Quick and Easy Router Table

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quick & easy

Router Table This simple table is easy to build, transport, and stow away at the end of the day. This router table is packed with some impressive features. But what I really like about it is that it takes only one 5' x 5' sheet of 1/2" Baltic birch plywood (see the cutting diagram on the next page) and a weekend to build. Large Top. Fast, inexpensive construction isn’t the only thing going for this router table. For starters, the top measures a full 20" x 32". But there’s more to it than size. For example, the top tilts up for easy router access to change bits and make height adjustments. And the heavy-duty fence makes accurate

Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras

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cuts a snap. It takes no effort at all to adjust it quickly and lock it securely to the tabletop. Simple Joinery. The case is built with simple, no-frills joinery. You can make all the parts with nothing more than a table saw and drill press. Rabbets, dadoes, and butt joints create a strong cabinet that stands up to hard use. portable convenience. On the job site or in your shop, this router table can be quickly clamped to a workbench or even sawhorses. And there’s a drawer at the bottom for storing bits, wrenches, and other items.

©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.

OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 20"L x 32"W x 14!/4"H Fence is easy to adjust

O D D

I J L

G

K

Fence brace

Sturdy two-layer top

E

H

Router mounts directly to tabletop

F

Q R

S M

N T

B

P P

B

Pinch block U

A

Pivoting arm

C

A

60"x 60"- !/2" plywood Router table and fence are built from one sheet of !/2" plywood

Materials, Supplies & Cutting Diagram CASE A Sides (2) B Bottom/Divider (2) C Back (1) D Front Stiles (2) E Drawer Guides (2) F Corner Blocks (4) DRAWER G Front/Back (2) H Sides (2) I Bottom (1) TOP J Top (1) K Front Brace (1) L Back Brace (1) M Side Braces (2) N Side Fillers (2) O Arm (1) FENCE P Inner Faces (2) Q Outer Face (1) R Base (1) S Braces (4) T Pinch Blocks (2) • • • • • •

1⁄ ply - 131⁄ x 151⁄ 2 2 4 1⁄ ply - 153⁄ x 24 2 4 1⁄ ply - 131⁄ x 241⁄ 2 2 2 1⁄ ply - 3 x 131⁄ 2 2 1⁄ ply - 151⁄ x 21⁄ 2 4 2 1⁄ ply - 21⁄ x 21⁄ 2 2 2 1⁄ ply - 115 ⁄ x 187 ⁄ 2 16 16 1⁄ ply - 115 ⁄ x 151⁄ 2 16 4 1⁄ ply - 141⁄ x 177 ⁄ 2 2 16 1⁄ ply - 20 x 32 2 1⁄ ply - 2 x 32 2 1⁄ ply - 1 x 32 2 1⁄ ply - 3 ⁄ x 17 2 4 1⁄ ply - 2 x 17 2 1⁄ ply - 3 x 13 2

Tabletop lifts open for easy access to router

1⁄ ply 2 1⁄ ply 2

- 3 x 16 - 3 x 32 1⁄ ply - 31⁄ x 32 2 2 1⁄ ply - 21 ⁄ x 21⁄ 2 2 2 1⁄ ply - 1 x 2 2

Top tilts on piano hinge

Arm pivots to securely support top

(1) Nickel-plated Piano Hinge w/Screws (1) 1⁄4" Flat Washer (1) 1⁄4" Lock Nut (2) 5 ⁄16" x 2" Carriage Bolts (2) 5 ⁄16" Flat Washers (2) 5 ⁄16" T-knobs

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©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.

A

BACK

SIDE

F

3

24!/2 #/4

FRONT STILE

a.

F

CORNER BLOCK

D

24!/2

SIDE DRAWER GUIDE

13!/2 B

BOTTOM

2#/4

DIVIDER (15#/4 x 24)

E

!/2 NOTCH DETAIL

A

DRAWER GUIDE

SIDE

15!/4

b. 2!/2

2!/2

15!/4 14!/2

BACK

I

DRAWER BOTTOM

CORNER BLOCK SIDE

DRAWER BACK

1!%/16

DRAWER SIDE

G

DRAWER FRONT

build the

c.

