Bench Top Router Table

Cut List Bench Top Router Table

 27- 3/4 x 2 x 21 laminations for the top

 2- 3/4 x 2 x 20 feet
 4- 3/4 x 2 x 16 side rails
 2- 3/4 x 2 x 14-1/2 rear rails
 6- 3/4 x 2 x 11-1/4 legs

Resources For Building A Bench Top Router Table

If you don't have space in your shop for a floor mounted router table, or if you want a simpler route to a
router table so to speak, consider this project. Remember, also, that at times it is handy to have two
router tables and you certainly don't need to build two floor mounted units. This smaller model is easy to
build, store, and use, and will function just as well for most routing purposes as any other larger model.
On this router table you'll make a heavy duty top, using stack laminations of hardwood. This takes time
to make, but over the long run a top like this will hold up to crushing by clamps and other hard use. If
you prefer, you can use a particleboard or plywood top to make it easier.
Begin by getting out all the parts. Note that they are all the same width, but most of the parts for the
undercarriage are shorter than those needed for the top. This is useful for making efficient use of your
stock. As you look for length combinations in your stock that will give you the numerous 20" long
pieces needed for the top, often you will find combinations that give you, say, two 20" and one 18".
"Darn," you think, "if only it were two inches longer!" Well don't go buy a board stretcher yet, just use
that 18" piece for one of the 16" side rails.
As you get out the pieces, remember that you can use pieces with bad defects in the stack lamination.
There is no need to cut out all the knots and rough edges, so long as each part has one clean edge that
you can turn upward for the top. Glue together all the pieces for the top in one gluing operation. Use a
lot of glue on the lamination faces, because you are gluing a broad area and much of the glue will be
absorbed. If you lay down only a thin layer you run the risk of it all being absorbed so that the joint itself
is starved. Keep hot water and rags close by to deal with the mess.
Keep a close eye on how flat your glue up is. Put your clamps onto a flat surface to begin with so that
what is put on them will be relatively flat too. As you tighten the clamps on the laminations some of
them will slide and shift around under pressure and with the slippery glue. Lay a straight edge across the
top and correct any discrepancies greater than 1/8". Later you'll rout off that last 1/8", but for now just
guarantee that they stay close.
Note that the whole thing can become twisted, like an oriental fan beginning to open. Conceptually this
is a neat idea but it's devastating for your router table, so watch that the two end laminations stay
parallel. To do so use winding sticks, which are two straight sticks, of uniform width, about three feet
long. Place one on one of the end laminations (perpendicular to them), the other on the other end. Stand
to the side and align your line of sight along the top edge of both sticks. If the two laminations are not
parallel, you will immediately see the discrepancy along the winding sticks. A little out of parallel is not
bad at this stage, but use the winding sticks to guarantee that things aren't real bad.

Photo 1- Flatten the router table top with this router jig,
which causes the router to travel in straight lines in both
directions.

When the lamination is dry, set up to flatten it by clamping two boards with straight edges onto either
side of the lamination as in photo 1. The top edges of these boards must meet three requirements. They
must be straight, they must be parallel, and they must be clamped at close to equal distances from all
four corners of the lamination. These boards act like winding sticks, so you can sight down them to
ensure that they are parallel. Measure carefully to align the glue up with the tops of the boards.
The last component in the operation is the router slide jig. This is simply two straight pieces of 1x2 with
a plywood router mount in the middle, as shown in photo 1. The slide jig rides on top of the straight
edge boards clamped to the glue up, and guides the router along a straight path between the two boards.
Mount a 1/2" or greater diameter straight flute bit in the router, and set the depth of cut so that it reaches
the lowest area on the lamination surface. Wax the straight edges on the guide boards, turn on the router,
and gradually move the router back and forth until you have skimmed over the entire surface of the
lamination.
This procedure will produce a flat surface only if the guide boards and jig boards are straight and
parallel. Another threat to flatness is distortion to the lamination from clamps. Your bar clamps may
bow the glue up as pressure is applied. When you cut the surface it will be flat, but when you let off the
clamps it springs back and is no longer flat. If your bar clamps bow the lamination, place clamp blocks
between the clamp jaws and the wood they contact. Shift the location of these blocks up or down to
change the point at which pressure is applied. When pressure is applied at the center of the lamination, it
should not bow.
When the top is flat, flip it over and flatten the bottom. This is important so that when you screw the
base on, the top won't distort if the screws pull on an uneven
surface along the bottom. The top and bottom needn't be exactly
parallel, but challenge yourself and see if you can get them close.
It's perfect when the thickness is even all the way around.
Make three rectangular frames for the base of the table, using the
legs and rails shown on the cut out list. Note that you may wish to
increase the height of the six legs according to the height you require
beneath the table to fit your particular router. The given dimensions
allow one-foot clearance beneath which is adequate for most routers.

