It’s hard to believe I built this router table
almost 5 years ago when I was barely just starting out in woodworking. That seems crazy to me!
Back then, I was barely a year into my woodworking journey and somehow I came up with this design
from scratch and managed to pull off this build with the limited experience I had.
But you know what, it turned out awesome and it’s still in great shape.
Now, I did make a few mistakes back then - nothing major - but there are
things I would have done differently, and things that I’ve upgraded since then.
So today I’m revisiting this router table build, in full, starting with the
top & fence, then the cabinet, and wrapping it up with dust collection.
And - big announcement - people have been asking for build plans for years now, and I’m super
excited to say that they’re finally here. My most epic plans yet(!) are now available on my website.
You’ll find the link in the description below.
Alright, so let’s rewind a few
years and dive right in.
The table top will be melamine, doubled-up
with plywood. The melamine will provide a low friction surface, while the added
thickness of the plywood will give me the support I need for the router lift, and
ensure the table top stays dead flat.
The router lift I've been using is
the Rockler ProLift. Full disclosure: they provided it for free back then. It’s a great
router lift, all metal with both a quick-adjust and a micro-adjust crank feature for raising and
lowering the bit. I love how the ring just pops up with the press of a button, but I wish it didn’t
have these engravings so the surface was smoother. Also, if you want various size insert
rings, you have to purchase them separately. Now, you don’t have to use a router lift;
you could just use a router insert plate, but then you’d have to be reaching down
underneath the table to adjust the height, and that just defeats the purpose of
having a router table if you ask me. Other brands you might want to consider would
be JessEm, Kreg or Incra, just to name a few.
I’ll position the router lift
upside down and center it. Then trace the contour. The insert plate needs
to be countersunk so it will sit on a lip, so I traced out a smaller box inside the
first one. I made sure to leave some room in the corners where the insert plate will
be screwed to the table. In hindsight, I should have dog-eared all 4 corners because
I’ll need them for the leveling feet.
The first step is to cut out the inner shape
using a jigsaw. I’ll first drill some relief holes to allow me to insert the blade.
It didn’t take long before I realized my holes were too small, so I made some bigger
ones. And finished making the cut-out.
To countersink the router lift I used a flush
trim bit with a top bearing that will ride along a fence. I used some double-sided tape to
secure these makeshift fences that will guide the bearing, and positioned them right
up against the outer lines I had traced. I set the bit to the right depth, then went around
in a clockwise direction. Then finished off by cleaning out the 2 corners.
Before removing the fence guides, I dropped in
the router lift upside down and removed just one guide to check that I got the depth right. The
idea is to get it to sit just below the surface. I’ll be adding some leveling feet later on that
will allow me to dial in the height just right.
Next, I’m adding a T-track to the front side of
the table. Now some commercial tables have a miter slot here, but I’ve never used a miter gauge with
my table. Personally, I chose to go with a T-track so I could use featherboards and such. But you
could always make a wider slot to accommodate a miter/T-track combo channel here.
I’m marking it out so the track will be about 1-1/2-inches in front of the insert plate.
Next you’ll see me using an overly complicated method to create a dado to countersink the track.
I’m using the same half inch router bit with a top bearing as I used before, which makes creating a
¾ groove a bit more challenging. My recommendation here is to use a ¾-inch mortising bit instead.
That way you only need to clamp down one guide and there’s no risk of getting the width of the
dado wrong. The other obvious observation that can be made here is that the trim router
I’m using is way underpowered for this job. Make sure you use a full-sized, more powerful
router. Because I was putting so much pressure on the router to move it forward, I ended up
moving one of the fences and making a booboo. No matter, I did a test fit with the track making
sure it sat flush beneath the surface.
Next, I marked out the tracks on the backside
that will hold down the fence. I cut 2 short pieces of the aluminum T-track for this. I think
this was the first time I ever cut aluminum with a miter saw, and I was so nervous. But
it turns out it cuts quite well.
