# What specialty screws or what else should I use to make this router table adjustable (height wise)



## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

Hi guys

I am trying to install a router table on a Ridgig TS 3650 table saw as below
I sorted out the problem of attaching the brackets to the fence rails 
I am now trying to find a solution to make it possible to adjust the router table with screws like below










and here is my solution










Can you think of a better one or of the flaws of this one ?


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## Rayne (Mar 9, 2014)

Add one more nut to tighten against the table and I think you're good to go. Just accounting for the slop in the screw threads that could make the table move up and down ever so slightly.


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

The only flaw in this design is that if you tighten the nuts against that bracket there is no way to adjust the height easily, I was hoping there are nicer solutions to this problem


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

I need to do something similar so I will be watching this thread. What are you making the top out of?


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

It will be me!amine for now. I know it chips and it gets scratches easily but It will be easy to replace and cheap. Later on when I will be more skilled I will use a more durable board like I have seen done by more advanced wood workers


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## Axis39 (Jul 3, 2019)

What if you made your bracket threaded (fasten a nut to the bracket?) and forgo the t-nut? Also, move your 'lock nut' to the bottom side as well.

Then, you can turn the big handle below the bracket to adjust height, and tighten the locknut from below as well.

I found that the Bosch table top router table's table fit between the fence rails of my Shop Fox saw…. It's made out fo aluminum and has worked out quite well. I owned the router table before I bought this saw, and it was just a happy accident that they were the same size (at least, I think it was).


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## 4wood (Jul 12, 2018)

The top nut must be fastened to the bracket in order to make the adjustment. If the bracket is thick enough you could tap some threads in it and eliminate the top nut and use the bottom nut to secure the adjustment. Welding or adhering the nut to the top of the bracket would also work. Another method would be to cut a piece of plywood the size of the bracket bottom fasten it with screws to the bracket and install a T-Nut in it. Keep the bottom nut on the adjuster and tighten it after the adjustment is made.


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

> What if you made your bracket threaded (fasten a nut to the bracket?) and forgo the t-nut? Also, move your lock nut to the bottom side as well.
> 
> Then, you can turn the big handle below the bracket to adjust height, and tighten the locknut from below as well.
> 
> ...


Re your router table: I have a mastercraft one, I will reuse the fence and the plate 
if too heavy (all metal) it might bend the rails when I am trying to avoid.
Aluminium is lighter though


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## controlfreak (Jun 29, 2019)

MiniMe,

Me!amine is likely my go to as well. Do your fence rails slide or are they fixed? On my Kobalt TS they slide so I was trying to find a way to drop the router table into the gap only during use and remove when not. Due to space limitations I need to fold up my table saw when not using and often only use it outside.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

I am not clear about the design. Is the T-nut going to be imbedded in the top? It seems to me like you have multiple things going on here or I just don't understand. Are you planning to turn the bolt, just the nuts or both? If the nut on the bracket is attached or the bracket is threaded as mentioned above, it seems to me that the bolt will just spin in the T-nut until it bottoms out without adjusting the height? If you use thread-loc or epoxy the bolt to the T-nut, you could turn the nut but with the nut being on the top of the bracket, it will be hard to get to and a PITA to adjust.

In order to make this design work, I think that the nuts on the top and bottom of the brackets need to be locked in place on the bolt with thread-loc and/or jam-nuts so that the bolt can spin without moving up and down relative to the bracket. They need to be tight enough against the bracket to prevent movement up and down but loose enough so it can turn. Then when you turn the bolt from the bottom, it will turn in the T-nut and move the table up and down. Maybe that is what you were thinking?


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

> What if you made your bracket threaded (fasten a nut to the bracket?) and forgo the t-nut? Also, move your lock nut to the bottom side as well.
> 
> Then, you can turn the big handle below the bracket to adjust height, and tighten the locknut from below as well.
> 
> - Axis39


Not enough meat in the bracket to thread it
Not sure how I can fasten that 
I need the end of the screw to be attached to the router table body otherwise the board will move



> The top nut must be fastened to the bracket in order to make the adjustment. If the bracket is thick enough you could tap some threads in it and eliminate the top nut and use the bottom nut to secure the adjustment. Welding or adhering the nut to the top of the bracket would also work.