d. DRAWER SIDE DRAWER BOTTOM

TOP VIEW

DRAWER FRONT

!/8

Case & Top One of the goals I had when building the case of the router table was to make sure it could be built quickly. But it still needed to be strong enough for every day use. Straightforward Joinery. As I mentioned earlier, the router table case uses sturdy plywood construction with dadoes and rabbets. The whole table is built from 1⁄2" plywood. (I used Baltic birch.) Sides First. I began by constructing the case sides. In detail ‘d’, you can see that there’s a dado and a rabbet cut in each side piece. This joinery locks a divider and the case bottom in place for a super strong, wigglefree assembly. The divider also creates a pocket for the drawer that will be added later. Before assembling the divider and bottom to the sides, I cut a 23/4"-wide notch at the front corners of each

H

18&/16

FRONT STILE

TOP VIEW

Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras

G

17&/16

BOTTOM

DRAWER GUIDE CORNER BLOCK

B

BOTTOM

!/4

BACK SHELF

!/2

DRAWER GUIDE

2!/2 !/2

!/2

DRAWER SIDE

DRAWER BACK

DRAWER BOTTOM BOTTOM FRONT SECTION VIEW

piece, as you can see in Figure 1a. These notches hold a pair of narrow stiles that keep the front of the case rigid while still providing a large opening for access to the router. The back is a simple plywood panel that’s sized to overlap the sides. With these main parts cut, you can glue and clamp the case together. Corner Blocks. The divider and case bottom make the lower portion of the case plenty strong. But since the tabletop isn’t screwed to the case, the upper part of the case needs some reinforcement. The solution I used here was to make four, angled corner blocks, as illustrated in detail ‘b.’ You can see in the main drawing that I positioned them 3/4" from the top edge of the case. The reason for this is simple. The hinged tabletop is designed to nestle down over the top of the case, Page 3 of 5

SIDE

NOTE: Both bottom and divider are notched

so lowering the corner blocks ensures that they won’t interfere with the fit. There are just two parts left to add to the case before moving on to the drawer. And those are a pair of drawer guides. They’re cut to fit behind the front stiles to keep the drawer from binding in the opening, as shown in detail ‘d.’ Simple Drawer. The drawer in the router table provides a place to store wrenches, bits, and other supplies. And like the rest of the router table, it’s straightforward to build. In the drawing above, you can see that a rabbeted frame simply wraps around the drawer bottom. The relatively thick bottom provides plenty of glue surface for a strong bond. Large, Flat Top. With the case complete, I set it aside and turned my attention to the top, shown in the drawing on the next page.

©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.

K

L M

X

Y

Z

CROSS SECTION

GG

MM

NN

TOP VIEW SIDE VIEW

T T

UU

PART NAMES NOTE: This #8 x 1!/4" Fh woodscrew NOTE: This #8 x 1!/2" Fh woodscrew FIRST: This is DIMENSIONS: OVERALL A B C D FThe E #8 I is J attached K L This H Fh M xG1#/4" woodscrew FIRST: is > Tilt-Up Top. top SECOND: This CROSS SECTION #8 xhinge. 2" Fh woodscrew SECOND: This with a piano This allows THIRD: ThisN O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z END VIEW #8 x 3" Fh woodscrew This easy access to the routerTHIRD: without TOP VIEWA A B B to Cbend D!/8 E E!/4 F #/4 F C !/16Dover. GG having SIDE VIEW &/8 N N HH I I J J #/8K K!/2 L L%/8 M M PART NAMES OO

P P

VV

WW

#8 x 1!/4" Fh woodscrew #8 x 1!/2" Fh woodscrew #8 x 1#/4" Fh woodscrew #8 x 2" Fh woodscrew #8 x 3" Fh woodscrew

SECOND: This THIRD: This

END VIEW

F F

:

NOTE: This FIRST: This is

OVERALL DIMENSIONS:

!/16 !/8

!/4

#/4

#/8

%/8

&/8

!/2

17!/4

#8 x 1!/4" Fh woodscrew #8 x 1!/2" Fh woodscrew OVERALL DIMENSIONS: #8 x 1#/4" Fh woodscrew CROSS SECTION #8 x 2" Fh woodscrew #8VIEW x 3" Fh woodscrew END TOP VIEW !/16 !/8 SIDE #/8 VIEW !/2