I used the same guide system as before to
create a ¾-inch wide channel for my router bit, but this time I added a piece of
tape to let me know where to stop. Again, using a ¾ inch bit here would have been
easier and given a more professional result on these stopped dados. At least by this point I had
figured out I had to use my full-size router.
To secure the tracks, I used Weldbond
glue. I had never heard of it before, but it promised to stick to both particle board
and metal. And after 5 years, it hasn't failed me yet. So I’d use it again for this, or
alternatively you could try 5-minute epoxy. And I won't lie, I was pretty proud of myself
for thinking of using dowels to help clamp down the tracks while the glue dried.
Alright, it’s time to double-up the table with some plywood. I lined up both pieces and
transferred over the cut out onto the plywood. By this point I had realized that I needed to keep
the four corners for the future leveling feet. So I dog-earned those corners, and then
cut out the shape using a jigsaw.
I flipped over the tabletop and layed
the plywood on top, aligning both holes. I then clamped them together and screwed down the
plywood to the melamine. I should have mentioned that my plywood piece was
cut just slightly oversized, so I could use my router to flush them up.
Next I’ll add the leveling feet in the four corners. You’ll see me use furniture glides
here with plastic inserts. This was probably the biggest mistake I made with this build. The
plastic inserts ended up sliding out under the weight of the router lift and therefore the
insert plate kept sinking below the surface. You can see here how the plastic
inserts are falling out and it doesn't take much to just
yank them out completely. Luckily this was an easy fix. I simply replaced
the plastic inserts with some metal threaded inserts, securing them with a dab of crazy glue.
I also replaced the feet with longer screws. As you can see, it’s super easy to reach under the table and adjust the screws until the
insert plate is perfectly flush.
To finish off the table, I decided to
add some hardwood trim around the sides to protect the fragile edges and simply
to give the table a more polished look. I marked off where the tracks hit the
edges of the table and cut a dado into the trim to make sure I could still slide
in my T-bolts once the trim was in place. I didn’t want any visible nails, so I used only
glue and mostly painter’s tape to hold the trim in place with the help of a few clamps.
FENCE
Okay, moving onto the fence.
For the fence you’ll need 2 strips of plywood and one strip of melamine.
Just as I did for the table I’m inserting a
T-track into the fence so I can use featherboards or other accessories. Just as before I clamped
down one fence and used the track as a spacer to clamp down the second fence. This time
around I used my more powerful router which made the job much easier and I didn’t get
any tearout like with my trim router.
After a dry fit and checking that
the track was below the surface, I again used some Weldbond glue to secure
the track and then clamped it to dry.
I’m going to use a similar lamination system as
the table to ensure the fence stays dead flat. The assembly should look something like this,
and then we’ll add a dust port on the back.
I need to make an opening in the fence to allow
the dust to pass through both the upright fence, and the piece that’s flat against the table. For this, I simply used a hole saw, and
then finished off the cut with my table saw. All the exact measurements are included in
the plans if you want to check those out.
I’m assembling the fence with
glue and some brad nails. My main goal here is to make the front
of the fence perfectly flat and square. For that reason, I added in these little
triangles, and checked for square as I went.
I secured the dust port using Weldbond
glue. But I ended up replacing this port and on the second install I used both glue and
screws for more strength and a better seal. This port did not fit with a standard
dust hose so I ended up ordering another one which was a perfect fit. As you can
see here the original port did not fit with the hose. In fact it fit over the new
one I got, which confirms the design flaw. The Bighorn port I got on the
other hand was a perfect fit.
I carried over the hole to the melamine face, again using a hole saw. Then being a little more
cautious, I finished the cut with a hacksaw. Not sure I got a cleaner cut than with
the table saw, but a little sanding helped to make the opening nice and smooth
to prevent any potential snagging.