See the above answer


> Another method would be to cut a piece of plywood the size of the bracket bottom fasten it with screws to the bracket and install a T-Nut in it. Keep the bottom nut on the adjuster and tighten it after the adjustment is made.
> 
> - 4wood


this is what I am considering, run two traversal pieces of (ply)wood or metal and screw then to the brackets.
That will reinforce everything and keep them level with the opposite braket
Then do what you said like below


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

As long as the nut is pinned or glued to the bolt and not the top, that will work to adjust the height. Are you going to make sure that the top is trapped between the top of the bolt and the nut so that you are not just relying on gravity to hold it down?

EDIT: I don't know why I noticed this and not that it matters but you used a left handed threaded bolt for your diagram.


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

that was just a random screw from the 3D warehouse
The bracket is screwed to the brown strip of wood
The T-nut insert is installed in the same strip
the top board is the router table which will be indeed squeezed between the square nut and the head of the bolt
When I need to adjust it I release the square nut and I screw the bolt in or out as needed to bring the square nut and the router table in that corner where I need it to be


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

Ideally I should find a screw like this , but longer and with finer thread, the finer the better but here the T-Nut insert will limit my options


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## xeddog (Mar 2, 2010)

I am still not understanding why you need vertical adjustment in the first place. Why not just shim it and lock it down?

Wayne


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

> I am still not understanding why you need vertical adjustment in the first place. Why not just shim it and lock it down?
> 
> Wayne
> 
> - xeddog


I am not very confident in the way it will sit level with the cast iron table of the saw on long term
I suspect that the screws I use to attach this to the rails will have some play and they might allow the brackets to move downard after all is let say shimmed as you indicated. Then I will have to shim it again
Besides that the table will be a consumable -cheap melamine easier to replace this way. I might just do what you said as well, I will see how it all comes together


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

This seems like an insane amount of work. When I added my router to my 3650, I bolted the top to the cast iron top and used square nuts in the fence rails to bolt it there too. It was rock solid.


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

> This seems like an insane amount of work. When I added my router to my 3650, I bolted the top to the cast iron top and used square nuts in the fence rails to bolt it there too. It was rock solid.
> 
> - jonah


What square nuts did you use and how did you bolt the table to the rails??


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

I drilled holes in the cast iron wing and through-bolted it with hex bolts. I had to drill/chisel holes in the top (it was a sandwich of two pieces of 3/4" plywood) to put the nuts into.

You can get square nuts at better hardware stores, or failing that, find the right size (the extension wings bolt to the rails with them) and order them from McMaster-Carr. I can't remember what size it is off the top of my head, but it wasn't hard to find the square nuts and they slip right into the T-slots in the fence rails.


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

I already have the hex bolts that match the rails slots.
The problem with ordering on line is that you can't test exactly how they fit
In my case I happened to have cage nuts


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## ocean (Feb 13, 2016)

Try a visit on-line to McMaster-Carr. They have a very large collection of hardware and you may find just what you need there.


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

I just remembered that I blogged about my router table extension.

https://www.lumberjocks.com/jonah/blog/66506

If I had to do it again, I'd do it exactly the same way, except do a better job routing out the router lift. With my current saw, I did a much more exact job of that and it's a better fit.


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

> https://www.lumberjocks.com/jonah/blog/66506
> 
> If I had to do it again, I d do it exactly the same way,
> - jonah


I would put the images with up side up next time


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

They were right side up originally. At some point between then and now LJ went through some sort of weird problem and they ended up upside down. I dunno why.


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

> This seems like an insane amount of work. When I added my router to my 3650, I bolted the top to the cast iron top and used square nuts in the fence rails to bolt it there too. It was rock solid.
> 
> - jonah
> 
> ...


+1 agree that you're over thinking it. I'm running the 3650 fence and rails on a TS3612. I used hex head bolts that would slide into the tracks on the rails and put the nuts under the table through a hard wood wrap on my piece of melamine. I made the entire top slightly larger than the width between the rails and then snuck up on a perfect fit. For the CI wings I just put some more holes into the edge and bolted the same way. I drilled the holes for the bolts slightly larger and used the same method for installing the wings to level & true the router table
Wing in saw









Underside of router wing (I got the melamine off the discount rack at HD, don't know why it was painted)









Bolts under table from rails, Top 1.5 inch had to relieve some space for the wrench









Through bolts on the CI webbed wing









I use Rouseeau router plates, at some point in time they included threaded inserts and these nylon screws to adjust the plate to the top


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

If it would bee to simple I would not do it.
I am in IT and I have to stay away from the freaking computer ) so yes ….it has to be complicated with as many adjustments and knobs as possible


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

MM LOL like no $hit, your design images are very impressive & I wish I was that good at taking the vision in my head and digitizing it.

