch do you recommend? (I want one for easy on/off near the router)

...to be continued…
 
#26 ·
NICE work! Love well-made, finished, "shop furniture." Good job.

Re. router bit storage - For now, I have keep all my router bits in their set / box containers for the reasons your describe (easy reference - sizes, profile, router bit number, etc.). Yes, you could mount in a board or some other holder but I (like you?) would (probably) still hold on to the case that they came in. That's chewing up almost double the storage. I don't think it's a big deal to have to open a bit set or two to find the bit you want, plus it keeps them clean and protected.

Re. dust collection / air flow, there have been quite a few discussions / examples shared in the last little while, pros and cons, top versus bottom, etc. There was one in particular that addressed some of this - if I can find it again, I will send you the link.

For on/off switches, I like the ones with a big "paddle" type Stop lever over the button or switch - really easy to reach down and hit. Available most places / catalogues.

Again, great job! I'm sure it will be a real pleasure to use.
 
#36 ·
Adding the ON/OFF switch ... finally

I cannot believe it has been 1111 days since I posted about my router table. And I never finished it until recently, a bad habit of mine.

I had the drawer fronts ready to go, but had to make some drawers. I just never put the drawers together and I was using it without them, I'll show those in the next post. The switch I've had installed for a few years, so I'll show that now.

This is where I left off all those days ago:


I had asked about ON/OFF switches and someone recommended the Kreg switch, which is what I went with. The Kreg switch is meant to be installed vertically on the metal leg of a Kreg table. I had no such place, because my table was already made, but I figured out what to do with it. I decided to mount it horizontally in the top drawer front, by cutting out the exact shape of the switch:

Wood Rectangle Font Hardwood Wood stain


Then I fit the switch through from the front:
Rectangle Material property Wood Gadget Cable


At first I thought I would just screw the drawer front in from the back and leave it permanently attached there. Then I realized that it would be hard to unplug the router from the back of the drawer without contorting my hand and opening the drawer below it. I use my router out of the table sometimes, and also prefer to unplug it when I do any bit changes, of course.

So, this is what I came up with:
Wood Gas Hardwood Latch Security


The router plug comes through a hole in the side wall in the cabinet. The switch cord runs straight out a hole in the back wall.

I put a short piano hinge on the left side of the drawer front (which is now a small door), this matches the hinge on the three large doors. I also attached a spring type latch to hold the drawer/door shut. This works perfectly for me!

I added matching knobs to each door as well as the drawer/door.
Wood Fixture Wood stain Hardwood Shelving


Next I'll show how I made the drawers, hopefully in a day or two, and not 1111 days!

... to be continued …
 

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#37 ·
Adding the ON/OFF switch ... finally

I cannot believe it has been 1111 days since I posted about my router table. And I never finished it until recently, a bad habit of mine.

I had the drawer fronts ready to go, but had to make some drawers. I just never put the drawers together and I was using it without them, I'll show those in the next post. The switch I've had installed for a few years, so I'll show that now.

This is where I left off all those days ago:


I had asked about ON/OFF switches and someone recommended the Kreg switch, which is what I went with. The Kreg switch is meant to be installed vertically on the metal leg of a Kreg table. I had no such place, because my table was already made, but I figured out what to do with it. I decided to mount it horizontally in the top drawer front, by cutting out the exact shape of the switch:

Wood Rectangle Font Hardwood Wood stain


Then I fit the switch through from the front:
Rectangle Material property Wood Gadget Cable


At first I thought I would just screw the drawer front in from the back and leave it permanently attached there. Then I realized that it would be hard to unplug the router from the back of the drawer without contorting my hand and opening the drawer below it. I use my router out of the table sometimes, and also prefer to unplug it when I do any bit changes, of course.

So, this is what I came up with:
Wood Gas Hardwood Latch Security


The router plug comes through a hole in the side wall in the cabinet. The switch cord runs straight out a hole in the back wall.

I put a short piano hinge on the left side of the drawer front (which is now a small door), this matches the hinge on the three large doors. I also attached a spring type latch to hold the drawer/door shut. This works perfectly for me!

