4 R O U T E R TA B L E S

One-weekend
Router Table
by David Thiel

I think it might have been seeing

a $1,000 router table setup at a
recent woodworking show (it’s very
cool, but $1,000?). Or maybe it
was realizing that our shop’s router
table’s cabinet mostly takes up space
and fi lls with dust. Either of these
observations was enough to get us
rethinking our router table needs.
Essentially you need a stable, flat
working surface that can support
most work. You need a fence that
guides, supports and moves easily for
adjustments (both the fence location
on the table and the faces themselves
toward the bit). You also need easy
access to the router for bit changing
and height adjustment. Other than
that, it just needs to be up off the
floor, hence the cabinet.
So we decided that a lightweight,
easily stored router tabletop that
would still offer all these benefits
would be preferable. Oh, and we
wanted to be able to make it in a
weekend for a reasonable price. No
problem! The hardware came to $110
and change, and you can purchase
the plywood locally.

An Ingenious Design
PHOTO BY AL PARRISH

For a stable, lightweight top the solu-

tion that made sense was a torsion
box made of high-density plywood.
The size that seemed most functional

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was a 20"-deep x 24"-wide platform Allowing the proper

that only needed to be about 4" tall. clearance for your
router is critical. You
The box itself has an open center can see that I’ve
section on the bottom to accommo- removed the handles
date the router body. There are two from the tool to allow
as much space as
lengths of T-track installed front to possible. Mark out
back on the tabletop to easily reposi- the space and then
tion the fence. assemble the frame
to fit.
The fence itself is a variation of
one we’ve built half-a-dozen times.
The fence base is almost a torsion
box – more of a torsion corner – that You don’t have to use this router, but you to still use the router freehand
provides stable support for the later- in our opinion it has the horsepower or in the table without changing
ally adjustable fence faces and allows you want to swing large panel-raising the base. The base also fits into the
for dust hook-up. bits on your router table, and the table without the use of any tools,
For the router itself, we went through-the-base adjustment means and slips in and out from above in
shopping. After looking at a number you don’t need to buy a router lift. seconds.
of router lifts and router table plates The variable speed is also a big plus. Now the fun part: To bring the
we chose the Milwaukee 5625-29, We chose a circular router plate router table up to height, but still
a 3½ horsepower router that offers from Veritas because it replaces the make it compact, we designed a
through-the-base height adjustment. sole plate on your router and allows brace that is mounted to the table
and then the entire thing is simply
clamped in your bench vise. Instant
One-weekend Router Table router table!
No. Let. Item Dimensions (inches) Material
T W L Torsion Top Construction
1 T1 Top ¾ 20 24 Plywood The top itself is very simple to make.
1 B1 Bottom ¾ 17 21 Plywood A frame made of ¾" x 3" plywood
2 B2 Frame F&B ¾ 3 21 Plywood pieces is sandwiched between two
4 B3 Frame dividers ¾ 3 15½ Plywood pieces of ¾" plywood. The bottom
1 B4 Frame divider ¾ 3 10½ Plywood piece is notched to accommodate
2 B5 Support stems ¾ 3 7 Plywood your router (you’ll need to test fit
2 B6 Support braces ¾ 3 21 Plywood your router to locate the center frame
2 F1 Fence faces ¾ 4 14 Plywood pieces and the notch). The top piece
1 F2 Fence sub-face ½ 3½ 28 Plywood extends 1½" beyond the frame on all
1 F3 Fence base ½ 3 28 Plywood sides to allow for clamping feath-
4 F4 Fence braces ¾ 3 3 Plywood erboards or other guides to the top
1 F5 Hood top ½ 5 3½ Plywood surface.
2 F6 Hood sides ½ 2½ 3 Plywood Start by cutting out the top,
1 F7 Hood back ½ 5 3 Plywood bottom and seven frame pieces. If
2 H1 Fence T-tracks ⁄ ¾ 14 Aluminum you opt to use the Veritas plate, the
4 H2 Hex-head bolts ¼"-20 1½" instructions are very clear on how to
4 H3 Star knobs cut the hole in the tabletop to fit the
2 H4 Cam clamps plate. Otherwise, follow the instruc-
2 H5 Table T-tracks ⁄ ¾ 20 Aluminum tions for your individual router plate.

