124VIDEO Router Table Tour

In this video, I want to talk to you about router tables

It's kind of an accessory for routers, so a table is not really a power tool exactly

but a router table can really expand the usefulness of routers a lot

I'm not going to go into exactly how you're going to do that because the topic is above the beginner's level

But as a beginner, I think you should know what router tables are, have a sense of what they do

and see the two main kinds, the floor model and the bench top model

I really just want to show you what they do and how they work and offer some suggestions

that I think will help you as you're deciding to increase your tool capacity

and maybe add a router table to the deal as well. So this isn't primarily a topic about routers, this is a topic about router tables

And a router table is a stationary object of some kind, and a router is mounted upside down under the table

So I've got a router in this particular table right here, and let's just see here

I've got a router bit here too that I just put in there so that you get a sense of where it goes

Here's the router that fits in the table. You'll notice that this base plate is not the usual base plate that you'd use with a handheld router

As you can imagine, the base plate, when you're going to be using a router in a table

needs to stick out farther than the router so that the router can hang from this thing here

Base plate or a router table insert is what this is called

In practice, I actually find that I have some pretty good luck doing handheld routing with this big base plate on

As I said, normally the base plate is just the same diameter as this metal part you see here

But the big size can be very helpful when you're routing by hand sometimes when you need a little bit more stability

And so this isn't fastened in here, it just kind of sits in there

It works fine. It doesn't need to be fastened, but it does need to be flush

so that when the bit's in place and you're sliding wood across this bit as it spins

that wood's not going to catch on any sort of notches and ledges there

This is what you call a fence. And in woodworking, a fence is something that's usually locked in place

in this case on the router table, but you also have fences on table saws

It locks in place and it provides a surface to slide the wood across

Some router bits that you'd use in a table have a bearing on top

And if you remember from earlier in the course, the purpose of the bearing is to ride along the edge of a piece of wood and guide it

Now sometimes though, our piece of wood isn't high enough to touch the bearing

So in that case, I would use a fence, something like this

This table is a manufactured product, or at least it started as a manufactured product

I've adjusted it a bit and modified it for several very good reasons here in my shop

and I'll tell you about those in a second. This is a fence. It's an aftermarket fence

And it's quite a good one. I really like it. It's got these things here. These are called feather boards

A feather board has these springy fingers on it, and the purpose of the fingers is to hold the wood down tight to the table

while it's sliding past the bit. So the whole thing is completely adjustable

In this particular fence, there's a switch here too. So your router plugs into the switch circuit

and then the switch circuit plugs into your power outlet. So you can control your router. You can turn it on and off without having to reach down

You've got tabletop control, essentially. Router table fences aren't always things that you buy, or at least partially buy

You can make one yourself too, and that's what I've got here

You can't buy a fence like this. This is specially designed for milling crown molding

So if you want to make your own crown molding, you'd use a bit something like this that I have in here

And because crown molding is wide, you need a tall fence. And in this case, the fence needs to be exceptionally tall to leave room for these feather boards

because the wood will be coming in on its edge here. We're routing the face of the board when we're making crown molding

So the feather board will pull that wood down tight to the top as it slides along

And then this feather board actually holds the wood against the fence

And then, just to be sure, I've got another feather board here that makes sure this end of the board stays down

So the fence here is actually built around a manufactured starting point

Freud is a name in woodworking that you're going to hear a fair amount of

Their claim to fame is router bits and saw blades, and they do a very good job at those things

And they also sell this metal part here, which is the basis of the fence that I built

And normally this fence would bolt down to the tabletop, but I've got it clamped down with these brackets here

So just something for you to think about. And to help you realize that part of your success as a woodworker when you start to get more advanced

is the ability to make some of your own tools or setups like this

because the creativity that you're applying to your projects can also apply to your workshop and your tooling

and how you make things happen. That approach has really helped me a lot over the years, and it can help you too

A benchtop model makes a lot of sense if you have a small workspace

You can do just as good work, maybe not quite as easily because the surface of the table here isn't as large as the other one

And so if you're working with large pieces of wood, a benchtop model might not be quite as handy

But if you have limited space, I would definitely consider one of these

The router sits underneath. A router may be like this. One thing I like to do, over the years I've accumulated more than one router

and sometimes I just leave the different base plates attached to the router

So instead of having to unscrew the router from the base plate, I can just lift one out, put another one in, save some time that way

I said before that I modified this floor model, and I did that in a few ways

First of all, it didn't have any wheels when I bought it

It was really just this red thing, the red frame and the router table top

That's how it came. I added these shelves, and I put the whole thing on this rolling base

And the height of the base is such that the height of the router table is exactly the same as the height of my table saw

Which means that when I'm not using this router table for routing, it acts as a really good outfeed table

So an outfeed table is something that's going to support a long piece of wood as it slides over a table saw

So I precisely, or on purpose, adjusted the height of this. I ended up having to cut some metal off the legs and things, but it's definitely a good modification

Now, underneath I added a shelf, as you can see. And I've got some routers stored there and some other accessories in these containers

I don't know if you've noticed by now, but I'm a pretty big fan of organization

And that's because there are so many bits and pieces and moving parts and things when it comes to woodworking

You wouldn't experience that yet as a beginner. But as you expand your tool collection, that's going to be something that you run into a lot

So the need to organize your bits and pieces is crucial. Now, there is a router table design that's neither of these things here

It's a very simple design that I used for many years. I used a Workmate, which is a folding work platform

Black & Decker makes it. They still make them. And then I made a router table top that just fits on top

It's gripped by the top of the Workmate. And the nice thing is, besides being inexpensive, it folds up and puts away really quite compactly

which is another option for you to use if you have a small space

Later in this lesson, you'll be able to download plans and construction instructions

for making your own one of those portable Workmate router table things

So, one of the challenges I have is that I don't really know, I can't know

what you are particularly interested in. So once we're into router tables, we're starting to get fairly advanced

So don't hesitate to contact me if you've got questions. I can only answer so many questions from my imagination here

So contact me if you say, what do you think of that router table, Steve? Or, you know, do I really need a router table? Can I get away without it

Questions like that. Those are the kinds of things that I can answer directly

So let me know how I can help