Now I just need to attach the melamine
face to the plywood structure. I want to make sure the fence is
flat so I decided to use my table saw’s fence to ensure this fence stayed
flat and square during this final step. I added some screws from the back, careful
not to hit the T-track with any screws. After a quick check with a level, it
looks like it worked perfectly.
Alright, the last step is to mount the fence onto
the table. After marking the location, I drilled the holes slightly larger than the bolts I’m using
so the fence would have a little wiggle room.
These are actually toilet floor bolts
- don’t worry they’re brand new. I used the washers that came with them and
paired them with some star knobs. Alternatively, you can purchase these as a set. I’ll leave a
link down below. Beautiful, the fence slides smoothly and locks down into place. And the best
part is that everything is flat and square.
Some people have commented about the absence of
trim around the fence like I did to the table. I get it. It would definitely make it look more
polished. So if you feel so inclined, by all means, add some trim. Also, I’ve been asked about
a split fence, and while I thought of making one, I just haven't used any large bits on my router
table yet. So this fence has been all I need. If you do want to use wider bits, you’ll want
to consider upgrading to a split fence.
Okay, let’s move on to part 2 - the cabinet.
PART 2 - ROUTER CABINET
For me, the tricky part of working with plywood is
actually getting it from the store to my garage. I can’t fit a full sheet in my SUV, and
that’s why in the plans I’ve included some key cuts you can have made at the store
to make transportation easier. You’ll need a sheet and a half of 3/4-inch plywood
and a full sheet of half inch plywood, and all of the dimensions and cutting
diagrams are clearly detailed in the plans.
Before I assemble the cabinet, I’ll take a moment
to first cut out the opening for the dust port on the back panel. This router table is designed
with dual dust ports - one on the fence and one on the cabinet, and you really need both for
efficient dust collection - but more on dust collection towards the end of the video. After
tracing the outer shape and creating an offset for the inner shape and tracing that out, I
used my jigsaw to cut out the inner shape.
Alright, moving onto assembly, I used pocket
screws to connect pretty much every part of this cabinet. After 5 years of wheeling it
around, it’s still holding up just like new. And I didn’t even use glue, but don’t tell
anyone. But you should probably use glue.
I drilled all the pocket holes as
per the plans using my old K4 pocket hole jig. I’ve since upgraded to the K5
system, but I kind of miss this little guy. I used some clamps so the parts wouldn’t move
around on me as I drove in the pocket screws. A lot of people have asked me about this
compact driver I’m using. I love this thing, but unfortunately it was discontinued years
ago. Ok so after installing the middle shelf, I slid the bottom panel underneath and
secured using some more pocket screws. Unfortunately back then I didn’t record the
sound for any of my builds for some reason, so I can’t even let you just
enjoy the sound effects.
Next I’ll be making 2 large drawers for the
bottom section. To size the drawers, you’ll want to measure the opening then subtract an
inch, which is the thickness of 2 drawer slides. I’m using ½-inch plywood for the drawer
boxes that I’ll assemble using pocket screws. The bottom drawer is pretty deep and you’ll
notice I only made 2 pocket holes. I haven’t had any issues, but it’s recommended to
make at least 3 pocket holes here.
To assemble the drawer, I applied some glue,
then drove a few brad nails just to maintain the alignment while I drove in the pocket
screws. I applied a generous bead of glue all along the edges, then dropped on the bottom
panel, and secured it using several brad nails. And yes, 5 years later these drawers
are holding strong, good as new.
With the 2 drawer boxes assembled,
it’s time to install them. I used these soft-close side mount drawer
slides, and here’s how I learnt to install them. First use a small spacer and place the
slide on top. Then you want to flush it up with the front of the cabinet, but
set it back by an eighth of an inch. Hold it firmly, then extend the slide to expose
the screw holes and drive in the provided screws. There should be about 3 or 4 holes
depending on the drawer slide.
Next, with the bottom spacer still in place,
drop in the drawer box and extend the slide, then flush it up with the front of
the box. Drive in the first screw, then slide it out a little more
to find the next screw hole.
