Woodworker's Journal 2009-33-6, страница 60

Today's Shop

Wrangling with Router Tables

By Bill Hylton

There are many options available to woodworkers when it comes to router tables. We decided to ask one of the top authorities in the country to use a couple of top-end models to outline a discussion of features and functions. Our author has his opinions — we know you'll have yours.

Weighing Your Options ...

Router tables have become standard fare in most woodworkers' shops. If you're thinking of buying one, or about upgrading your current unit, it is a good idea to create a list of features that are most important to you. Here are some considerations to get you started:

• Composition of the tabletop

• Solid table or with insert plate • Router lift Above the table adjustment • Open stand or cabinet • One-piece or split fence • Dust collection (4" or 2'A")

• Casters

• Benchtop or full-size

• Miter slot •T-slot hold-downs

top that's perfectly flat, now and forever, many woodworkers decide simply to purchase one.

The Kreg tabletop is fairly typical of the market's offerings, but it has several nice details that set it apart. Cut from 1 "-thick MDF, the top measures 24" x 32". It's got thin plastic laminate faces and plastic edge-banding. The top has a 9'/i" x 11 '/i" mounting-plate hole in the center, a 7/16"-deep, l⁵/8^M-wide groove for an extruded aluminum T-track and miter-gauge slot, and, in the left rear corner, a 3/8"-wide by 8'/i"-slot for a studded knob that locks the fence.

Here are the distinctions: •The surface laminate is embossed with a grid of tiny dots, billed as Easy-Slide™

Micro-Dot, that the company asserts makes it easier for you to slide workpieces across the tabletop.

• The edge-banding is actually bonded to the MDF, rather than being T-molding stuffed in slots in the MDF edges.

• Two steel U-channel strips fasten to the top's underside on either end of the plate opening, stiffening the top. Pilot holes for all fasteners are drilled, and fasteners are supplied in the package.

Bench Dog's premium tabletop is unique. It's a nearly 100-lb. iron casting, machined flat. There's a centered opening for an 8'/i" x IIV4'¹ router mounting plate, a miter-gauge slot, and a T-slot. A I2V2"-long slot parallel to each end allows the fence to be mounted

The Kreg Precision Router Table and the Bench Dog ProMax RT Cast Iron Router Table are two of the finest options currently available on the market. I picked them to illustrate some of the top-end options for router tables and how various features might serve your needs.

Tabletop

The key element of the router table is the top. To achieve consistent, accurate cuts, your tabletop must be flat and free of obstructions.

Over the years, I've heard of tinkers crafting tabletops of plywood, MDF, MCP, sink cutouts, phenolic, Corian®, heavy-gauge sheet metal and even granite. Daunted by the perceived need to have a