NYW style RT in progress

[DaveO]

Well, here's my weekends endeavors. I got some of the cheap "cabinet grade" ply form HD. This stuff is really bad, but because it was the last few sheets and slightly dinged up, the manager gave them to me for $15 a sheet. Heck it's a shop fixture, it doesn't have to be pretty. I took that crappy ply and edged it with some red oak I around the shop. The drawers have curly maple faces and the lower doors are the same ply also edged in oak. I got about $60 in it so far, and $100 worth of Xmas money to spend on the top and fence assembly.
I am thinking of laminating 2 pieces of 3/4" MDF and then topping it with the phenolic coated 1/2" ply from Woodcraft. I can cut that ply to fit around the miter slot and fence T slots. Edging everything in some hardwood. That will give me a 2" thick top, which I will drop a Rousseau plate into with my 2 1/4 HP Dewalt router.



Dave

[cpowell]

You've been very busy this weekend. Looks very good so far. Those drawer fronts are gonna really set it off once finished.

Does you toggle switch go to a contactor or is it a motor rated switch or std HD switch?

[golfdad]

What did ya do the rest of the wkend????????? Just kidding . **** thats a months worth of woodworking for me. Looking good!!

[hpetty]

Looking good! I agree with Dirk. It took me a month to get to that stage. I still have to do the fence, the DC and front door. I had cut out the pieces for the fence, but decided to order this fence instead:

I had a discount coupon from Woodpeck, so the price was right. Now all I have to do is connect the DC and cut that confound door for the third time. The first one I cut from Plexiglas and measured it one inch short. The second one caught on a small ding I didn't realize was on my tablesaw fence and kicked back on me pretty bad. My little finger still tingles and I can't completely bend my ring finger... but I'm back in the shop again.

[DaveO]

Originally Posted by cpowell

Does you toggle switch go to a contactor or is it a motor rated switch or std HD switch?

I don't know. It's a 20A single pole switch wired to a 20A single outlet with 12/2 wire. It works well. I thought about using one of the fancy crash bar switches, but I am cheap, very cheap.

Thanks for everyones comments, I still have a lot of work to do before it is a usable table, but I think I got a good start.

Dave

[D L Ames]

Your router cabinet is looking great Dave. You've been extremely busy this weekend.

D L

[Travis Porter]

Looks good. You going to have the ability to unplug the router from the switch easily? I am paranoid about unplugging the booger as I have a tendency to do stupid things like turning it on accidentally when I am changing bits.

[Monty]

That's going to be really nice. You must have lots of "scrap" curly maple around your shop!

Have you been using the Rousseau plate? The reason I asked is, I have one of these. When I first started using it I was a little surprised that it has a crown in the middle of it. In other words, even though the edges may be even with the table top, the center ring is probably 1/32" - 1/16" or so above the surface of the table. Not much of a problem for me, since I've never made a flat work surface to start with... Anyway, I think I would use a flat plate if I had it to do all over again.

[DavidF]

Insom - maybe it is crowned expecting it to flatten with a router fitted. I have the insert plate from MLCS and with my 2hp Freud I have a small dip in the middle, dammed annoying. I would go with aluminium next time.

[DaveO]

Originally Posted by insomniac

Have you been using the Rousseau plate? The reason I asked is, I have one of these. When I first started using it I was a little surprised that it has a crown in the middle of it. In other words, even though the edges may be even with the table top, the center ring is probably 1/32" - 1/16" or so above the surface of the table. Not much of a problem for me, since I've never made a flat work surface to start with... Anyway, I think I would use a flat plate if I had it to do all over again.

I have heard mixed review on that plate. I like the price mainly. The slight crown in the plate is to ensure that your measurements at that bit are always true. That is where the cut is made, same reason you don't have to have a perfectly square to the table fence. There is so much information on which plate is best I am overwhelmed and decided to go with the easiest determining factor...it's pretty cheap and so am I. If you don't like yours I take it, and do you have the template to make the cut out???

Dave

[DavidF]

Originally Posted by DaveO

The slight crown in the plate is to ensure that your measurements at that bit are always true. That is where the cut is made, same reason you don't have to have a perfectly square to the table fence.

Dave

Really? that doesn't make sense, if a piece of wood is on both the crown and the table top any cut is not going to be perpendicular to the bottom face of the wood; the piece is sitting at an angle. I still recon that the crown is supposed to disappear with a router attached.

[DaveO]

DavidF, that is the confusing part about that crown. Rousseau says it is a design feature

Product Description
mfg by: ROUSSEAU COMPANY DELUXE ROUTER BASE PLATE Thermoset phenolic plate 9 x 12 x 3/8" thick Fits router bits up to 3-7/8" Small opening accepts standard template guides Removable rings create 2-5/8" & 3-7/8" openings Molded w/ slight crown for distortion free cuts Removable glass-reinforced polycarbonate rings 3509 DELUXE ROUTER BASEPLATE

But it still doesn't make much sense, to me. I will probably look into Bench Dog or Jessem plates for the flatness.

Dave

[Monty]

The crown in there by design. It does not flatten out when the router base is screwed on, nor with the weight of the router. I still have my M12V attached to it, so I still do use it. I bought it for the same reason - cheap, and I wasn't really all that sure what I would need at the time. A metal plate like woodpeckers/benchdog/jessem/rockler, which is dead flat and will stay flat, is better IMHO. Of course it costs more, too!

I did not buy the cutout template. I made my own using two L-shaped pieces of hardboard, which I used as a guide. I think the dimensions and layout are given in the instructions. I kept them for a while, thinking I would make a real router table one day... but I eventually got sick of seeing them so I threw them out.

[DavidF]

Uhmmm, sounds like manufacturing asked marketing to get them of the hook for c#&kup

As I said before, mine has a dip in it which is just as bad, will prob replace with metal

[Steve D]

FWIW, I have 2 of these plates and keep one on each router. I also built a mortising jig from a plan in AWW years back that is designed around the plate and have often used it freehand for extra support on a table edge etc. I haven't measured it but I don't believe the crown on mine are as pronounced as what Insom is describing. A crown would certainly be better than a dip.

I bought my first one because I too am cheap and the second one because I already had the first and that was the size of my cutout. There are a lot of great choices out there now that didn't even exist when I bought the first one so it is hard to say what I would do now. I'm facing the same dilemma myself because I will probably be moving the router back into the extension wing to make room for the beast. So far I've managed to get very good results with everything from edge work to raised panel doors so I doubt I'll be making a change.

I'm sure that flatter is better, a lift is more precise, a micro-adjustable fence will do amazing things, etc. but I've seen some amazing work come off of a router mounted to a piece of melamine on two saw horses with a 2x4 jointed fence and a pair of C clamps. If you get carried away, pretty soon your router table will more than cover the cost of a nice shaper, which has a cast iron table, a better motor and more versatility. Buy that and you can keep your router dedicated to handwork.