Sawstop Inline Router Table

[Mick S]

Sawstop Inline Router Table

My wonderful wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday next week so I obliged with a list. She recognized the Sawstop name and ordered the 27” x 16” inline router table and dust box to replace my shop built router table I’ve been using for years. It arrived yesterday, so you know where I’ve been today.

I’ll bore you with a little of my background. I’m retired from 30+ years in the woodworking machinery business, starting with the types of tools all of us here are familiar with - upscale hobbyist to small production shop woodworking stuff. From there I moved on to heavy industrial production machinery and finally to specializing in industrial CNC equipment before retiring a few years ago. I’ve also been a lifelong hobbyist. With that out of the way…

Impressions

I’ve said it here and other places, but I’ll say it again. I’ve never, ever seen a company do a better job of making it as easy as possible for a consumer to understand and assemble their product than Sawstop. Any machine, any level, and I’ve probably assembled many hundreds. From packaging to manuals, they do it right.

Here’s an example. Four of the five boxes inside the large (very heavy duty) shipping box contained a note indicating that the manual was in a separate box. The manual was in the fifth box with the cast iron router table.The manual is 62 pages of photos with detailed explanations of what hardware to use where. Each bag was labelled with the assembly it went to.

When I unpacked the router table itself I noticed what looked like a scratch in the cast iron. Sure enough, it was. Then I noticed that there was an identical scratch on the opposite edge - for lining up the fence to the center of the bit. Devil in the details.

This thing is really, really solid, really well built, end to end. The surface is flat using a Starrett 36” straightedge. I could not see light below the edge.

The fence body is a very heavy anodized extrusion with integral dust port, side to side adjustment and T-slots for accessories. They include (hard to describe) T-slot spacer shims that let you use the fence like a jointer by offsetting the right and left fence faces. The fence itself is perfect for a table saw installation. On and off takes seconds, 90 degrees square to the table with a Starrett combination square. The extrusion looks almost identical to the JessEm Mast-R-Fence II extrusion other than the anodizing color. It differs in the way the fence faces slide side to side in T-tracks on the Sawstop vs in slots in the extrusion itself on the JessEm. It also mounts directly to the table rather to the side tracks on the JessEm.

The router mount plate has 10 (10!) leveling bolts with lock nuts for precisely adjusting it to the table surface. The legs seem significantly beefier than the legs that came with the saw. The leg mounting brackets definitely are. It includes a paddle switch that the router plugs into, as well as holders for the tools like insert ring wrenches, height adjustment tool, etc.

 

Installation

It took more time to remove the old router table than to install the new one. It took about 2 hours to assemble and install the new table. That included disconnecting the outfeed table, cleanup, etc. 

I installed the Sawstop router table (SSRT) on the right end of my Sawstop PCS, 36”. I did not install it in any of the 3 suggested ways covered in the manual. The 3 ways listed in the manual are to the left of the blade, to the right of the blade with an optional 10” cast iron insert or with a shop made spacer insert like the laminate covered one shipped with the saw. I chose to instead mount it directly to the right extension wing with no insert. I did it because the SSRT is just long enough (16”) to still support the fence at its full 36” width, AND it lets me avoid the dust pipe that drops at that exact 36” width (see photo) for the big majority of the work I do with the router table. I’m going to give this a shot and if I don’t like it I’ll add the insert back in.

I got my saw before Sawstop took on the router table line, so the rails were never intended to support them. Because of this, Sawstop offers new rails that are drilled and countersunk for the SSRT and notched for the miter slots in the SSRT. My rails don’t line up. In the photos you can see that I notched my rails for my old table and that’s what I plan to do for the new one. I don’t see the need to buy new rails, especially if I keep the setup as it is.

The only disappointment I have is really with myself for not thinking to ensure the dust box was big enough for my router. I chose to keep using my 3 ¼ Hp Triton router. It has an integral lift micro adjustment and has been great. The router is way too big for the box. I can barely get my hands inside and have to pull it out to adjust it. That said, the dust box is well worth the money with the right router/lift mechanism. It has dual sized ports for the fence dust collection and from the box, adjustable draft vent and a magnetic door latch, as well as a split port for running the router power cable to the switch. Well thought out and well executed!

Oh well, now I know what to ask for for Christmas!

The SSRT fits standard router table inserts like the Kreg phenolic I’ve used for years.

Summary

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this table to my best friend!

 

 

 

[Art]

Thanks for the review.  This product is certainly on my upgrade list in the next 1-2 years.

[pkinneb]

Very nice! I look forward to hearing how you like it over time. Btw that wife of yours is a keeper lol

[Jfitz]

Nice!  Let us know how it works out once you start using it.

 

[Ronn W]

Sweet.  I like it.

[Minnesota Steve]

Nice.   I'm probably going to buy their new folding outfeed table.   I like that they expanded their line with all these new accessories that seem to be very well thought out.

[Cliff]

Awesome review. You even saved me the trouble of the dust shroud since I have the same router. Getting this will free up a huge chunk of space where my router table sits now. I can hardly wait. I'll definitely get the router lift as well though since the adjustment on my Triton broke like 3 days after I got it and I never sent it in for repairs. 

Thanks for the great review!

[Coop]

Great review Mick. Happy birthday to ya bud! 

[rodger.]

Looks great. If I had enough space to the right of my saw, I would get one for sure. For now, the right side of my saw is against a wall.

