bleedinblue Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 I was talking shop last night with my brother in law and I mentioned how I need to build a new router table. He suggested rebuilding my table saw outfield table into a router table. It seems plausible if it had a removable fence that was easy to detach, store and reattach. This would free up a sizable chunk of floor space so it's an interesting idea. Is this absurd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 12 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: Is this absurd? i don't think so, i assume that your TS lives in the same spot all the time so i think it would be a good idea, i'm sure you could design a fence that would work, and if you're going that far why not make storage underneath as well, drawers, shelves, whatever . you would have to consider dust/chip collection for underneath and above the table. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted February 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Indeed. Most all of my tools are on mobile bases, but I very rarely move them. I'd certainly want lots of storage, and dust collection in the fence and the cabinet will be a priority. Dust collection is the primary reason I don't want to just put the router in a table saw wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 My rt is a cast iron wing for my TS and i love it. Made a clamp on fence for the router (clamps into TS fence). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 It's a compromise. It will certainly save space but every time you go to make a cut on the table saw, your router set-up will be in the way, and vise versa. What happens when you need to use one or the other and the other one is locked into a critical set-up? Screwed. I was faced with this decision at one point and went to great lengths to avoid it...and I'm glad I did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 The Grizzly table saw I bought last year has a router table wing. And I just can't find a reason to use it. I find that had I put a router set up in there, I'd be going crazy shutting down set ups, so I could cut a wide piece. The only good part is it gives me extra support for cutting some sheet goods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I also think it would be a pain and would look for ways to build a router table you can store somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freedhardwoods Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I have the beginnings of an idea in my head about a table saw extension that will raise and lower so you don't have to change router settings. That's how I build a lot of things. I get a vague idea in my head and it progresses from there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I have the router table as a cast iron wing for my saw. I don't find removing the fence to be that big of an issue. If I was going to do something like you had planned, I would build to one side of the outfeed table. What I mean is if 95% of my cuts were less than 36" I would make that my baseline and then add 24" or whatever to the width so my router table fence doesn't interfere with cuts. Hope this makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 44 minutes ago, Eric. said: It's a compromise. It will certainly save space but every time you go to make a cut on the table saw, your router set-up will be in the way, and vise versa. What happens when you need to use one or the other and the other one is locked into a critical set-up? Screwed. I was faced with this decision at one point and went to great lengths to avoid it...and I'm glad I did. While this is a legitimate concern, I have never had this happen to me in the 3 years or so I've had the wing. I do, however, perform almost all crosscutting on my kapex. The bigger issue for me is forgetting to lower the router bit, and then having to lower it before I accidentally damage it by laying something on the TS (like moving rough material into the shop). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 My last shop was 1/2 of a 2 car garage and I had a "Norm" style router table. But as time wen on I needed the space and got rid of the table and went with a table saw extension. While changing setups was a pain my biggest complaint was the height of the table. My table saw is 35" tall, and I am 5'11" and shrinking, for me the router was just too low to use comfortably. In my current shop I built my router table into my miter station so it is permanently against a wall it is 37" tall and I really like it. As far as dust collection goes the 3 1/4hp Triton has it built in and is outstanding in the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Pug said: The bigger issue for me is forgetting to lower the router bit, and then having to lower it before I accidentally damage it by laying something on the TS (like moving rough material into the shop). This is probably the biggest reason for me to NOT do this. I guarantee I'll forget to lower the bit and toss project pieces on the table regularly. I'm 95% talked out of this now. I really need more time to build furniture so I (might) quit planning things 20x over in my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I have a cast iron router wing on my sliding crosscut tablesaw . I rarely use the rip fence on a dedicated crosscut saw. But if it's your only rip fence think twice. I made a hollow box to mount to the rip fence so I can have the router bit partly exposed. A shop vac attaches to one end. I only use this set up when I have to use multiple bits on a job so it's not my everyday router table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Any combination tool is going to have some form of compromise. For me, this was a good compromise saving me valuable floor space. I agree with Pug. I've had a router table on the outfeed of every table saw I've had since the late '70s and could count the number of times I had to sacrifice a setup on one or the other on one hand. I guess I plan better than I once did. I also like the solidity and mass of the combination. To me, having additional uncluttered free space in my shop far outweighs the compromise. I have room for two benches and an assembly table. One of those would have to go if I had an independent RT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I have a router extension on my TS, but I did NOT replace the existing extension wing. Instead, I moved the fence rails as far to the right as possible, and added the router wing to the far right side. I have near 24" of rip capacity to the right, even if a bit is mounted and raised in the router. With the router down, there is nearly 40" from blade to fence. And this is on an old Rigid contractor saw. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 This was my solution to the massive router table footprint problem...stuffed it under the miter saw station/bandsaw outfeed... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 You planed that out well Eric . Is the bandsaw a bit lower than the miter saw outfeed table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 11 minutes ago, mat60 said: You planed that out well Eric . Is the bandsaw a bit lower than the miter saw outfeed table? No, it's just a hair higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Well its very nice. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandorLush Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 My router table is on the same plane as my TS but on the other end of my workbench/outfeed table so anything less than 8' rips and I don't have to touch the fence or bit of the router 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick S Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 2 hours ago, Eric. said: This was my solution to the massive router table footprint problem...stuffed it under the miter saw station/bandsaw outfeed... Nice solution for saving space, but doesn't it take just as long to wheel it out, plug it in, set it up, etc. as it would to remove the TS fence, etc. with the outfeed solution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 54 minutes ago, micks said: Nice solution for saving space, but doesn't it take just as long to wheel it out, plug it in, set it up, etc. as it would to remove the TS fence, etc. with the outfeed solution? Possibly. But I can use my router table and table saw at the same time without having to mess with my set-ups once they're dialed in. Maybe it's just my workflow, but I tend to go back and forth between machines often. I'm not a production shop so I don't have the "batch" mentality. Little nibble here, little nibble there. Don't get me wrong, I try to be as efficient as possible, but if I found myself in the position where I couldn't make a cut on my table saw unless I tore down the router table set-up I just agonized over, I'd inevitably run into problems. It's the same reason I couldn't imagine using a combo jointer/planer...I just bounce around too much to deal with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 All the good points have been covered...just wanted to add that I use my outeed for double duty all the time, and (at least for smaller rips) I can usually just wheel the outfeed table over to the side so that the in-use section is out of the way. Everything is on wheels in my little garage anyway, so this works for me, at least in a pinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 I'll also add that I do use my outfeed table double triple quadruple duty, officially as an assembly table and unofficially for a million other things a large horizontal surface is good for. And every one of those things get in the way and cause me endless headaches. Just recently I knocked a bed leg off the outfeed table trying to squeeze in a cut on the other side. Fail. Huge dent to deal with. If I had more space in my shop, #1 on the list would be a huge dedicated assembly table. But alas, I am full. My life sucks. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Eric. said: If I had more space in my shop, #1 on the list would be a huge dedicated assembly table. But alas, I am full. My life sucks. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk first world problems 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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