Chris Spann Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 For all the tools I have owned in my life, I’ve never had a router table. What’s yalls opinion on the tables available today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 Lifts (and plates) come in different sizes with different radii at the corners. Pick your lift, then your table top. If you don't like the table tops that fit your lift, you can do what I did and choose a table top with a hole smaller than your lift and enlarge it as required. Build your own cabinet; it will be superior to most commercial offerings and can be customized/mdified to meet your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktb15 Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 I got the kreg precision table when rockler had a 20% off coupon so for $400 that seemed like my best option. I thought about getting the table and building a cabinet but at the time I just wanted something I could buy and use immediately. kreg has plans to build a cabinet into their stand and I'm definitely going to get around to that someday. I really like the fence on it, obviously you don't need the fence to be parallel but it makes the adjustments extremely fast. The little micro adjust knob looks cheap but it actually works very well. The only con I can think of is that the table is mdf and not phenolic but I haven't seen any drawbacks to the mdf table so needing a phenolic table is probably just in my head. After a little while I added on an incra mast-r-lift, I originally thought it was more of a luxury item for the table but I can't even explain how much more enjoyable it is to use and easier to set up. I'd definitely recommend getting a router lift from the beginning if you can swing it. One thing to keep in mind is that a rockler table will only fit a router lift sold by rockler, I don't recall the size offhand but the kreg is a more "standard" size that fit the incra, jessem or woodpecker lifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 I don't own a router table, as are commonly called router tables, but do have 6 Porter Cable 7518's in the kind of router "tops"(very small table)I use. If I decided to invest in a router table with a lift, I'd start with the motor, and speed control switch that Jessem is selling, decide which lift I'd use-probably Woodpecker, but haven't looked at what's available lately, and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnesota Steve Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 I just have the Rockler FX lift and their table/fence... http://www.rockler.com/rockler-high-pressure-laminate-router-table-fence-and-fx-router-lift The main weakness is it holds the height adjustment through friction, and can shift. So if I do multiple pieces I make a note of the setting and just check it to make sure it's not moving. Most others have locking height adjustments. They also cost a bit more, but depending on what you're doing it might be worth it. The woodpecker's that Tom mentioned is particularly nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbutcher Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 The Jessem Rout-r-lift is on sale at woodcraft.com. Ive heard good things about that lift, may be worth jumping on now if in the market for one. Id be all over it but have spent alot of money on tools here in the last few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 No science behind this opinion, but I like the idea of a cast iron top. That said there are fewer choices. I ended up with Rockler's Bench Dog including the steal cabinet because I got a deal. General used to make a nice cast iron table that was well rated by Fine Woodworking but then they went out of business. Woodworker's supply carries what appears to be the same table under their own house brand. https://woodworker.com/deluxe-floor-model-router-lift-system-mssu-966-007.asp?search=router lift&searchmode=2 They even note the same FWW award. Be aware that some cast iron tops have no cutout for a lift. These table tops tilt up on gas shocks (e.g. MCLS) to give you access to the router for height adjustment. Maybe that's your cup of tea, but that design did not appeal to me. I agree with others that a lift is desirable. If you can't swing it now make sure your top will not only accommodate one later, but the brand you will want to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Llama Posted February 6, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 Don't be silly. This is the best router table for the money. Step 1. Cut a hole in the top Step 2. Put your router in the hole. Step 3. well, you get can take it from here... 5 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted February 6, 2018 Report Share Posted February 6, 2018 I built the Norm Abrams router table and have a lift in it that is not manufactured any more, can't remember the brand off the top of my head. Both have worked well, as has the PC7518 router mounted in it, for many years. edit - the lift I have is a Jointech Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 Here is the motor I was talking about. If I was building a router table, I'd get one of these. If I didn't like it, I'd send it back. If it runs smoothly, it should be okay, but I'd want to feel it run some before I got it too dirty to send back. I know what a 7518 will do, but it would be nice to have that speed control knob out in the open. If their motor wasn't as smooth as a 7518, I'd live with the Porter Cable speed switch. http://www.jessem.com/pow-r-tek-motor.html I don't