# Router Table recommendations for a $ 200 budget



## woodman44 (Jan 13, 2011)

I have done some research on router tables and have come up with the following three company choices.

1. Bosch - RA 1171 ($ 159) or RA1181 ($ 179)
2. Grizzly - T 10432 ( $140) or W2000 ($ 235)
3. Kreg - PRS2100 ( $ 229) or PRS 2000 ($ 200)

Any recommendations on any of these or others is greatly appreciated. I am trying to be a an avid retired DIYer who last made anything out of wood was back in Jr. High School woodshop class.

Thanks,
Ken


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## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

Can't comment on your choices…You could purchase a top, then make your own cabinet with storage to suit your needs…Here is mine as an example… But if you do a search here will find a lot of great router table builds

Top was purchased from Rockler's

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=31809&site=ROCKLER
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Here's mine
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## bernwood (Aug 19, 2010)

Ken - as for a router table, I'm not familiar with your wish list. I bought a Rockler with a Jessem lift and that is an important part of my workshop. Think of your purchase as an investment and buy the best you can. I retired 3 years ago and I've become an avid DIYer and furniture builder. Last year I spent 11 months remodeling our kitchen which involved taking down 2 carrying walls and extending the new kitchen into the barn area. The job has paid for all the tools I own and I have quite the collection. A contractor priced my job at $60,000 and I did 98% of the work. I spent $14, 348.27 which included new cabinets, quartz countertops, sink, dishwasher, LED lighting, dishwasher and all the material. The router table alone allowed me to make my own molding and doors for my country hutch and a few other items. I made about 100 ft of a fancy molding I saw in a store for $9/ft. The lift allows me accuracy so consider one in your future.

After seeing what I've done with all my tools, my wife keeps asking me if I need any new tools. Your workshop is an investment and can be worth its' weight in gold.

By router table, I hope you are only talking the top, not the cabinet which is an item you want to build. There are lots of plans out here on the net and building your own shop furniture and cabinets is your woodworking classroom. My very 1st panel doors are in my router workstation. Welcome to retirement and do stay busy.


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## bernwood (Aug 19, 2010)

Kdc68 posted his comment as I was typing and he has the same top I have. His lift also looks familiar. Nice build kdc…


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## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

*+1 Bernie*...
" I hope you are only talking the top, not the cabinet which is an item you want to build. There are lots of plans out here on the net and building your own shop furniture and cabinets is your woodworking classroom "

*Bernie*...Thanks for the compliment


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## copcarcollector (Aug 8, 2012)

On your list, I have the Bosch RA1181. I chose it over the other Bosch table as the 1181 has an aluminum top. But looking again at the picture of the 1171 that one might be better for dust collection or at least containment, as the 1181 has just the side legs and no cabinet underneath.

I only used mine a few times to put some channels into MDF. I have since moved to the larger Kreg full size set up.


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## TorxNut (Mar 16, 2013)

I've had the Bosch RA1181 for a couple years. My workshop is kind of small and I didn't feel I had the room for a table much bigger. A plus for this table is the many accessory parts that come with it. Feather boards, different guards, fence parts, etc. The router plate was not drilled to fit my PC 7518 so I had to do that myself. I also replaced the power switch with a larger paddle type unit. Above table dust collection is pretty good but a fair amount can get under the table depending on the bit and table insert.

I have no big complaints about the table and think it's a decent value that has worked well for me.

Bill


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=41793&cat=1,43053,43885


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## Tomj (Nov 18, 2011)

That Veritas table looks nice but there is no miter gauge, though you could just build your jigs to slide along the front parallel to the bit. Also, you would need to build a fence for it.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I have the rockler table & the rockler lift. They seem to work fine for me.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

You could build a very nice router table for $200.
2 layers of MDF glued together, edge banded with hardwood, then laminated with formica makes for a great top. Depending on the router used, a plate is largely unnecessary. If you use one of the triton routers for example, you don't need a plate at all. You can rout an area for shop made inserts. The stand can be a simple affair made of 2×4's.

If buying is still your ideal way to get a router table in the shop, I would either raise the budget a bit and get rockler's router table setup, or the kreg looks nice too.


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## gtbuzz (Sep 19, 2011)

If you absolutely set on buying instead of building, I'd check out the Bench Dog ProTop Contractor table. I have that one myself and it's a very nice table. The Bosch tables looked nice but I was worried about some QC issues. Didn't really consider the other tables as I wanted something with a closed base to help keep dust under control.

