Router Table

After reading woodworking magazines and watching DIY  videos and taking a cabinet making class… I decided I needed a router table. It has been said it should be one of the first tools to buy, this is almost my last one. I already have a route for it, but using a table is easier. I anticipate several uses for it : box joints, profiling edges of cabinets/boxes,  juice tracks for cutting boards larger than 12”x13” (my cnc router). So, more reading/watching/researching.

I looked at a couple of Bosch tables, Kreg, Skil, Craftsman, JessEm, Rockler. I window shopped at Amazon and Rockler and Woodcraft.  Prices range from $200 to $$$. The small ones are about 16”x 24” and the larger ones are 32”x 24”. At our cabinet class, we used a large Kreg that had a router lift. It was nice. The router lift allows you to adjust the height from above the table. The lifts make small increments easy to do.  The others you reach under and adjust from below, not as easy to make minor changes. I wish I could afford one of those, but the lift plates start at $200 themselves. Maybe in the future.

I ended up getting the Bosch RA 1171, a cabinet style table. It had good reviews and was on sale one day at Amazon. The cabinet style captures some of the shavings in the cabinet. Odd thing about it is the mitre track is 1” wide and it does not come with a miter gauge. All the other tracks I have seen/read about are ¾”. I will have to work on something for that. Maybe plane some wood to run in the track. Maybe use my spare ¾ track that actually fits in the groove. I might need to get some push pads (like the “gripper”). I like it so far. I do wonder if the router lift plates will fit (if I can buy one in the future). The dimensions seem like ¼” off.

Here is  a video compilation putting it together :