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Has anyone ever done this? Would it be worth it cost wise and useful-specifically-for-lutherie wise? I've been looking around a bit for those.. and see only cheapies that don't seem like they would hold up.. I'm trying to keep cost in mind, I'm sure with an unlimited budget I could find a good one... but I'm thinking in terms of a table built with only lutherie in mind. What do you guys think?

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I made my router table according to Norm Abram's plan from New Yankee Workshop. The thing is bullet proof and rock solid. I would recommend making your own but I do not use mine much for lutherie. When I need it for guitars it is great but I would still make a router table for general use so it can work for anything. I do not know how you would go about making one lutherie specific. You need an accurate and easily adjustable fence as well as a router lift mechanism for it to be truly useful. I use the router table with pattern bit for mold making and template routing and such. You can't beat it for that purpose. A generous sized table is a plus.

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I built my own, Jason. It's small but perfect for all I need. I'll snap some pictures in the next few days and post for you.

I'll give you details though. The legs are just 3/4" plywood shaped like "table legs". The base of the leg is doubled up on each side to make the base 2-1/4" for stability.

The table is doubled up MDF. I did cut a hole in the top plate to accept a home made router table base like this



I'll take some measurements for you too. I think the table is 24"x18"

When I need a fence, I just clamp a thick block in place. Works just fine for me. I use my router table for routing truss rod slots (CF bar slots too) and for making molds and bending forms with a template bit.

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Mine is just an extension of my table saw, so I can use its fence for both the saw and router table. The table is some thick laminate covered counter top material, with a steel plate inlaid. I use it a lot for guitar making.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Home made router tables work fine, I have made quite a few over the years of custom woodworking. Your design criteria start with a large flat table, melamine works great, and the store bought ones are frequently 1" mdf melamine. Other considerations are ease of bit change, bit height adjustment, and fence. Bit changes are helped by the removable insert the router attaches to, you can lift the whole thing from the table. I had an extension welded onto one of the collet wrenches for extra length which helps a bit. These inserts are available through rockler and similar outfits. They can be nice since many have inserts for different size bits and pattern collars. Height can be done with an after market lift, or just reach under and turn the knob on your plunge router, if you are not doing too many changes, reaching under is not too bad. It helps to remove the springs from the router posts, they just add friction in the wrong direction if the router is upside down all the time. Keep track of the brass pin that falls out when you take the router off the posts. For a fence, it really is as simple as a board clamped to the table, one easy way is to bolt one side down as a pivot, and then the other gets a slot routed to move side to side, makes for very quick adjustment, but if you want to remove the router for bit changes the fence needs to come off. Router tables are often used with larger bits, so variable speed is useful here, and dust collection can be helpful as the chips can mess you up if they get in the way.

Rob

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I made mine from an old Ace Hardware workbench and a Rockler fence. One of the handiest tools I own because I do a fair amount of electrics.
I really like Arnt's setup though!

I did that too. If you don't feel like buying a dedicated router, you can by a second base for like 1/8th the cost....which is also what I did.

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My current table mounted Bosch router is a little underpowered, plus it only has a 8 mm shank, so I'm upgrading to a Milwaukee 5625. Above table height adjustment, 1/2" shank, 3-1/2-Hp; should be nice. I'm also getting an extra base for it, so I can use it for those odd tasks when I need a powerful hand held router. Great minds think alike, I guess

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Be sure to leave room for one of these: http://www.youtube.com/user/EagleLakeWo ... AL5eCIQOxw

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Dennis good tool and I want one. I am hoping they come up with something like that for after market drum sanders. Um something to talk to my bro in law about.

Yes, make your own.

No one makes a mass produced router table that has even a fraction of the features and usefulness you can get from your own home-made router table.

I made mine from a combination of designs, mostly from a book called Router Magic. Norm Abrams' plans are good too.

Spend a few hundred bucks on a good lift, and a couple hundred more on a nice Incra fence, and you'll be blown away by what you can accomplish. For me, the table, the dedicated router, the lift, and the fence totalled just under $1000, so it's not cheap. But it's easily one of the most used and most important tools in my shop. For guitar building, I can't imagine how anyone does without one. For example, bridge slotting is easy with a router bit. (Those 1/8" shank dremel bits in a dremel tool have way too much wobble -- I've tried them, and I can never get the kind of perfectly strait slot I get with the router.)

Good luck.

I modified my own from a junker someone gave me. I threw away the fence and made a new fence out of a straight piece of oak. It has a pivot bolt on one end and is clamped at the other end. Attached to the table is a really old and cranky Craftsman router. The pair only have one job, to route a slot for a truss rod. It does that very well.
If I ever need a quality router and table for something else I will buy.

René

I made this one some time ago. Big Hitachi router in it with a standard plate on top. Top is two 1/2" ply sheets laminated together capped with masonite. Used it a lot when building furniture, especially raised panel doors. Haven't used it at all for luthiery except to hold stuff.

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