!/4

NOTE: This FIRST: This is

#8 x 1!/4" Fh woodscrew #8 x 1!/2" Fh woodscrew #8 26!/2 x 1#/4" Fh woodscrew #8 x 2" Fh woodscrew #8 x 3" Fh woodscrew 27#/8 !/16 !/8 !/4 #/4

SECOND: This THIRD: This

#/4

%/8 diameter, it’s&/8plenty big enough to Since this is where all the work will PART NAMES RR S S T T UU take place after the table is complete, handle most common bit sizes. To XX Y ZZ the Ygoal here is to make the top as attach the router to the table, I  simply screwed it to the top. flat and rigid as possible. The other two openings are a pair Making a large top from plywood isn’t a challenge — just cut it to size. of slots that will be used to connect But with 1/2" plywood, you want to and adjust the fence that will be make sure it won’t flex under the added later, as in drawing below. load of large, heavy pieces. So, to Fillers and Braces. As I mentioned, make this tabletop stay flat, it’s rein- the top is strengthened by attachforced around the bottom edge. ing cleats to the underside. Besides The top has a few openings cut into keeping the top from flexing, the it. In the center is a hole that serves as cleats also serve another purpose. the opening for router bits. At 2" in They are positioned so that the top

QQ

fits over the case like a lid. You can #/8 !/2 %/8 see this in Figures 2a and 2b.&/8 Tilt-Top Design. Rather than screwing the top to the case, I attached it with a piano hinge along the back edge. This allows me to tilt up the tabletop and get at the router to change the bit height — without having to stoop over. Then, to hold the top open so I can use both hands, I bolted a prop arm to the inside of the case with a carriage bolt, nut, and washer, as shown in the drawing and arm detail below.

J

TOP

2"-dia. hole

20

1#/4

1!/4

32 N

7!/2

SIDE FILLER (2 x 17)

L

24" Piano hinge w/screws

M

#/8 Dia. hole

BACK BRACE (1 x 32)

SIDE BRACE (#/4 x 17)

NOTE: All parts are !/2" plywood K

FRONT BRACE (2 x 32)

a.

Side filler

6

Side brace

Top Arm

1

2!/2

FRONT SECTION

!/4" x 2" Carriage bolt

b. 1!/2

!/4" Hex nut

Top

O

ARM (3 x 12!/2)

ARM DETAIL

Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras

SIDE SECTION

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24" Piano hinge w/screws Front brace

Corner block

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Back brace

INNER FENCE FACE

3

FENCE BRACE

8!/2

P

S

%/16" washer

Rout a #/8"chamfer on cutout in base n

BASE R

1!/4 16

1#/8

3!/2 1#/8

Q

OUTER FENCE FACE

1#/8

32

T

a.

b.

2!/2 Brace

1"-Rad. cut out n Q P

PINCH BLOCK (1 x 2)

2!/2

END VIEW (Cross Section)

{ Router Fence. Grooves in the top

Fence brace %/16" T-knob n

Inner fence face

%/16"x 2" Carriage bolt n

Base Pinch block

BACK VIEW (Cross Section)

allow you to easily position the fence and lock it.

a precision Fence The last assembly to build to complete the router table is the fence, as shown in the drawing above. And it’s really what transforms the router table into a precision tool you’ll come to rely on. For the fence to work its best, it needs to do three things. First, the fence needs to be rigid so it won’t deflect as a workpiece slides across it. Second, the fence face has to be square to the tabletop. This way, you can be sure your cuts are accurate every time. Finally, it has to lock securely to the tabletop.

Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras

Heavy-Duty Face. The first step in building the fence is to make the faces. Here, I used a double-layer fence assembly. The added layer of 1⁄ " plywood makes it less likely to 2 flex or warp over time. A centered cutout in each layer is large enough to accommodate most router bits. You’ll notice the inside face of the fence is made from two pieces. I did this in order to get all the parts from a single sheet of plywood. Stable Base. This assembly is then glued to the front of a base that has a matching cutout. To help

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dust and chips clear this opening, I routed a chamfer on the cutout in the base (Figure 3a). To reinforce the joint between the fence and the base, I glued braces to the base and the backside of the fence face. Attaching the Fence. The fence is connected to the table with carriage bolts, washers, and knobs. A pair of pinch blocks slide in the channel created by the brace and filler on the bottom side of the table. Once the fence is attached to the table, all you have to do is plug in your router and get to work. W

©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.