[Mark J]

@Mick S what are you doing for a router and lift for this table?  Did you get the SawStop lift with the table?  Reading through this post again and your other post in Power Tools it sounds like you're getting a Woodpecker lift?

[Mick S]

2 hours ago, Mark J said:

@Mick S what are you doing for a router and lift for this table?  Did you get the SawStop lift with the table?  Reading through this post again and your other post in Power Tools it sounds like you're getting a Woodpecker lift?

I did order the Woodpecker lift and a PC 7512. Router is coming today and lift tomorrow.

[Mark J]

Currious why not the SawStop lift?

[Isaac]

I have the same Triton router. I've got it mounted in a little Bench Dog router table set up, it honestly is too heavy, as it bends the insert a bit, but it really is a great router. 

[Mick S]

On 11/28/2018 at 8:31 AM, Mark J said:

Currious why not the SawStop lift?

I really, really like the fine micro-adjustment on the Woodpeckers lift.

[gmaffPappy]

I'm looking into this table extension also. I like the idea of saving the shop space. It looks like you have the Professional with 36 rails and the Integrated Mobile Base. I have the 52" rail system, but otherwise the same. I talked with SawStop to make sure I was getting the correct router table and they made sure I had the exact model for my saw. When I called back, after much research and thinking, they said I couldn't get the router table. Their "Build & Price" functionality on their website said the same. The reason being, the Integrated Mobile Base isn't strong enough to support the weight of the Router Table.

It doesn't look like this is a big issue for you, as it appears your saw is stationary. I move mine everytime I use it, as I have a garage shop.

Have you moved yours much. Have you had any issues with the Integrated Mobile Base? I really like and want this upgrade, but don't want to hurt my gorgeous saw.

[titlecnc]

nice 

[Mick S]

On 3/8/2019 at 7:01 PM, gmaffPappy said:

Have you moved yours much. Have you had any issues with the Integrated Mobile Base? I really like and want this upgrade, but don't want to hurt my gorgeous saw.

Sorry, I just saw this question.

No issues with the mobile base, but I rarely need to use it. From what I read here and other places the industrial base may be worth the upcharge if you move it around much.

After having used it extensively on a few projects I love it even more. In particular, I love the micro-adjustment with a truly precise indicator with marks to 1/1000". 

[Mark K]

Mick S,

       I'm about to pull the pin and get a SS Tablesaw with their inline router.  It's been a year since you reviewed it.  Any updates in your opinion?  Would you have bought or done anything differently? 

Another question I forgot to ask the salesman, does your router plug somewhere on the saw?  The saw I'm looking at is 220V.  Just wondered how they handled that issue.

For me, it's a big investment.  I'd like to be as knowledgeable about the product before the purchase.  Thanks for any information you can give me.

Mark

[Mick S]

Yes I would definitely do it again. It’s been a pleasure to use. Nothing new to report. It’s very solid. I have the Woodpeckers lift. The micro height adjustment is very precise. 
it does come with a 110V outlet with paddle switch. It’s independent of the saw’s power. 

[Mark K]

Thanks for the reply, Mick. 

Which Woodpecker lift do you have?  On the Wood Magazine website they slammed it with one star, but the

others, it looks like there's three of them, got good reviews.

Thanks again,

Mark

[HuntersCreek]

On 11/28/2018 at 10:31 AM, Mark J said:

Currious why not the SawStop lift?

The mounting hoes of my new woodpecker PRL-v2 do not line up with the sawstop router table. Anyone else have this issue?

[Cliff]

I ended up getting this a few months ago with the sawstop lift and the 10" expansion to the wing. That Triton router doesn't work well with the lift, so I used a Bosch one. So I can use the shroud, though I've not gotten it yet. 

I can second Mick's thoughts. I am super glad I got this thing.

[Mick S]

On 11/11/2019 at 7:22 AM, Mark K said:

Thanks for the reply, Mick. 

Which Woodpecker lift do you have?  On the Wood Magazine website they slammed it with one star, but the

others, it looks like there's three of them, got good reviews.

Thanks again,

Mark

Sorry, I just saw this post. I have the 420 V2. Looks like they gave this one 4.5 stars out of 5.

 

[MJC]

I wish I would have found this website before I bought all the stuff I had in the last 2 months. I haven’t even used the Kreg precision router stand/table yet and now that I have the sawstop table saw I was to add this to it. I guess I could use the lift and the porter cable router and just drop them right in. I wonder what the advantages are to having it to the right end of the table vs the left? 

i notice your miter gauge is setup to the left of your blade. Do you always run it like that?

[Mick S]

37 minutes ago, MJC said:

I wish I would have found this website before I bought all the stuff I had in the last 2 months. I haven’t even used the Kreg precision router stand/table yet and now that I have the sawstop table saw I was to add this to it. I guess I could use the lift and the porter cable router and just drop them right in. I wonder what the advantages are to having it to the right end of the table vs the left? 

i notice your miter gauge is setup to the left of your blade. Do you always run it like that?

I actually went back in your other thread to see if there was a router table in the background, with the idea of making that exact suggestion. It's a real space saver for me. I prefer having on the right end because I rarely have work wide enough to necessitate moving the fence all the way out there. On the left, it pretty much requires taking the fence off and lowering the cutter to use the saw.

Yes, I leave the miter gauge on the left. If I'm cutting miters for boxes I use a sled on the right side.