I’m not sure I realized this at the time, because
I don’t have any footage of me actually doing this, but you’re supposed to remove the drawer to
install the rear screws. Just extend the drawer and use the plastic tabs to release it. Then once
the screws are in, reinstall the drawer. You might have to force it in a little at first, but it
should re-engage and slide like new again.
For the top drawer I recommend getting some drawer
slide jigs or you can just use a strip of wood. I started by marking the height
of the slides on both sides, then clamped the jig right up
against that reference line. Now I can simply sit the drawer slide right
on the jig and secure it just as I did before. You can then flip around the jigs and use them
to hold up the drawer while you secure it. I think this was my first time installing drawers,
and somehow, it all worked out perfectly!
Alright, next I’ll add the drawer fronts.
Again, starting with the bottom drawer so I can use the workbench as a physical reference,
then I checked to get both sides flush to the edge of the cabinet. Next, you’ll want to squeeze
tight and gently pull out the drawer just enough so you can get some clamps on. You can then
extend the drawer further and drive in some screws from the inside, after first drilling
some pilot holes using a countersink bit.
The top drawer is what always seems to get people
scratching their heads, but it’s essentially the same as the bottom drawer. The only difference
is you’ll want to pull out both drawers just a bit so you can use the bottom drawer as a
physical reference. Just add small spacers like some washers, and line up the edges. Just
as before, clamp on the drawer front so you can pull it out farther and drive the screws from
inside. And just like that, we have drawers.
Before this thing gets too heavy, I decided to
install the caster wheels. I get all my casters from Princess Auto. They have a great selection of
heavy duty locking caster wheels like these ones. I like to install them with lag screws. It
just seems more robust than regular screws and the head is beefy, so it won’t slip through
the holes or require the use of a washer.
At this point I realized that I had
to get this thing down to the ground, which is easier said than done. I’ll let you enjoy
watching me awkwardly wrestle this thing and try to stop it from falling. It didn’t help that I
was still using a rickety workbench at the time that was really just some plastic sawhorses
with a beat of sheet of plywood on top. Of course the workbench
started to move away from me, but somehow I eventually got this thing down
to the floor without any major mess ups.
Now that it’s upright, I can install the dust
port on the back. This is a 4-inch dust port that will connect to my main dust collector,
and I’ll show you more on that towards the end. I used Weldbond glue again for this - it
sticks to plastic and wood and applied a bead all around to help create a seal. Then drove in some
panhead screws to complete the install.
The top part of the cabinet will have 3 small
drawers on each side with a door in the center to access the router. I got a little creative
with the drawer design, trying to keep it as simple as possible. In fact, they’re technically
not even drawers, more like pull-out trays. But some of them ended up being drawers in the
end. You’ll see what I mean in a minute.
For now, I just installed a bunch of strips which
will act as guides for 3 drawer trays. I mirrored the same install onto a second panel that I’ll
secure to the cabinet using pocket screws. And there we have it, 3 drawer trays. I repeated the exact same things on the other side
of the cabinet for a total of 6 drawer trays.
Ok, now I need a way to pull these trays out so I
figured I would install these false fronts just so I could have something to secure the drawers
front onto. So pocket screw, pocket screw, repeat 6 times, and voilà. Now I can install
the pretty drawers fronts, similarly to what I did for the bottom drawers. Start with washers
to get the spacing just right, then align the drawer front and clamp it on. I can then pull it
out and secure it from the inside with 2 screws. Once the bottom was done I could just work my
way up until I had all them all installed.
You probably noticed the door is already
installed so let me show you how I did that. First I marked the location of the hinge and screw
holes using this very cheap jig. Today I’d use my Kreg jig that takes the guesswork out of it and
controls the depth of the drill bit, but back then this is what I had, and it worked out just
as well. I was just careful not to drill too deep. I basically followed the instructions
on the package to roughly mark out where these cabinet wings go, then loosely secured them. Once the door is clipped on
you can tighten down the wings, then adjust the hinges using the set
screws until the door is level.
