I have always wanted a router table. Many years ago I bought a simple one at Sears that mounted to the top of a workbench. It did the trick, but it wasn't sturdy and accurate enough. The basic router I used at the time didn't help either. I bought a Skil Classic 2.0 HP hand-held plunge router with which I am very happy. A plunge router is just fine for larger work, but when smaller pieces of wood need to be routed, a table-mounted router is better, and safer.

After looking at many catalogs and doing some research on the Internet, I decided that none of the router tables out there would work for me. The principal reason being that I am 6 feet 4 inches tall. These tables are designed for average height people, which would wreak havoc on my lower back. So, it was time to decide to build my own. I also decided that I wanted to have a permanently-mounted router in the table, and leave the plunge router available for hand work.

The router table needs to make it easy to change bits and to adjust the height of the bit. Also, the table needs to hook up to my dust collection system.

Just as I happen to be looking for designs I came across two magazines in the book store that discussed the type of router table I wanted. They both came out in April 2004. The basic table design I got from the Woodwork magazine ("Building a Precision Router Table", pg. 58), and the router suspension mechanism design came from the American Woodworker magazine ("Shop-made Router Lift", pg. 38).

I will build the basic table and the fence following the Woodwork magazine article. The table is a simple frame box measuring 38" tall, 24" wide, and 18" deep (96.5 x 61 x 45.7 cm). This sits on a 4-1/4" (10.8 cm) toe-kick frame. These components will be made out of Oak framing and MDF exteriors.

The router lift mechanism will be built exactly matching the article in the American Woodworker magazine. It will be designed to fit the Porter-Cable 7518 3.0 HP. This is a fixed-based, heavy-duty router. Most work I do is fairly light-duty, but I may want to make some raised-panel doors in the future. One never knows...

Shopping
It seems to me that the hardest part was to acquire all the parts. The MDF 4' x 8' sheet was just about impossible to move by myself. The magazine articles call for using 3/4" MDF, but I bought 5/8" instead. At the time I bought it I had no help, so it almost took my back out! Even though the article on the router lift mechanism lists the companies from which they bought the parts (specifically the mechanical parts), and even though the companies all were here in Houston, I had a hard time getting them all. I encountered some blank stares and confused looks at these places. Oh well, I managed to eventually get all the parts. It cost me a bit more than the article states.

Table Top
I decided to start construction with the table top. This is basically two sheets of MDF glued together, and then covered with a sheet of countertop vinyl. The first photo shows the two sheets of MDF being glued together. The top measures a generous 35-1/2" wide by 23-1/2" deep (90 x 60 cm). Later I will add a nice trim around the edges which will make it a bit larger in both dimensions.

The next step was to glue the vinyl countertop to the MDF table top. I bought it as Home Depot. It was hard to find, but the guy who helped me with it (turned out to be the manager of the store), found it and then the two of us man-handled the 4' x 8' sheet (the smallest they sold) so that we could get a piece of rope around it to roll it up (shown here). He said that the material is quite fragile and that if we didn't roll it up, I would have lots of damage to it by the time I got it home. It was windy that day also. It made it home safely. All I had to do was cut it a couple of inches larger than the amount I needed for the table top, and glue it with Contact Cement. I coated both the vinyl and MDF top with two coats before they were actually glued together. The total thickness of the table top is just a bit over 1-1/4" (3.1 cm). After I let it dry overnight, I used the plunge router with a flush-trimming bit to trim the excess vinyl away from the table top.

Toe-kick Cabinet
Next, I built the toe-kick cabinet which will sit under the main table. It measures 24" wide, 17" deep, and 4-1/4" tall (61 x 43 x 10.7 cm). The next three photos show the frame box construction of the toe-kick cabinet. The main table will be built in the same manner. The toe-kick cabinet has teenuts installed for the leg leveler bolts that will be installed later.







Main Cabinet
With the toe-kick cabinet finished, it is time to focus on the main table. This is basically a frame box built in the same manner as the toe-kick cabinet. The box' interior is open to hold the router and its lift mechanism. An opening will be made to incorporate the dust collection hose connection. I started with the bottom. I deviated a bit from the magazine article here. I wanted to have a heavy bottom, and a good way to connect the main table to the toe-kick cabinet. Also, the dust collection hole needs to be some distance from the floor, but I didn't want to have a layer of permanent dust residing at the bottom of the cabinet. So the bottom has a false floor. This is shown being glued here.

After this I constructed and installed each of the four sides of the main table. The first side is shown on the left, and the finished main table is on the right. The toe-kick and the main cabinets were screwed together with six 4-inch hex-screws.

The photo on the right shows the dust collection port near the bottom of the main table. The exterior of the pipe is 4-inch diameter, and the interior is a 2-inch diameter for the hose that will run from the router to this port.

I filled all the screw holes with wood putty (several times until smooth), and then I sanded the whole surface. I also used a rounding-over bit along the vertical front edges for a nicer look. Finally the exterior of the cabinet was painted with several coats of a blood-red. I will put one more layer on the cabinet to completely get rid of brush strokes. (to be continued...)