Photo 2- You can use a simple tenoning jig such as this to cut open
mortise and tenons joints on the ends of parts.

Use a table saw tenoning jig to cut open mortise and tenon joints to
join the parts of the three frames as in photo 2. Or, cut the rails
shorter and use dowels and a dowel jig. Either way, glue up the
frames, then clamp the smaller of the three between the inside faces of the two larger ones as in photo 3, and
screw them together. Use 2" screws and predrill holes for them. Next take this frame and clamp it to the
underside of the top as shown in photo 4. Use 2-1/2" screws to secure the frame and top together as shown,
again predrilling for the screws.

Photo 3- Screw together the three frames that make up the base.
 Lastly screw the two feet onto the bottom of the two side
frames. The function of these is primarily to give you an easy
area to clamp to for securing the table to your bench top.
Photo 4- Screw the base to the table top through the top rails
as shown, and lastly screw the feet onto the bottom rails.

Mounting a Router in a Bench or

Table Top

You can make a router table from any

bench or table top by installing a router
base into the surface. The method for
doing so is the same whether you are
applying it to an existing bench or building
a new router table. A great advantage to
making a bench top into a router table is
the size of the bench top itself. It's hard to
run long pieces on a small router table, but
easy if the bit protrudes through the
middle of a long bench. The disadvantages are that you now have a big hole in your bench, you can't use the
router if the bench is being used otherwise, and you can't attach a fence without cutting more holes in the
bench top for C-clamps to stick through. Life is full of compromises.
There are two basic approaches to mounting a router into any table. The first is to simply cut a 1 or 1-1/2" hole
in the table, and fix a router base beneath it. This will work well for certain operations, but limits the capabilities
of your setups for the following reasons. First, because the base is below the table top by the thickness of the
top itself, the height adjustment of your router is reduced by the thickness of the top. Secondly, you may
sometimes want a larger hole for bigger router bits. But, you'll want a smaller hole when you use smaller bits so
your parts don't dip into a gaping chasm in the top.
Solution- mount the router base onto a 1/4" clear plastic plate, and fit that plate into the table in a rabbet. This
brings the router base as close as possible to the table top, maximizing its height adjustment distance. And, you
can make two or three different plastic plates with different sized central holes for use with different sized
router bits.
Begin the procedure by cutting a hole in the center of your router table, or in your table top, for the router base
to fit within. Make this hole just large enough for the base to fit through, and remember that the handles on
most router bases will unscrew to come out of the way. Cut the hole using a plunge router and a 3/8" or larger
straight flute bit. Clamp four fences onto the top as in photo 1 for the edge of the plunge router base to butt
against. Measure carefully the distance from the bit to the edge of the plunge router base, and locate the fences
that distance from where you want the edge of the hole to be.
Photo 1- Cut a hole in your router table top using a plunge
router and a straight flute bit. Clamp fences around the hole
to limit the travel of the router.

Make the cut in stages. First set the plunge router to cut at
a depth of 1/4 to 3/8", and cut at this setting all around the
perimeter of the hole. Also cut inside the outer perimeter
another 1/2" or so to make clearance for the bit as it gets
deeper. Then drop the setting another 1/4 to 3/8", and cut
again. Continue until your plunge setting cuts through the
top. But- don't cut the central waste chunk free with the router, because it could get caught by the bit and
thrown. Cut around 90% of its perimeter, then turn off and remove the router, knock the chunk free with a
hammer, then use the router again to clean up what's left.
Now move the four fences 1/2" away from the hole. Check that adjacent fences are all at 90o to each other. Set
the plunge router to cut at a depth equal to the thickness of the plastic plate that you use. This depth setting is
critical because you want the plastic plate to rest flush with the top of the surrounding table. Make test cuts
using a small piece of the plastic to test the depth as in photo 2. If you happen to cut it too deep, you can shim
up the plastic with masking tape, but if it is not deep enough your parts will hit the lip of the plastic whenever
you use the table.
Photo 2- Reset the fences 1/2" behind their first position to
cut a rabbit for plastic plates that will hold the router base in
place. Carefully adjust the depth of the rabbet to match the
thickness of the plastic plates.

Square up the corners of the rabbet for the plastic using a

chisel. Cut out several squares of plastic that fit with little or
no gap between themselves and the table. Remove the stock
plastic base from your router base, and center it on one of
the plastic plates. Mark the location of the screw holes that fix the stock plastic base to the router base itself,
and mark the center of the base on the plastic plate.
I suggest that you bore these holes on a drill press, because plastic cuts differently than wood and can grab a
twist bit as it comes through the cut. A Forester bit is best for boring the large central hole, though a spade bit
will do it. Firmly clamp the plastic in the drill press, and set it on a wood substrate for the bit to go into after the
cut is made. Countersink the screw holes so the screw heads will be below the top surface.