I guess I need a router table.

[Charles Clayton]

I've been putting off getting a router table because space is limited for me.  I did make a small rolling worktable that holds my midi-lathe and grinder and I cut a space below the lathe to keep chips from piling up near the motor intake.  One thought would be to put a router plate in that space.  I could pull the plate when doing lathe work and pull the lathe and grinder off when doing router work.  I'd still need a fence but maybe something simple clamped to the top of the table would work.

 

The other thing I'm curious about is using a dovetail plane like the one linked below; it would take up a lot less space and I like working with hand planes   Does anyone have experience or input on these?

 

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=55597&cat=1,41182

 

I'd still have to figure out how to get the slots in the post to work with the planed legs.

 

Thanks,

Chuckc

 

 

[PaulMarcel]

Maybe you could take out one extension wing of your tablesaw and put the router table there.  With the router down or removed, you can still use the router table as an extension wing.  It is also pretty easy to make a good fence that uses your existing tablesaw fence all depending on how elaborate you want to get.  Even if you don't use the tablesaw fence as a router fence, you can at least just store the router fence.

 

If it were any more compact, it would violate the Pauli Exclusion theorem...

[CessnaPilotBarry]

FWIW, A router table can be as simple as a flat MDF panel, with a jointed board clamped in place as a fence.  Drill a large hole in the fence to clear the bit, and you've got a router table.   It's simply a method to move the work across the router, as opposed to moving the router across the work.

 

http://www.startwoodworking.com/post/how-build-simple-router-table

 

The fence does NOT need to reference any edge of the table, and is easily adjusted with hammer taps while clamped in place.  For years, I used a sink cutout, with the whole thing clamped to a Workmate, as a jobsite router table.

 

You'd be surprised how much you can do with the table linked above.  Will you need to do a number of test cuts to dial in the setup?  Sure!  Does it offer all kinds of absolute repeatability in setups?  No!    But, it's about $10 to build!   

 

Outside of manufacturing and production work, most woodworking is "relative"...  The parts simply need to fit each other, and/or look good, think "routed edges".  

[EdgewaterWW]

Need something small to start off with?

 

PORTER-CABLE 698 Bench Top Router Table

[Charles Clayton]

Thanks for the input guys.  I like the idea of keeping in simple for now so I might make a really low budget table like the one Barry suggested or I may buy a plate and put in in the lathe/grinder table I have.  The latter would be a more permanent solution and I'm used to moving things around when I need to work with one tool or another.

 

I'm still curious if anyone has any experience creating sliding dovetails by hand with a dovetail plane.

[Beechwood Chip]

I don't have experience with hand cut sliding dovetails, but sliding dovetails in general are tricky.  Here's an article I like on making tapered sliding dovetails.

[Charles Clayton]

Thanks for the link to that article, Chip.  I have plans to build a kitchen table where the top connects to the trestle tops with a tapered sliding dovetail.  I hear these are tricky and that any sliding dovetail over about 5 inches needs to be tapered or they just wont go together.  The author of the 'tables' book I'm reading uses a dovetail saw and plane to create the sliding dovetail.  I think this is a challenge I might want to take on but a router would be easier and more accurate.

[Charles Clayton]

As far as the router table, I think I'm going to take Barry's advice and make a very simply router table our of scrap.  That will get me though this project and give me some time to figure out what I want to do going forward.

[thewoodwhisperer]

I remember watching a video by Garrett Hack recently and it showed his "router table." The thing looks like it was cobbled together in about 5 minutes with wood scraps and clamps to his workbench. When someone like Garrett Hack uses a rudimentary setup like that, it really makes you think about the bells and whistles we usually incorporate into our setups. And no, I won't be getting rid of my table any time soon. I like bells and whistles. Just making an observation and hopefully making you good about making a quick table from scrap.

[PeteJr]

Whether you buy used or build a simple router table be sure its flat and the fence can be securely fastened in place.  Safety 1st!

[CessnaPilotBarry]

Thanks for the link to that article, Chip.  I have plans to build a kitchen table where the top connects to the trestle tops with a tapered sliding dovetail.  I hear these are tricky and that any sliding dovetail over about 5 inches needs to be tapered or they just wont go together.

 

I learned a technique from a long time North Bennet St School instructor that greatly simplifies the stopped version of this joint.   Dovetail ONE side straight, taper a dado on the other!

 

We cut a standard sliding dovetail on one side of both halves of the joint, stopping it about 3/4" from the show edge.  The other side gets a shallow dado, cut to the thick end (BACK!) of the joint on the edge grain part, and the thin end (FRONT!) of the face grain part.   Use a chisel and guide block to widen the dado on the face grain part.  Last, use partial passes with a shoulder plane to thin the dado on the edge grain part, from the front, until it fits.

 

This gives you:

- perfect registration to create a square joint

- Half a dovetail to help hold the case together

- far less glue-up drama

 

This joint is easier than you'd think by hand, using guide blocks and ramps.   To save time, we rough cut them with a router table and dado set in the table saw.

[wasmithee]

I made a router table on my table saw and it works really well:

http://lumberjocks.com/wasmithee/blog/20607

 

[Charles Clayton]

Smithee, that's a nice addition to the table saw, it look very well done  

 

That said, I have a confession to make...I'm a tool junkie!  Incra has free shipping till July 12th (http://www.incra.com/email_blast/ITC_June29-11.html) and I was looking at their LS systems and before I knew what was happening my finger hit the "Buy it now" button and it will be here in a week.  I'm going to have to kick something else out of the garage to make room for the new table.

 

Truthfully, I did look at more than just Incra but I like their stuff and and the LS system seems really cool and the free shipping was the kicker for me.  I did read Marc's review of the TS-LS, he took a lot of um "heat" (for lack of a better word) for that but I'm hopeful this router table will be a great addition to my shop.

 

Thanks for all the feedback, folks.

[RenaissanceWW]

I'm late to this party, but I do have experience cutting sliding dovetails by hand with and without a plane. Truthfully unless you see yourself doing a lot of long sliding dovetails, the plane isn't work the expense.  The plane is used only to make the male part of the joint and there is very little material removed in making the tail.  A should cut with a back saw and a paring chisel can make quick work of the joint.  If you are uncomfortable making a consistent angle then make a paring block at the slope angle.  Now you can reference the back of your chisel off that block and pare in the angle to the tails. 

 

Where a dovetail plane is handy is in large sliding dovetails like shelves into a case side.  Even then I would rather make a tapered sliding dovetail since it is much easier to assemble.  the plane will work there but you have to ignore any depth stop and focus on working to a lay out line instead. 

[BuilderBill]

Router Table

 

Keep it simple.