Auxillary Router Table

Now that’s a good idea. Might just have to try that myself.

-- Bruce from Central New York

Very functional. I like how you clamp the router fence to the TS fence. I bet that makes for really easy adjustment.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Thanks Bruce!

I can’t claim originality for the idea. I actually got the idea for the router table out of Fine Woodworking magazine. The fence with dust port was all mine ;^D

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Jeff,

It does adjust easily, and it’s always ready, so I don’t have to set up anything.

If I had the room, I’d have all stand alone machines for everything, but when your shop is small, you’re always trying to figure out how to make less be more.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Wow…very cool. A definite addition to my shop soon.

It can be a pain to have a small shop but it can be fun to figure out ways to make it work.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Tom;

Great job!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Bob,

That’s the truth. I have thought about spending several thousand dollars on an addition to the garage. I have even considered building a separate building in the back yard, but then I’m not sure how long we’re going to live in this location, and so I improvise like this.

I agree that it is fun and gratifying to work out solutions for my small shop.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Thanks a lot, Lee!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Very nice Tom. I really like the fence.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Thanks Wayne!

My router made the biggest mess of all my power tools. So when I found that plastic dust port, I decided it was time to build a suitable fence which would incorporate it.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

I bet the dust port works great. I was surprised how well the one in my fence worked.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Wayne,

Yes, it does work great – saves a lot of cleanup.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

It ain’t what ya do it with, it’s what ya do with it!! Very resourceful, Tom. I’ve thought about having another router table in my table saw just to have two set-ups at once. This could be the solution. Thanks for sharing.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Thanks Tom,

There are ready-made units to do this, but they aren’t cheap. The ones I’ve seen are for Delta saws. There weren’t any for my saw though. This one didn’t cost anything but some time.

It will get the job done for me, until I get my big shop someday… ;^D

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Very creative Tom, looks like it will do what you need it to do. Does your fence open in the middle so you can open or close it close to the bit, can’t tell by the photo?

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Bill,

The answer to your question is, no – it does not open in the middle, but I could easily modify it if the need arose. I have never used a bit that was so big that I would need a large opening, like the ones for raised panel construction. I think if I make another one though, I’ll make it that way. Good thought!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Hi Tom;

I know I responded to this post already, but I was heading out the door, and didn’t give it the time it deserved.

I have a router fence I made twenty years ago or so, which has all the adjustments of a shaper, including a dust collector set up.

I got the plans in a router bit set from Frued, and I used that machine to make a huge number of projects.

It would fit in with the arrangement you have now, and is easily stowed away when not needed.

The unit is also a fun woodworking project, so you’ll get extra satisfaction every time you use it.

If you want, I’ll get some pictures and sizes from it and post them.

Now I feel better about short changing your project earlier, and again, I’ll say good work Tom!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Lee,

That would be great! Your contribution here on this site is very much appreciated. You are a true professional, and we value your input greatly.

Yes, get those pictures together and whatever else you can gather pertaining to the project, and let’s see it! I’m sure it will be useful to us to see how you did yours.

Thanks a lot!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Tom, this is a really nice use of available space. I was going to do the same thing at one point, until my lathe took the place of my jointer and the jointer had to go under the wing of the TS. This is a really neat idea.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Thanks Mot! It’s nice to have plenty of room, but if you don’t, sometimes you can find creative means to still get the job done.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Nice job Tom. Thanks for linking me to this thread. I was debating how much space I needed from the the bit to the table front. I’m thinking you have about 4 or 5 inches. Do you find that enough for most applications? I like the vertical braces. I have space issues, so I’m looking to avoid adding a lot of support braces, cabinets, or legs under the wing.

-- Jeff, South Carolina

Jeff,

Actually, I just made my router table the size of the extension wing it replaced. So far this has worked great for the projects I’ve used if for. I would like to have a more elaborate setup, but it’s a big improvement over the setup I was using for my stationary router projects.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Hey, I like it!

-- Dust collectors suck.

Thanks Blake. I have enjoyed your innovations as well. Sharing ideas is great for all of us!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

That looks like a very useful router table. I have a small shop too, this is something i need to incorporate into my saw too. thanks for sharing.

-- A thing of beauty is a joy forever... - Keats

Thanks, JM. It is a great addition to my shop, and I use it alot. Thanks for the kind comment.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28