I've noticed that my local Rockler has it in stock, so if you wait until they have one of their 20% off coupons, you can get it for a hair over $200.

As much as I like it though, I'd still recommend building your own. It's more of a bang for the buck proposition as well as making sure you get something exactly the way you like it.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I also have the Bench Dog gtbuzz mentioned. It is a decent table and does everything I need, and I purchased it before I had experience making any sort of cabinet, however I will make my own next time. If you can, I'd recommend you build your own. But if you don't, the Bench Dog is nice. I've probably had this table for 3 years, and it has served me well, and has bridged the gap between needing one and not having the ability to build one, and being able to build one (now I just don't have the time).

I added a switch box to the outside, along with some hooks to hang push sticks. Made a mobile cart with shelves and a drawer for bit storage (see my projects, have since added the drawer).


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## CaptainMarvel (Dec 12, 2012)

Why not make your own - customized to exactly what you want?


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## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

i have the prs2000 fro Kreg. I like it. Very basic and gets the job done. Light and stores away easy.

-Brian


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## felkadelic (Jun 12, 2011)

I had an RA1171 for a couple years until I sold it and upgraded to a Rockler top.

Pros: 
Pretty good dust collection
Flat top and the insert was easy to level
Came with a pair of featherboards
Includes two switched power outlets (i.e. one for the router and one for a shop vac)

Cons: 
Simply too small for my needs
The mounting system on the fence for the bit guard and the featherboards is crappy. It requires the use of plastic spacer discs that I had a hard time with.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

I built mine several years ago for almost nothing. It sees daily use and I couldn't be happier with it. I did a blog about it so you can check it out if you're interested in building your own.http://lumberjocks.com/gfadvm/blog


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

I have to this day, never bothered with one albeit there are times when I am tempted

I have always found that a stick, a scrap of plywood with a hole through it, a couple of clamps

worked like a charm and for the most part

it was free


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Building your own would be a fun project. Here's mine, one of the many clones, but I love it with the drawers and storage underneath. I also like the router positioned towards the front edge. Very practical for many reasons and ergo metrically correct too. I think it cost me about $35 for materials and leftover paint.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

Nice table, Mike. What are the practical reasons for having the router closer to the front? It seems like it would provide less surface to use sleds or jigs, but then again I don't have any experience outside my own table. Does yours have a miter slot somewhere?


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

I have the Griz 10432. I did a review on it:
http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/2535

It's a good first router table. The plate is not too great, but it works.


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## felkadelic (Jun 12, 2011)

@BinghamtonEd: It would seem that a router mounted closer to the front of the table would allow you to, for example, dado further in from the edge of a board. Which may or may not be worthwhile, depending on whether you tend to use a router or a table saw to cut dadoes.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Ed, the router closer to the front has a couple of advantages over centering it.
First, easier access to the router.
Most operations work fine with 8-12" of table in front of the router. I think mine is somewhere around 10" back on a 24" wide table.
Second, if need be, you can flip the table around and have a much wider space for routing things like the edges of cabinet doors.

There's more details in bill hylton's woodworking with the router book, an amazing router reference.


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## woodman44 (Jan 13, 2011)

WOW ! What great input from everyone. It seems that the majority of responses recommend building my own table. Since I recently built an all-pupose fence which needs some tweeking to make it perform better, I am going to take a leap of faith and build a table using the plans from from Roland Johnson from a 2006 article from Finewoodworking.com as a foundation.

Does anyone have a recommended plate for my Bosch 1617 evspk router?

Much appreciated,
Ken


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

the "majority"

r most often wrong

u can take yer 200 dollars and do what some think is "perfect"

i know

that in a pinch

as the burble that exits most mouths

never fed their family

from their own backyard

jus sayn


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

That's a nice table by roland. Pretty big for my preference though.

As for a plate, forgo one in favor of shop made inserts if you can, done like doug stowe. I'd try that first, and if you find it not to your liking, you can easily convert the same area to a plate system. I'm giving it a try on my soon to be new router table.

My favorite plate is the incra magnalock plate. Nothing else comes close, mainly for the inserts. No tool necessary to change them and the rings are adjustable for level, something no other plate can claim.


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

poke a hole through a piece of plywood

fasten the router to the plywood

2 bucks


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

most chinamen will teach you

in a heartbeat

how stupid we are


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## roman (Sep 28, 2007)

DeWalt

thats a fact jack

no money in any equation beyond that










?


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