know if it fits other lifts or not, but I would expect it should. I really like this "lift" too. http://www.jessem.com/mast-r-lift-excell.html I doubt either of those fit in the cheap category though, but best for the money is rarely cheap when tools are concerned. Best for the money is something you make yourself for nothing. I have a hard time getting past these that I made for nothing. Dust collection is absolutely 100% effective with nothing but a shop vac. The vacuum is so strong that it holds the piece to the fence too. The routers are far from new, but still look like new because dust has never touched them. The "table" is synthetic bowling alley material that I was given from leftover scraps. It's dead flat, and harder than rock-nice fake wood grain too, but that's the only choice. Complete with easy to micro-adjust fence. Just loosen one C-clamp, and tap one end with hammer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CV67Cheng Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 Good evening all, do yourself a favor and do NOT get the Woodpeckers table, fence and lift system, a total pain to use. You have to use three different Allen wrenches to make adjustments, setting router height is cumbersome and getting the plate flat with the table is not fun. Good luck and be safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 @Tom King what is the short white pipe next your shop vac hose? A vent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 My guess is air intake. When a piece of wood is in front of the bit he needed an air intake for the vac to be able to pull the chips in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post bleedinblue Posted February 8, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 A lot of convoluted answers here for a pretty simple, though objective, question. I do believe that if you're looking for the best on the market, you'll be looking at the top Jessem or Incra packages. Clearly you can piece together your own, or you can budget down to Rockler or Kreg, but I'm not aware of any kit packages that would beat out Jessem or Incra. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 49 minutes ago, bleedinblue said: I'm not aware of any kit packages that would beat out Jessem or Incra. These are the two I came down to when I was making my choice. I ended up getting the Incra LS Super System and I have been real pleased with it. The only thing that I would consider a negative with the set up that I have is that it has a fairly large foot print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyokahn Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 On 2/6/2018 at 4:43 PM, Llama said: Step 1. Cut a hole in the top Step 2. Put your router in the hole. Step 3. well, you get can take it from here... SNL Reference? To answer the question, best for the money probably the Bosch with the cabinet option at $130. Not AMAZING but anything better is around 3 times as much $, and probably not 3 times better. And cheaper options are pretty much worthless. I personally don't think lifts are that great, probably because my router does have over the table adjustments. The only other option is to buy the plate and make an awesome table imo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 13 hours ago, wdwerker said: My guess is air intake. When a piece of wood is in front of the bit he needed an air intake for the vac to be able to pull the chips in. If you really want to make chips, you can feed potatoes in that tube. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 1 hour ago, kyokahn said: SNL Reference? I looked for a gif that would be appropriate enough to say yes... but couldn't find one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 Yes, air intake. Also prevents chips getting thrown out, and finger protection. There is enough suction at the fence that you can't hardly pull the piece being shaped away from the fence, but it does slide easily. The fence is run through the planer at the same time that the workpieces are run. A folded piece of paper under the infeed side of the DC top gives a tiny bit of clearance to ease insertion, and a piece not folded under the outfeed end so there is no friction, but not enough clearance to matter for precision. Any time I show anyone how it works, they say, "I want one!!!". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 On 2/5/2018 at 8:34 PM, Chris Spann said: For all the tools I have owned in my life, I’ve never had a router table. What’s yalls opinion on the tables available today? Depends on your needs.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted February 9, 2018 Report Share Posted February 9, 2018 1 hour ago, BillyJack said: Depends on your needs.... It might help the OP if you elaborated your thoughts a little beyond this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Spann Posted February 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2018 I appreciate everyone's time and opinion. I'm looking at Jessems but until I get the money, I'll make my own with some plywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted February 10, 2018 Report Share Posted February 10, 2018 On 2/8/2018 at 6:04 PM, Chet said: It might help the OP if you elaborated your thoughts a little beyond this. Easy...Using it here and there. A major part of every project. Need dedicated setups. Does he want to spend only a few dollars or spend a couple thousand.. It's an open book... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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