| Project by Mike Robinson | posted 449 days ago | 816 views | 16 times favorited | 14 comments |  |
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I posted the table a few days ago, and a few of the comments I received were regarding the fence and track systems (or in this case lack thereof). I wasn’t sure at the time if I was going to get a commercial fence, or make my own. I revisited Bob's Plans online and found his plans for a router table, and the fence was exactly what I was looking for. I figured I could make it fairly easily, and I might save a few bucks to boot, as all the commercial fences I was looking at were $150.00 plus.
For the fence base I picked the straightest grained pieces of white oak I could find. It started life as 13/16th’s nominal, which I planed to 3/4”. After fabrication I finished it with 5 coats of clear lacquer. The fence faces are two pieces of 3/4 MDF, glued together to form a fence 1 1/2 inch thick, then lacquered. I installed Incra T-Track to the top and back sides for adjustment and feather board mounting. After the fence was completed it was time to cut the dados for the fence and for the miter gage slot. These I laid out and measured very carefully, as I didn’t want to muck up the top with a poorly cut dado. I used my table saw with a stacked dado set, set to 3/4, and made several passes to get the width I needed for the T-Track and the Miter gage slot. I installed these with the screws provided and everything moves freely and squarely. Phewww
The dust collection is a cobble of off the shelf hose and fittings from Woodcrafters, and a section of old Shop-Vac hose that I used because it’s much more flexible then the other stuff. I wasn’t sure how well it would work, but the first time I fired up the collector put any fears to rest. All the chips dissapeared in the fence collector, and the router well stayed clean also. It worked very well.
I can see that this will be a much used addition to my shop, and open up a whole new level of possible projects that I may have shied away from. My total expenditure for materials and hardware came to a little over $350.00 for the table and fence. Not exactly cheaper than a commercial system, but a lot more rewarding knowing that it came from my shop rather than a store.
Cheers
Mike
14 comments so far
Dusty56
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3476 posts in 585 days
posted 449 days ago
Absolutely beautiful !!!! What a fantastic router table you’ve made !!!! There’s no way you could buy this quality for $350 anywhere….Congratulations : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
Emeralds
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155 posts in 460 days
posted 449 days ago
Once I become a bit more skilled, I will have to tackle that project as well. I recently rebuilt a used Craftsman – Pro table with mediocre results and decided unit from Bob’s plans would be my next table too. It’s nice to see that someone else shared my opinion of that project.
Great looking table and an excellent rendition.
Cheers back at cha…
:)oe
-- JMP
RAH
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413 posts in 774 days
posted 449 days ago
Very nice, I have put this as a favorite. I have been telling myself that I will build a table soon.
-- Ron Central, CA
Douglas Krueger
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379 posts in 621 days
posted 449 days ago
Mike,
Very nicely done, a right professional looking piece of craftsmanship, the care you took during layout and execution is very evident.
I am also about to venture down the router table path altho I have elected to go the commerical fence route as reliable wood is not that easy to come by here in Thailand.
Expect to see a lot of new and exciting projects rolling off that table in the future.
-- I can so I wood but why are my learning curves always circles
kolwdwrkr
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2251 posts in 487 days
posted 449 days ago
very nice indeed
-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~
DaveH
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372 posts in 676 days
posted 449 days ago
Great job!
-- DaveH - Boise, Idaho - “How hard can it be? It's only wood!”
woodworm
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8286 posts in 488 days
posted 449 days ago
Very nice and strong RT that is readdy to take beatting.
The split independent fences and the carrier with built-in chip suction port make this RT a pro grade one.
What’s next ? Featherboards, coping-sled, box-joint cutting jig, miter key-slot cutting carrier….you will find more and more interesting & challenging RT jig projects awaiting ahead.
Take care and work safe.
-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.
gusthehonky
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131 posts in 639 days
posted 449 days ago
Your final result far exceeds any cost due to materials, time and labor. A very top notch job indeed. Easily a deal at twice the price.
-- Ciao, gth.
king
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53 posts in 844 days
posted 449 days ago
nice job, good looking router fence and table.
-- franklinalbert@sbcglobal.net
alanealane
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174 posts in 787 days
posted 448 days ago
FANTASTIC!!
-- Lane Custom Guitars and Basses
unknownwoodworker
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218 posts in 601 days
posted 448 days ago
Great job!
-- ??? My mistakes heat the house. It's very warm in here. ???
SteveKorz
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2030 posts in 611 days
posted 448 days ago
Wow, this is one great lookin’ router table! Finely crafted…. great job on this!
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †
thetimberkid
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1944 posts in 600 days
posted 446 days ago
Great job!
Thanks for the post
Callum
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Blake
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2760 posts in 771 days
posted 446 days ago
Looks great. You are gonna LOVE using this!
-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com