The biggest thing to remember is that wood is going to move unlike metal where you measure to the thousandths. With the through holes in your table base being slightly over-sized you can snug down a bolt, lay a square over the top to check flush then use a fine adjusting tool, (hammer) to tap the top into the perfect position, and then torque down the bolts. I think I installed mine over 15 years ago and have never had to make any further adjustments. The adjusters on the plate are pretty much the only thing and it varies very slightly between the plates, whether bought or shop-made.


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

> MM LOL like no $hit, your design images are very impressive & I wish I was that good at taking the vision in my head and digitizing it.
> 
> The biggest thing to remember is that wood is going to move unlike metal where you measure to the thousandths. With the through holes in your table base being slightly over-sized you can snug down a bolt, lay a square over the top to check flush then use a fine adjusting tool, (hammer) to tap the top into the perfect position, and then torque down the bolts. I think I installed mine over 15 years ago and have never had to make any further adjustments. The adjusters on the plate are pretty much the only thing and it varies very slightly between the plates, whether bought or shop-made.
> 
> - ChefHDAN


It is both about adjustments and about using cheap material for the table that I will replace later
Rignt now I am using a Mastercraft Maximum plunge fixed router and the table that came with it.
From that table I am taking the plate and the screws to adjust it level, the power switch and the fence 
When and if I ever need more (new plate new router etc) and if I need to replace the table top it will be easy with my design
Besides that I hate things that lack felexibility and are bolted in position for ever


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

> It is both about adjustments and about using cheap material for the table that I will replace later
> Right now I am using a Mastercraft Maximum plunge fixed router and the table that came with it.
> From that table I am taking the plate and the screws to adjust it level, the power switch and the fence
> When and if I ever need more (new plate new router etc) and if I need to replace the table top it will be easy with my design
> ...


I get it, the ONLY part of me that is Yankee is the part that like to make things do 2x more than they were supposed to or are cheap. I cannot think of ANY adjustment that I needed to make to the table for flexibility, and that's the only reason I question the extra work to make the surface adjustable. For me, I want that sucker battleship tight and not have any worries about it moving. I agree with the reuse of the items but will tell you that I LOVE the fact that my router fence is clamped to my Table Saw fence. It makes it SO simple to move the fence fore & aft since it's already square to the table. It really does not matter if the fence is square for 99% of the functions, but it is SUPER simple to clamp my router fence to the TS fence and move it as needed.


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

I might end up simplifying when I implement
You might be right , the top might move it is sits on those 4 square brackets

I like your idea for an outfeed table …do you have a closer picture?


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## jonah (May 15, 2009)

Why would you want your router table top to move? That's the part that makes no sense to me. Just make it sturdy, attach it on three sides, and be done with it.


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## ChefHDAN (Aug 7, 2010)

> I like your idea for an outfeed table …do you have a closer picture?
> - MiniMe


MM, the outfeed is in my projects linked here It's not any real oooh aaah work, just a table top with enough under support to raise it about 3/16 below the top of the saw. I may have a problem with Workmates, I'm currently at 6 and will be picking up two more tomorrow while on business travel. I am pretty much only spending $$$ on the 1st generation "cast aluminum "H frame ones from the 1970's, they are the strongest, heaviest, and are almost 100% metal. The newer versions with numbers like 200, 300, 400 just do not measure up for how I use them.

If you go down the Workmate rabbit hole, A) Sorry, and B) there is lots of great ideas for them in the Workmates of our Dreams thread


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## MiniMe (Apr 5, 2018)

I do share your interest for Workmate tables and I love their versatility
I did buy one a while ago and I ended up setting it as my in house work bench with a Dremel drill press attached to it  and all my finer work tools around it.
I have the Workmate 425 (the top seems to be made of bamboo) ..
Off I go to read the 366 replies in that thread


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