Router table

There is a lot of routing that I plan to do, and I always wanted to mount my router under a table. While I toyed with the idea initially of adding it to my own table saw table, the post by Indranil made me realize that building a router table was not that difficult.

The table : Rather than make a whole table from scratch, I decided to start with an existing table. I used a singer sewing machine table that costs about Rs 1500 or so. It is really advantageous as it  has a square cut out on the top for the machine. This square was just big enough for my Black & Decker KW 900 EKA router. I needed to two wooden beams to support the weight of the router however as the existing knobs were not made for this kind of a situation.

The surface of the router table. The square piece was already cut out.

Fixing the router. I removed the plastic base plate and drilled four holes arbitrarily on to the metal part of the router. Placing the router on the underside of the wooden piece I marked out the holes and drilled the holes in the wood. I also traced the outline of the base plate of the router and routed out a depression of the same area on the underside of the wood. This decreases the effective height of the wood and also helps the router sit snug in the wood. four nuts and bolts were placed from the top to hold the router in place. In this configuration the router is attached to the piece of wood but the wood can be removed.

The under surface of the router table. The router base fits into a grooved area to decrease the height lost.

Fixing the base : I fixed the base on to the cross bars with two bolts to make sure the base does not move.

Router lift : I use the diamond shaped car jack, that gives me remarkable control of the router. There is a small ledge on the table on which the lift sits. a slight rotation of the car jack and the router blade goes up or down as you wish. Before I rout I lock the position of the router.Shown in the picture is a temporary fitting. I plan to fix a car jack below and place a small wooden piece above it to provide a uniform force. 

Car jack used as a router lift : Works very well for fine adjustment.  The router has to be locked before use though.

Fence : Made from water proof ply, reinforced to keep it squre. I still have to perfect this.

The Finished  Assembly :  I have yet to attach a small hole for the vacuum assembly. Attaching a normal Eureka Forbes vacuum cleaner prevents dust flying all around the room. Routing without a vacuum is very dusty. The lower shelf will need some support in the middle as it will warp downward with use. I have to make that sometime. In short this was a nice project to make as I already had the table, and all that was required was  a little drilling. 

Final assembly of the router table. Fence not shown.