# Asking opinions- router mounted in tablesaw wing



## mayday3374 (Sep 15, 2017)

Hello! I'm looking for some feedback and opinions from those of you who have a router mounted in a wing of their table saw. I am considering eliminating my dedicated router table and consolidating the router and tablesaw as I am reorganizing my workspace. My main questions are 1: is there any cons to having the router plate set in the wing? I can't think of any drawbacks but those with experience may have some input. 2: any solutions to dust collection when mounted this way? My router table now is a typical cabinet with a few storage drawers and a dc port in the back of the main box where the router is housed. Any input or suggestions as to what works and doesn't would be appreciated.

I tried searching but didn't have much luck finding any feedback. Just the basics of how to do it which was pretty straight forward. Thanks for the help!


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I've had two of these over the years, and yanked them both for dedicated router tables. I currently have two router "boxes", a Bosch and one I made. I keep them set up for dedicated things, like one is set up for putting juice rings in cutting boards with a round bit. I sell a lot of boards in one of my galleries, so that is nice. The other one is currently set up to do Rout-R-Joint, but I can change it out easy and do other stuff. Once I get a bit at a certain height, and know I will use it again and again over time, I don't want to have to lower it every time I want to use my table saw, or have to pull a bushing. Finally, I find that my table saw extension is more often useful as more bench space, since my shop is very small. (About 265 sg. ft.)

Your setup may vary…


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

Works fine in a table wing especially if you make cabinets…Bot both styles have there purpose…


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## Knockonit (Nov 5, 2017)

Yep, I thought a good idea at one time, have since opted for individual table, although its a small one so I can stash it under another cabinet, I guess i should say its shallow, but almost 4 ft in length, works well for what i do.
Rj in az


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I have both a router table and one in my outfeed in a table saw, sometimes it makes things a lot easy to have two set ups particularly with say cope and stick joinery where you can set one up to do the cope and the other to do the stick, it seems like no matter how much stock you run of stick you always need to go back and run a few more cope pieces which means you have to change all the set up if you have on router location. I say if you have the room have both.


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

I added one to mine a few years ago and have no drawbacks what so ever but I can offer that I kept my existing router table as well, having two router tables makes life so much easier.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

I have my router in the wing of my unisaw table. I find it works well there and my unifence just slides over and becomes my router fence. I have a clamp on fence that handles most of the dust collection .
In the photo the vac hose isn't in the hole on top and the auxiliary fence isn't clamped on. (Sorry, only photo I could find)


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

I used that setup for years (RT in the saw) and really liked it. The 2 drawbacks I had were the one about switching back and forth between it and the saw, and the DC. I was never clever enough to come up with a routine to catch the chips form the router. I should mention, my saw was on a mobile base that lifted the extension in the air…so i could put a heavy enclosure around the router. I eventually wound up with space for a dedicated router table, but the saw mounted one did everything I needed.


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

I have a table extension, the Bench Dog cast iron one. There's pros and cons to doing it that way. The good part is how sturdy it is. I do stick cuts on 80" door stiles, both 1-3/8" ad 1-3/4" thick, and use four feather boards to hold the piece down flat and against the fence. It takes a lot of force to move the wood through and I doubt a table on casters would be steady enough. Also, my large home made coping sled that I use for the door rails rides in the saw's miter slots for extra rigidity.

Other pros are that it's sturdy and adds several inches to the side support compared to the old cast iron wing that it replaces. If you do panel raising on large panels, you can work on the saw side of the bit for extra support.

The main downside is that you can't leave the bit in there when using the saw for crosscutting if the board is too long, and the bit is too tall to lower flush.

All-in-all, I'd do it the same way again. A stand-alone table to add to it is on my list, but not near the top.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

My table saw /router set up is similar to Paul's .


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## mayday3374 (Sep 15, 2017)

Thanks for the input. You guys never disappoint. I don't do many repetative cuts like Tennessee does and most of the time the router is sitting idle so lowering it into the table isn't an issue. Most of my work is cabinets and small furniture pieces so having the tablesaw surface and fence to work off of makes sense to me. Shipwright. I have the same fence and like that setup, but do you have to lean over the saw to run a piece thru the router each time? Would I be better served setting the plate closer to the end of my wing and working off the end of the saw wing? Or did u set it there purposely? I think I will keep the top from my existing router table and Incorporate it into some kind of small benchtop unit as suggested to use for smaller cuts and do the larger work on the table saw wing. . Thanks for the input


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I use one of these units for my table saw outfeed router,I had to add a longer hose to reach my table saw fence router attachment and a shop vac with an automatic switch start so when I turn the router on so does the DC,that with my Triton router makes for a sweet set up.

http://www.carbideprocessors.com/dustrouter-dust-collection-unit-milescraft-dr11601/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAp8fSBRCUARIsABPL6JaEpg0a5ABfkxNUFE6csMXKSCu3IUnJTL-WEvUWec-PVnWNW2QoE4IaAsetEALw_wcB


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## mayday3374 (Sep 15, 2017)

That IS a cool setup. Sure beats trying to frame a box around it to collect the chips from underneath. Thanks


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## bigJohninvegas (May 25, 2014)

