Router Newbie

[Illini40]

I need some guidance - I am a router newbie.

 

Currently, I have a small palm router that has been great to play around.  Also, I have a larger Craftsman (fixed and plunge base) that I picked up with intentions of putting it in a router table.

 

My question - is there a way that I can just mount the router to a piece of plywood to use as a simple, temporary router table?  I see everyone using a plate, and I'm just not clear on what that does.  I do not want to invest much time or money at this point in time - I just want to gain some practice with a router mounted on a table top.

 

If I can just drill a hole in a piece of plywood and mount the router, how do I go about mounting the router?  Buy longer screws and then just screw into the router base and plastic base ring?

 

Basically...need some guidance on the easiest, cheapest way to try out a router in a table top scenario before building something or buying something else.

[ResidentEvil]

You can certainly mount a router to a tabletop without having to mount it to a plate and fiddle with cutting out the plate hole and stuff.  Just figure out what size and thread of screws you need and get some ones long enough to go through the top and into the router base.  Probably obvious, but you'll want to countersink the screw heads into the top to prevent hitting your workpiece.

 

I would personally remove the plastic base plate from the router base, for nothing other than to gain and extra 1/4" or so of bit height.  Make sure the top you choose is sturdy enough to handle the router hanging from it, I would even suggest bracing the top around the router (on the underside of course) to prevent the top from sagging over time.

 

The main detractor to doing it this way is it generally makes it a pain in the rear to change router bits.  If you can't raise or lower your router enough to get wrenches on the collet, then you have to remove the router from the top every time you need to change bits.  Its not a deal breaker, just takes some extra time.

 

I've seen some setups where people have made fairly wide router table tops and hung three routers from it space a foot or so apart from each other, each with a commonly used bit in the router.  When they need to perform a specific operation, say a roundover, they just need to raise the specific router and have at it.  The plate makes it easier to remove the router from the table for bit changing.

[Brendon_t]

Do you have the craftsman 2.5 h fixed and plunge base combo? If so, mount the fixed base to the "table" the router easily slides in and out between bases. I have this setup mounted to a plate in my table and it works just fine.

[Illini40]

You can certainly mount a router to a tabletop without having to mount it to a plate and fiddle with cutting out the plate hole and stuff.  Just figure out what size and thread of screws you need and get some ones long enough to go through the top and into the router base.  Probably obvious, but you'll want to countersink the screw heads into the top to prevent hitting your workpiece.

 

I would personally remove the plastic base plate from the router base, for nothing other than to gain and extra 1/4" or so of bit height.  Make sure the top you choose is sturdy enough to handle the router hanging from it, I would even suggest bracing the top around the router (on the underside of course) to prevent the top from sagging over time.

 

The main detractor to doing it this way is it generally makes it a pain in the rear to change router bits.  If you can't raise or lower your router enough to get wrenches on the collet, then you have to remove the router from the top every time you need to change bits.  Its not a deal breaker, just takes some extra time.

 

I've seen some setups where people have made fairly wide router table tops and hung three routers from it space a foot or so apart from each other, each with a commonly used bit in the router.  When they need to perform a specific operation, say a roundover, they just need to raise the specific router and have at it.  The plate makes it easier to remove the router from the table for bit changing.

Thank you - this confirmation is what I needed. Just need to get some longer screws and start drilling.

[Illini40]

Do you have the craftsman 2.5 h fixed and plunge base combo? If so, mount the fixed base to the "table" the router easily slides in and out between bases. I have this setup mounted to a plate in my table and it works just fine.

I'm not sure which specific model I have - I'll have to look when I'm home.

Almost positive it is thus unit: http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=37662086

Still sitting in the box....

[tim0625]

Something Andrew mentioned is important.....long screws through the plywood table is a pain to change bits this way.  Another cheap route to go ....if you didn't want to spend $35 on a router plate is buy a piece of plexiglass 3/8 thick the size of a router plate (9x12).  Trace the plate onto your 3/4" plywood table and do some routing to recess the plexiglass (home made plate) so it's flush to the table.  In the center of the plexiglass, drill the hole that is a little over sized for your largest router bit and then drill one more hole in the plexiglass off to the side somewhere to use as a finger hole that you will reach into and lift the router and plate out when you want to change a bit. Mount your router to the plate with the screws and go to it.

[knotscott]

Here's one that's pretty simple to DIY.....10 minutes, $10:

[Tom King]

I did a $38,000 job with five of these:  http://www.historic-house-restoration.com/images/windows3_004.JPG  You can see another one set up in the background of that picture on a couple of saw horses.

 

http://www.historic-house-restoration.com/images/windows3_0052.JPG

 

The tops are synthetic bowling alley flooring.  You can't see in the first picture, but at the bottom of the recess for the bit, the hole is only barely over 1/2" for the shank.  Absolutely 100% dust collection with only a shop vac.  The PVC riser is the air intake so chips don't get thrown out, and finger safety.

 

I like them better than a commercial top with a lift that I have.  The fence was run in the same batch as the pieces to be run, so it's exactly the same height.  No holddowns needs.  Vacuum pressure kept the pieces tight against the fence as a bonus benefit.  With the custom Whiteside bits, one pass to finish.

[wdwerker]

Great idea for the fence from the same stock ! Air intake is smart too !

[Tom King]

It was about as low-tech as you can get.  Entry is eased into the fence by shimming up the entry side under the "holddown" with a couple of torn pieces of paper.

 

The base was fitted to the router first, and then the first hole plunged up with a 1/2" straight bit.  A handheld router opened up a little more clearance under the cutterhead.

 

Any time I show another woodworker how it works, about 6" into the first cut I always hear,  "I Want One!!!
 

[Illini40]

Update - I made a very DIY router table today (similar to the referenced video above). Pretty pleased with how it turned our and how simple. I can see how it does have its limitations.

I picked up a couple of melamine shelves from HD, in sale, for $3. I then just mounted the adjustable base of the router to the bottom. My Craftsman router actually works pretty well in this setup because the router slips out of the fixed base really easily. For about $4 of material and screws, I'm content with the setup to learn on.

Thanks for all of the comments.