A man of many interests – Including woodworking
Added a rolling base to the existing router table top. Two additional drawers will be used to house the router bits and the tools required to change the bits and to adjust the height of the router.
The table is essentially completed. I may round over the edges of the melamine top and use wipe-on poly for the cabinet.
I added the dust collection port to connect to my shop vac.
A rolling cart is to be built to bring the table height up to about 40 inches for ease of working while routing.
The fence painted and a center notch cut out to clear the tallest and widest bit I own. The end grain plywood part of the fence requires a lot of paint. I will probably add another coat or two to the end grain and edge grain.
A dust collection port is all that remains to the build for the table. A second project for the mobile base will begin shortly after completion of the table.
Added two strips of T-track to the top and built a fence with bolts and star knobs to adjust the fence back and forward.
The top of the fence will get a piece of veneer to hide the end grain of the melamine and the plywood. A hole needs to be drilled into the fence to allow for the bits to operate properly. A larger hole will be added with an adapter for dust collection. I didn’t realize how much dust a router can produce doing the most basic cutting jobs.
Worked on the table a little today. Added the self-closing overlay hinges and created some drawer and door pull handles for some scrap walnut from another project. Just wanted to give a little contrast in color from the red oak the rest of the project is built of.
Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get the opportunity to use my palm router to cut a dado in the melamine top to install a set of T-tracks to mount the fence and dust collection apparatus to.
Got the doors cutout and temporarily mounted to the router table body. Still need to put on the hinges and the door pulls.
I actually used the router table to make the doors even though the table isn’t finished yet. I can tell this table with the DeWalt 2HP router that accepts the 1/2 inch bits is really a good one.
The small folding table that I’ve been using to rest the router table on while I work on it is the second project that I ever completed. It was constructed during a ten session class taken at Holmes Junior High School. Each session was a one day a week 2 hour class about 4 years ago.
.The bottom section of the table is going to have a drawer and I cut the front, back, and sides to the correct dimensions. Cut a small rabbet near the bottom edge of all those pieces in order to slide a 1/4 inch sheet of plywood for the drawer bottom. Glued all the sides together with the bottom in place.
Next I edge joined two pieces of 3/4 inch red oak together to make the drawer front. Added drawer slides to the side and mounted the front fascia in place.
Going to work on the permanent drawer pull and adding doors above the drawer.
Haven’t had too much time to work on the router table but I did get the cover for the power switch done and the trim around the outside of the carcass. Next step is to add a drawer and doors to the front.
I received a new DeWalt router for Christmas to replace my old Craftsman router and table. The new router accepts 1/2 inch shaft bits and has a more powerful motor. The old Craftsman only accepted 1/4 inch shaft bits and came mounted in a small plastic table with a melamine top.
I’m in the process of building a new bench-top table and portable stand to complete the setup.
The router is mounted in a Jessem router lift that greatly improves the ease of changing bits and the accuracy of setting the height of the bit for various cuts.
The plans for the setup came from one of the Steve Ramsey courses to which I have enrolled. I am heavily modifying the plans but the bulk of the design is his idea. I like Steve’s designs because he, like me, is cheap. Oops, I mean financially conservative.
I may use some of the dust collection, fence, and feather boards from the old system, not sure at this point. I will add T-track guides to those parts if I eventually add those as planned
I made three of these chairs as Christmas presents for family members from a template that I bought from Jay Bates.
The chairs come apart for easy transporting and are intended for camping, outdoor sporting events, or just extra when needed in the backyard or around the house.
These are made of 3/4 inch red oak and finished with a satin exterior oil based polyurethane.