I have had my router mounted on the table saw wing for several years, and I like it. 
I just upgraded the fence from a stock ridgid 30" to a beisemeyer 52" 
So far since upgrading the fence, I have not had the router table get in the way.
I try to get all my table saw work done. Then move to the router. But, every now and then I make a mistake and need to go back to the table saw and cut another few pieces. 
For example, I messed up a raised door panel, and did not have extra. 
With the big fence I have room to go cut a new one, and can maintain the router bit set up.
With the short fence, I found I could not keep both tools set up.
Originally, I split my 4" DC hose into two 2" lines. One for the fence, and one for a box under the router table.
I found the the line going to the fence got a good 90% of the dust. So with the new fence, I skipped the box under the table.
Not much mess at all to sweep up, and I also have the mobile base. And the added weight of the box made the short fence setup very tippy. The 52" fence came with legs, so it tips too, but can't tip over. 
quick edit,
My router lift is set up in the end of the wing. 
As you can see in the photo, I have to move my saw away from the wall to use it.
The router wound up being about 16" in from the end of the wing. I am 6'-5" so not to much of a reach for me. And I only need to move the saw away from the wall when doing larger work, or if I need the fence.

not a problem though.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I have had a router mounted in my table saw wing for about five years now but I am thinking of making a stand alone router table. I use this router, with a round over bit, and like to leave it set to the height I need for this. No need for a fence. In the table saw wing I have to lower it every time I cut a panel or cross cut.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

I had mine at the end of the extension so I would work at the end, as opposed from the front. I just liked it better that way, I saw David Marks (who had his in the extension) work from the front and it looked awkward to me.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

> Shipwright. I have the same fence and like that setup, but do you have to lean over the saw to run a piece thru the router each time? Would I be better served setting the plate closer to the end of my wing and working off the end of the saw wing? Or did u set it there purposely?
> 
> - mayday3374


Not sure I understand your question. I stand in front of the router just as I do in front of the saw except to the right. No reaching over the saw. I set it that way about 13 years ago and would do it again. To me it just makes simple sense.
Sorry if I'm being dense.


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## alittleoff (Nov 27, 2014)

I had my router on a table and moved it to the right end of the table saw. After using it there I didn't like it, seemed like about half the time I used it my fence was in the way because of the small table wing I was using. I decided to buy the large incra table with the track an put it on the left side. I also bought the ultra router fence and the extra hardware so I could slide it on the saw fence rails and lock it down on both sides. Since moving it I think it's the best way to use a router and won't go back to the table router. If I'm not using the router I can slide the fence back toward the saw blade, lower the router and use the space for whatever I want. If I need to cut large sheets of plywood I can loosen the fence lower the router and slide it off the table in less than a minute and reinstall it after I'm through. It's not set up like incra shows it but I like it better the way I'm using it. The table is sturdy and level, I can work from the end or either side and the dust collection is there because of the saw. I really like the router on the saw, it works for me.
Gerald


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## gtrgeo (Mar 22, 2017)

I had my router mounted in the right wing of my tablesaw for years and I honestly feel it kept me from using it as much as I could have. Due to the layout of my small shop I was only able to use the router from the front of the table saw. I never felt comfortable routing materials across the router similar to how the would be processed on the table saw. Instead I preferred the traditional method of standing parallel to the fence and pushing material right to left.

Additionally, as others have mentioned, I found the router to be in the way if I needed to use the table saw part way through a project. There was also the de-install/install of the router fence which I built to go over my table saw fence. I contemplated building a wing to insert the router on the left wing as it would be more accessible. In the meantime I upgraded to a Sawstop PCS which doesn't permit mounting on the left due to the motor cover.

I purchased a used Rockler basic router table which had fold up legs thinking it could be stored to save some floor space. Again, I found I left it up all of the time to keep it available. I am in the process of building a standard New Yankee style base on casters. I chose to sacrifice the floor space to a stand-alone router table hoping to make it a more integral part of my woodworking.

George


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## mayday3374 (Sep 15, 2017)

Thanks everyone! I currently have a rockler router table top. It sits on a cabinet. I think I'm gna toss the cabinet, keep the top, and mount it on the right hand side of my saw. I'm going to have it hinge mounted to the saw and add some retractable legs of some sort so it will drop down out of the way most of the time, if I need it I can pull it up and use it. If I need to saw again, I can drop the table out of the way without having to lower the router bit. I can also use the router table as a right handed support wing, Something that I occasionally need when working with wider stock. I'll post pics sometime in the next week when I get it dun.


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## spindeepster (Nov 13, 2014)

A bit of an outdated thread, but I wanted to show this off. A table saw with a dedicated dado blade, and a router table in one. I have a stand alone table saw as well.


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## Renegade1LI (Jan 21, 2020)

I have switched to a shaper & love it, shaper cutters, router bits no problem they all work well. I've heard all the arguments about speeds & cut quality, all I can say is try, with a good heavy duty shaper & feeder you will be pleasantly surprised! I have a PM 26 with multiple arbors & router bit adapter, it's 3 hp & a pleasure to use, what's also nice is being able to change direction & with the feeder it is much safer & the cut is very consistent. I will take the shaper over a router any day.


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