Monday, April 5, 2010

Kreg Router Table & Router Lift




What do I expect out of a router table? As a chairmaker and teacher I want dependabilty and durability. The stand and table need to be heavy without being a boat anchor. Weight reduces vibration that can induce chatter in the cut. Because I take my router table with me when I teach a class, sometimes transporting it 100s of miles, the frame needs to be rigid and it has to have good casters. I want the table top and plate to be absolutely flat and I want them to stay that way because I have enough tool set-ups when I get to the class location. I don't want my router table to need adjustments, too. The fence needs to be easily secured and allow for micro adjustments without too many moving parts. It also has to have great dust control which is important for your health and happiness in the shop. Besides that, I don't expect much!

The router table is used for two very important operations. I trim or copy the back legs of my Maloof Inspired Rocker and Low Back Dining Chair using a 2" spiral router bit w/top pilot. The other operation is rounding over the inside of each leg at the joint to fit the radius of the seat 's rabbet. In this case I need a full round over without a bead. The fence helps me round over even though I round past the dados that are cut through the legs. Otherwise, without the fence the pilot could plunge into the rabbet. It's just a matter of control and this table and fence give me what I need.

The lift is the icing on the cake. The plate is heavy duty milled aluminum. It has a multiple jack screw system that makes it easy to level and machine screws to hold it to the table when you have it just right. It is built for a porter-cable router but there are adapters available for all the popular router motors from Kreg. My Bosch router motor fits tight without any movement. The real reason for the lift is adjustment. This baby comes through in several ways. There is macro adjustment with a rod that locks, unlocks and positions the router horizontally. A thumb wheel makes the micro adjustments easily and it all locks in to prevent slippage. It's all EeeZeee !

If you need a lot of stops and micro-adjusters for the fence, Kreg has thought of them all including some handy feather boards. If you want the best new thing check out there Beaded Face Frame Kit. I don't do this kind of work but after talking to people who do this system will add beaded face capability to your shop's router.

This router table and lift meets and exceeds my expectations everyday in my shop!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

You understand that you just would require a new router table should you be working with bigger components of wood you must hold on to as long as you're cutting them the use of your router. Because of the table, you can make certain that fewer vibrations may appear and in your act, you will accomplish a much clean up cut than what you is probably expecting to purchase.
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