146 ONE-WEEKEND ROUTER TABLE

 We chose to locate the router plate dimension, then lay out your frame you assembled the frame.
closer to the front of the table rather accordingly. Before fastening the top to the
than in the center of the table. Most I used glue and an 18-gauge brad table, you need to install the alu-
router table work happens within 6" nailer to assemble all the pieces for minum T-track inserts for fence
of the fence and this location keeps this project. While perhaps not the adjustment. I used a dado set on my
you from having to lean across the height of joinery, it’s fast and reliable. table saw to run the grooves before
table for operations. If you have a With the frame assembled, place attaching the top.
larger piece to run, the fence can be the frame on the bottom, and mark Next, attach the top, centering
reversed on the table to give you a and notch the center section to allow it on the frame assembly. Pay extra
larger support surface. clearance space for the router body. attention when attaching the top to
With the router plate located in You could leave the center section keep the fasteners below the surface
the top, suspend the router from the open, but the extra strength along of the tabletop. This will keep you
top and locate the two center frame the back of the tabletop is worth the from scratching your work, or worse,
members the necessary distance to effort. allowing your wood to hang up on a
clear the router. Make a note of that Attach the bottom the same way brad head during an operation.

Down and Dirty Fence

The fence is also absurdly simple
to make. Accuracy is important to
make sure it sits square to the table-
top, but other than that, it’s brads
and glue.
Start construction on the fence by
cutting out the base, sub-face, faces
and braces. All but the braces are
very straightforward. The braces are
More marking: With the frame assembled
and resting on the bottom piece, mark out actually triangles. The best method is
the notch that will allow the router to extend With the bottom notched, simply glue and to rip a piece of plywood to 3" wide,
through the top. nail it in place on the frame.

Supplies
Lee Valley Tools
800-871-8158 or leevalley.com
4 Four-arm knobs, #00M55.30, $3.20 each
1 Veritas Router Base Plate, #05J25.01, $46.50
2 2' T-slot extrusions, #12K79.42, $9.90 each
1 3' T-slot extrusion, #12K79.44, $13.80 each
2 Cam clamp mechanisms, #05J51.01, $5.50 each
Available from any hardware store:
4 1½" ¼"-20 hex-head bolts
2 1¼" ¼"-20 hex-head bolts

After cutting the grooves for the T-track, tap it in place using a back-
ing block. If you have to tap too hard with the hammer, your groove is
too small. Attach the track with ½" x #4 flathead screws. Pre-drill and
countersink each hole.

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H1
H2

F4
F1

H1 H3

H2
F2
H4
9½"
¾" F1 F3
F5

⁄" Cutting out the bit clearance hole on the

band saw is made simple by first cutting
“spokes” toward your line. These relief cuts
F6
F7 allow the pieces to fall out in small chunks,
Fence - exploded view rather than fighting with one bigger piece.
1¼" dia.
H5
dust collection
opening
then head to the miter saw. First
7½"
miter both ends of the strip at a 45°
angle, then reset the miter saw for a
90° cut and cut the 3" triangles from
the strip. Repeat this process and
T1
you’ve got four braces.
H5 3½" The sub-face and base need to
have a 3"-wide half-circle cut at the
center of each piece along one edge
as shown above. This space will be
the opening for the router bits.
Space according to
The sub-face is then glued and
clearance needs for B3 nailed to the base. Then glue the
your individual router
B5
braces into the corner formed by
the sub-face and base. Make sure to
B2 locate the braces as shown to avoid
interference with any of the fence
B3
B1 handles. I again used brad nails to
B4 hold the braces in place.
For the router table to be as useful
B2
as possible it needs dust collection.
This is achieved by building a simple
B1 B6
hood to surround the bit opening in
the fence. Drill a hole in the hood
B5 back piece. Adjust the hole size to
fit your dust collection hose, usually
1¼" in diameter.
Router table - top removed Then attach the hood sides to the

