Multifunction router base

[wtnhighlander]

This is a short journal, documenting a shop accessory I have wanted for some time.

It starts with a nice piece of acrylic, obtained from @RichardA when he was clearing out his shop. It was the perfect size, at about 9" x 18" or so.

I carefully marked the center, the drilled & milled all the holes and slots, before removing the protective paper. The bit hole is sized and rabbeted to receive a guide bushing, something that my standard Bosch base plates lacked. The holes for the router base mount screws, and for the accessory knobs, are counter-sunk to leave the working surface flush. Drilling was done on the press, to be as accurate as I could make it.

The slots were miled out with a trim router and a straight fence. They receive 1/4" x 20 bolts for attachments, like these guide rails.

Note that I also scribed horizontal and vertical centerlines, as I find these very helpful for straight cut alignment.

The "woodworking" part of this project is the knobs, inspired by the factory knobs from the Bosch router. To begin, I created bolt anchors by drilling some scraps of walnut, and embedding Tee nuts. Then I made bridles in some maple blocks. The anchor pieces were glued in (squared up) later.

I made a pattern that mimics the factory knobs, drawing it on graph paper, and folding down the center to ensure symmetry when I cut it out.

Transferred to card stock to make tracing easier.

Tracing it on two sides, I used the "cut, reassemble, cut again" method to get the beginnings of the knob shape.

I did some 'Diresta-style' bandsaw carving to go from 4 facets to 8. This technique isn't considered safe by some, so I'm not going to demonstrate.

I have no working lathe, so I improvised. A short length of all-thread and a jamb nut serve as an arbor to mount each knob in my drill. Spinning them against the spindle / belt sander gave me a round-ish, smooth-ish surface.

Being an impatient sort, I just used some paste wax as a 'friction polish', and called them good enough. Here is the finished product.

This base is wide enough so that a bushing, or bearing-guided bit can hollow out a fair size bowl or tray. The edge guides do what edge guides do, and having two is great for grooves and mortices. My next add-on will be stand-off "runners" that hold the base at a fixed height above my flat table surface. That will help be mill some end grain "cookies" that are waiting for a good project.

I'm interested to hear of any other add-ons that will work with a base like this.

 

[Von]

On 12/27/2025 at 8:24 PM, wtnhighlander said:

I carefully marked the center, the drilled & milled all the holes and slots, before removing the protective paper. 

I've never worked with acrylic. Did you use standard bits? Anything tricky about cutting it? TIA.

[Mark J]

@wtnhighlander, great idea, and even better execution.  But kudos in particular for the turned knobs without a lathe.  I was expecting you to just use the four facet form of the knobs.

[wtnhighlander]

1 hour ago, Von said:

I've never worked with acrylic. Did you use standard bits? Anything tricky about cutting it? TIA.

@Von, acrylic works fine with cutters designed for wood. Pay attention to feed rates, as too fast can cause a "catch" that cracks the sheet, but too slow just melts the material. And always keep the work fully supported. I also avoid using twist drills designed for metal, as they are prone to breaking through the hole and causing the sheet to run up the bit. If you must use them, keep the sheet securely clamped to a sacrificial backer.

[gee-dub]

Well done!  Nice job on the knobs.  Those of us who don't have a lathe handy sometimes need to be creative on the sanders, drill press with files, and so forth.  Again, well done.

[Mark J]

21 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

I also avoid using twist drills designed for metal, as they are prone to breaking through the hole and causing the sheet to run up the bit.

What type of bit do you use?  Brad point?

[wtnhighlander]

@Mark J, I used brad point for the screw holes, and a spade bit for the larger center hole. A forstner might have worked there, but I feared the more agressive lifting action of the inside cutters might catch and cause a crack. The spade bit's scraping action seemed more controllable. Hole saws can also work, but tend to melt the shavings and jam in the cut.

[Tom King]

Looks great!  I've made a bunch of router bases for different purposes over the years, but I don't think I ever made one where I hit all the bolt holes to mount one to the router without having to cheat one out a little bit oversized to get it mounted.  If you did, I'm impressed.

[Von]

On 12/29/2025 at 9:57 AM, Tom King said:

Looks great!  I've made a bunch of router bases for different purposes over the years, but I don't think I ever made one where I hit all the bolt holes to mount one to the router without having to cheat one out a little bit oversized to get it mounted.  If you did, I'm impressed.

I had to cheat a bolt hole on the drill press table I built yesterday so I both second this and wonder if a "How to cheat bolt holes" book might not be a best seller :-)

[gee-dub]

On 12/28/2025 at 5:51 AM, Von said:

I've never worked with acrylic. Did you use standard bits? Anything tricky about cutting it? TIA.

Just for additional info . . . I used Forstner-like sawtooth bits with good success.  Material clamped to the DP table, sharp bits, and slow speed. I was after a teardrop base but the same rules apply.

These sort of extra add-ons make your router more useful.  Those double guide rails are going to come in very handy.

[wtnhighlander]

I managed the mount holes by putting a V groove bit in the router, and dropping the point into the center mark for the bit hole. That let me mark the base mount holes with an awl. Order of operations makes all the difference.

[Tom King]

I guess my trouble was always trying to use an exact fit hole for the size of the machine screw.  Even if I hit them right, I'd still have to fuss with a countersink recess to get the heads to seat all the way down.  I think I always used the stock screws which were tapered flatheads.  I would bolt the new base onto the router, and then plunge a bit down through it for the bit hole.

For my sash making setups I'd plunge a 1/2" bit and enlarge the hole ever so slightly with a Dremel drum for a hair of clearance.  Bits are mounted through the bottom on those and dust collection only has to take care of a small area around the bit.

[gee-dub]

On 12/29/2025 at 10:29 AM, Tom King said:

I guess my trouble was always trying to use an exact fit hole for the size of the machine screw.  Even if I hit them right, I'd still have to fuss with a countersink recess to get the heads to seat all the way down. 

I converted to pan head screws.  I drill the through hole and the counter bore oversize.  This lets me use a centering pin for the template collars, shift the new plate around until it is centered per the centering pin and tighten it down.  For things other than template collar work I am not too fussy on this.  If I am using the side of the plate as a reference I just put a pencil mark on the spot I am using and adjust the router as I go to always reference off that spot.

The centering pins come with a collar that fits pretty darn close.  Certainly within our parameters for woodworking.  Folks who use dovetail jigs, Pantarouters, other such things are probably familiar with these.  Leigh even make a collar with a micro adjust built in.  One came with my jig but it is still in the package.  Once you figure out a way that consistently works for you there has to be a pretty compelling reason to change 

[Coop]

Very well done. Thanks for showing. I had to take the teaser and look up the “Diresta style.  Surprised to see that he still had a complete set of fingers!