I added matching knobs to each door as well as the drawer/door.
Wood Fixture Wood stain Hardwood Shelving


Next I'll show how I made the drawers, hopefully in a day or two, and not 1111 days!

... to be continued …
Good idea for the switch placement and a good build on your router table.
 

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#47 ·
Completing the Drawers

After getting the switch installed in the top "drawer" area, I needed then to make two drawers below that, on the left hand side.

I had two drawers that were part of an old entertainment unit that we threw out. I kept some parts including two drawers as well as drawer slides. The drawers were too wide for my router table:
Wood Cabinetry Drawer Wood stain Gas


So, I taped the drawer slides into the cabinet and measured the width I would need for my drawers to fit:
Wood Hardwood Rectangle House Wood stain


Then I cut the drawer, allowing for the side to be put back on after knocking it off (it was nailed on):
Rectangle Wood Floor Wood stain Composite material


The next step was to use nails and glue and remake the side. I sat it on the drawer slides to check the fit:
Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain Flooring


Now, the drawer was also too high for the cabinet, so I clamped the drawer front on to determine the height:
Table Wood Window Shorts Flooring


I cut the height down with my jigsaw:
Furniture Rectangle Wood Table Wood stain


Then I attached the drawer front as well as the slides (they are a bit long, but it doesn't matter, they were free):
Wood Rectangle Office ruler Hardwood Wood stain


Perfect!
Cabinetry Wood Drawer Wood stain Rectangle


The second drawer was a similar process, putting the slides where the bottom drawer wouldn't interfere with it:
Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain Plank


Then cutting the drawer down and putting the front on:
Cabinetry Drawer Wood Shelf Rectangle


In my case, the front of both drawers are not centered on the drawers, so I had to clamp them in place and make sure they lined up properly with the other components:
Cabinetry Furniture Dresser Chest of drawers Drawer


Shelf Cabinetry Wood Drawer Rectangle


I also put a pine edging around the top of the cabinet. Here she is ready to go:
Cabinetry Furniture Table Wood Computer desk


P.S. I use an old pill bottle, turned upside down over the bit, if it's still in the table. This protects me and the bit.
 

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#48 ·
Completing the Drawers

After getting the switch installed in the top "drawer" area, I needed then to make two drawers below that, on the left hand side.

I had two drawers that were part of an old entertainment unit that we threw out. I kept some parts including two drawers as well as drawer slides. The drawers were too wide for my router table:
Wood Cabinetry Drawer Wood stain Gas


So, I taped the drawer slides into the cabinet and measured the width I would need for my drawers to fit:
Wood Hardwood Rectangle House Wood stain


Then I cut the drawer, allowing for the side to be put back on after knocking it off (it was nailed on):
Rectangle Wood Floor Wood stain Composite material


The next step was to use nails and glue and remake the side. I sat it on the drawer slides to check the fit:
Wood Rectangle Floor Wood stain Flooring


Now, the drawer was also too high for the cabinet, so I clamped the drawer front on to determine the height:
Table Wood Window Shorts Flooring


I cut the height down with my jigsaw:
Furniture Rectangle Wood Table Wood stain


Then I attached the drawer front as well as the slides (they are a bit long, but it doesn't matter, they were free):
Wood Rectangle Office ruler Hardwood Wood stain


Perfect!
Cabinetry Wood Drawer Wood stain Rectangle


The second drawer was a similar process, putting the slides where the bottom drawer wouldn't interfere with it:
Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain Plank


Then cutting the drawer down and putting the front on:
Cabinetry Drawer Wood Shelf Rectangle


In my case, the front of both drawers are not centered on the drawers, so I had to clamp them in place and make sure they lined up properly with the other components:
Cabinetry Furniture Dresser Chest of drawers Drawer


Shelf Cabinetry Wood Drawer Rectangle


I also put a pine edging around the top of the cabinet. Here she is ready to go:
Cabinetry Furniture Table Wood Computer desk


P.S. I use an old pill bottle, turned upside down over the bit, if it's still in the table. This protects me and the bit.
Great blog! Thanks. I've certainly learned something about salvaged furniture parts, and it'll be of use to me in the future. From where did you purchase or get the bottom drawer slides, please?
 

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