148 ONE-WEEKEND ROUTER TABLE

hood back, holding the sides flush to removing material from the under- a router table, but if you’re build-
the top edge of the back. Then add side of the fence base to make it ing your first, you can use a drill
the top to the box. square. press with two different bits. Use a
The next step is to locate and drill Next, drill the holes for the fence ½"-diameter Forstner bit to first cut
the holes for the cam clamps that knobs, again avoiding the braces a ¼"-deep slot. Then change to a
hold the fence to the table and for so the knobs can be easily turned. ⁄"-diameter bit to drill through to
the knobs that hold the faces. Place The holes should be 2" up from the the back of the fence face. This will
the fence assembly over the table and tabletop. create a slot that will let a ½"-hex-
orient the cam clamp holes so they The fence faces are next. To allow head bolt drop into the slot, recessing
fall in the center of the T-tracks in the best fence clearance near the bit, the head, but capturing the sides of
the top. There can be a little bit of I beveled the inside lip of each of the the bolt head to keep it from spin-
play, but not too much. faces at 45°. Next you need to rout ning.
Secure the fence to the table with two, 2½"-wide stepped slots in the I also added a T-slot fi xture to the
the cam clamps so it seats tightly. front of each fence face. These will front of each face. This allows you
Use an engineer’s square to check allow the faces to be moved left-to- to attach featherboards, a guard to
the fence against the top. If it’s not right to accommodate different bit protect your fingers and other guides.
square you need to adjust the base sizes. Again, you can use a router or your
slightly, either by shimming or The easiest way to do this is on dado set in the table saw to make the
slot (about 1" down from the top of
the fence).
Attach the fence faces using the
bolts, washers and knobs.

The Mounting Support

With the sub-face and
base assembled, add
the four triangular
braces with glue and
brads. Space them
adequately to support
the fence, but make
sure you leave room
for the knobs.

The dust collection

hood completes the
router table fence. After installing the cam clamps, lock the
It should seal tightly fence in place on the top and check for
around the fence to square. If adjustment is necessary, you can do
provide the best dust it by sanding the base or adding thin shims.
collection, so don’t You don’t want to add shims behind the
skimp on the glue fence faces because they’re moving parts.
here. Adjust the base.

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Seen from the front, the fence faces have been grooved for the
T-tracks, and the clearance holes to attach and adjust the faces are
drilled. Note that the face slot shows the rough edges from the
overlapping holes made on the drill press. A few minutes with a file
and some sandpaper will clean up the slots so the bolt will move After drilling clearance holes, you can locate the holes in the fence
smoothly. faces and add the knobs.

Here you can see the

fences in place and
the fence attached
and ready to run. The
T-tracks in the fence
faces can be used for
featherboards and
you can use them to
attach a simple guard
to keep your hands The support brace (customized for my bench
a safe distance from vise) holds the router top firmly in place with
the bit. plenty of clearance (and no wasted space).

To make the whole thing work, you You’ll see in the photo that we we did), or simply add a coat of oil or
need to be able to secure the table used two support braces to catch the shellac.
in your bench vise, but still have vise at both the top and bottom of Some other simple additions for
access to the router motor. We used the jaws for more support. Your vise your table can include some shop-
a U-shaped support screwed to the may require a different arrangement, made featherboards (that will fit
sides of the table. The actual size so give it a test run to make sure it’s nicely in the T-tracks on the fence
of the support will depend on your held tight. face) and if you’re really industrious,
bench vise, but you want the tabletop you could actually add a couple of
to rest on the vise as much as pos- Finishing Touches storage drawers to either side of the
sible. In fact, if you can also get the With the support mounted you can opening in the top. Customize the
top to rest on the vise at the rear of put your table to work. But you may project to meet your needs.
the table, that’s even better support. want to add a step – finishing. While
Our larger router forced us to move a bare plywood surface will perform
the support all the way to the rear of reasonably well, a slicker surface will
the table. This is something else that make things move easier. You can
can be individualized on your table. add a topcoat of spray-on lacquer (as

150 ONE-WEEKEND ROUTER TABLE