Popular Woodworking 2001-06 № 122, страница 36
Route 46 Everything you'd want in a router table for just $50 and a long weekend in your shop. Commercially made router tables are everywhere these days. Some of them come with more gizmos and gadgets than a '59 Edsel. By the time you tally up all the add-ons, the price approaches a medium-duty shaper. Here's my short list of "must-have" features for a good router table: • A table the size of a carrier deck. • Compact design so it can store easily. • A stout fence that's long and easy to adjust. • Easy bit-height adjustment with no stooping. • Great dust collection. • A $50 price tag. With all these features in mind, I hit on the idea of using my folded-up Workmate stored under the stairs. Can't I just make a top for it? Then I remembered the great idea from Contributing Editor Nick Engler in our January 2000 issue. Nick made the top of his router table tilt up for easy adjustments. Bingo. Now my Workmate/router table goes right back under the stairs and takes up only another 11/2" of space, the thickness of the router tabletop. You can also use this router table without a Workmate. A simple pair of sawhorses will suffice. Customizing Your Table While the fence is generic to any router table setup, the table needs to be customized for your needs. You may have a different brand router than mine, so you will have to relieve the underside of the table to accommodate the shape of your tool. You'll have to locate the mounting holes for the base to suit your router. You may prefer a different table height. If you are below average height, you'll want the make the angle at which the table props up less steeply. The top is made from two pieces of birch plywood that are glued together and band- by Steve Shanesy Comments or questions? Contact Steve at 513-531-2690 ext. 238 or SteveS@FWPubs.com. Popular Woodworking June 2001 |