So with that, we have our cabinet. But I’m not
quite done yet. I still need to add hardware, a power switch, and customize these drawers. I used
this cabinet hardware jig to help consistently position each of the knobs. It also helps to
guide the bit so you’re drilling straight. For the bigger bottom drawers, I went with pulls
instead, and used the same jig to drill the holes. I wasn’t crazy about the brushed nickel look,
so I eventually painted them all red.
So back to these pull-out trays now. If you want
to convert them into drawers, it’s really simple. Just cut 4 pieces out of more
half inch ply to create a box. Just nail it together and then nail
it to the tray from underneath.
I decided to dedicate one drawer to bit storage.
I grabbed a 2x6 and drilled evenly spaced holes all over it. I then simply nailed to the tray
from underneath. You can do whatever you want with these. Some of them I just use as is,
and that works just fine for storage too.
Before I install the paddle switch, I’ll need
to install the router, which means it’s finally time to install the top I made in the first part
of the video. After centering it on the cabinet, I secured it using pocket screws in
all the pre-drilled pocket holes.
I reused the switch I had on my old router table,
but you can buy these aftermarket. I want it on the hinge side so the wires won’t be in the
way when I open the door. Speaking of wires, I’ll need to make a hole through the door to hook
the switch up to my router. I attempted to drill the hole using this very aggressive speed paddle,
which was a mistake. I’ve since learned that if you want a clean hole, use a Forstner bit. A
little sanding to clean it up and all is well.
I could then mount the switch
and feed through the wires. Ant but not least, I mounted my router to the
router lift and dropped into place. And with that, we have ourselves a premium router table.
PART 3 - DUST COLLECTION
If you’ve been watching this whole time,
thanks for tagging along! Otherwise, to recap the dust collection
set up, here we go. I have a 4-inch port on the back of the cabinet that
connects to a 4-inch hose and into a Y-fitting, then more 4-inch hose that
feeds into the dust collector. On the back of the fence there’s a 2-½
inch port that leads into the 2-½ hose and into the Y-fitting bringing it
all back to the dust collector.
By the way, this mounting bracket that you see,
it didn’t hold up. It was also in the way when I wanted to store the cabinet up against the
wall, so I ended up removing it altogether. Now I just connect the hose
when I want to use the router, then remove it when I’m done
and store it on top.
This is truly the recommended set up if
you want effective dust collection on a router table. If you try to only use one of the
2 ports, you’ll collect some dust, but not all. And if you don’t have a dust collector and only
plan to connect a shop vac to the fence port, that will only get you so far. You see, a
shop vac just won’t have the CFM required to suck out all that flying dust. But hey, it’s
better than nothing if that’s all you’ve got.
In the original part 3 - dust collection video,
I went through the whole troubleshooting process and figured out how to optimize airflow for
the dust collection to work efficiently. The thing is, this cabinet is sealed so
tightly that even the most powerful dust collector won’t be able to suck any dust out if
it’s not getting fresh air to fill the void.
My first clue was seeing how hard (or nearly
impossible) it was to open the door with the dust collector running. After only a few cuts, I could
already see all the dust pooling in the cabinet. I did a test with the door ajar,
and suddenly no more dust.
I knew I was onto something. I needed to
create more airflow by creating an opening for air intake. Although I knew an intake
on the front, opposite from the dust port, would likely be ideal, I didn’t want
to deface the cabinet. So instead I grabbed a drill and a Forstner bit a started
drilling holes at the back towards the top. I ran a few tests, and the results were
amazing. I could feel the air flow and I couldn’t see any dust pooling in the cabinet.
And it’s been working well ever since.
So that’s a wrap on this
router table build revisit. Again, I have plans available for this build that
include nearly 30 pages of detailed instructions, all the dimensions, cut lists, 3D diagrams
and more. You’ll find a link down below!
Thanks for watching, see you next time!
