a wood router, is a necessary shop tool, butthey can be awkward to work with when you have to freehand your projects. there's abetter way, and it doesn't have to be expensive. in this project, we're turning any ordinarytable, into a multipurpose work bench, with a built-in, flush mount router station. for this project, we're gonna need a woodrouter. i found this one, on my local classifieds.
router woodworking cost, and we're gonna need a square foot of plexiglassor acrylic like this. this piece is 1/4" thick, it's crystal clear, and only cost $5.00 froma local plastics company. let's get started by choosing a good spot on the table, thentracing the edges of the square with a pencil, or a pen. you can see i've put a 1/2" straightbit into the chuck of this router, and now
if we measure from the edge of the blade,to the side of the sub-base, the distance is 2-5/8". i used that measurement to cuta piece of wood that matches perfectly flush with the side. ok, now we can go ahead anduse our piece of wood as a measuring tool, to draw a border around the outside of thesquare. next, we'll need to draw an inner square, about 1-1/4" smaller than the firstone. i decided to angle the corners, for aesthetics, and support, and now all the markings andmeasurements look like this. alright, it's time to cut ourselves a hole. let's start by using a large drill bit tomake holes on the inner sides of the angled lines. this way, we can insert the jigsawblade and begin cutting right away. the goal
here is to cut each line as straight as possible,and when we make it back to the starting point, the center piece should fall right out. nowwe still need this plastic plate, to sink down flush with the top of the table. andwe'll be able to do that with the help of 8 concrete paving stones. the concrete squaresneed to line up perfectly with the outside edges of the outer square, and when they'reall aligned, it's time for the action. let's use the plastic plate, to gauge the cuttingdepth. and we can do that by adjusting the height of the sub-base, until the tip of thebit, is flush with the top of the plate. now when we turn on the router, and rest the baseflat on the table, it should be cutting down to the exact depth of the plastic mountingplate. you can see that as we move along in
a clockwise direction, the concrete blocksprevent the side of the router from going out of bounds. this helps keep the cuts cleanand straight, and in-line with the markings we made around the plate. now that we've cutthe outer boundary, we can freehand the router back and forth, until the inner bits are profileddown as well, then finish up, by sanding the new surface smooth. now if you look at thecorners, you might notice they're a bit rounded, so let's just grind a little bit of plasticoff the corners of the plate, to match the curves. and now you can see that now the platewill drop straight in, and sit flush with the top of the table. ok, it's time to mount the plate, to the routerbase.
there are 3 screws holding the base plateon, and when those are removed, it comes off very easily. if we center it on our square,we can use it as a template, to mark the position of the screw holes, then drill them out witha 7/32" drill bit. now i tried taking a little off the top with a 3/8" bit, and ended upwith a countersink effect. you can see that when the screws are set back in, they sitflush with the top, but don't catch on anything sliding over them. the next step is to drilla hole in the center with a 1-1/2" forstner bit, then make two more holes, in line withthe center using a 7/8" bit. these two holes will give us handles to remove, and replacethe router at will. let's go ahead and remove the protective paper now, then line the plateup on the router where the sub-base used to
sit. the original screws can be returned,to secure the new plate in place, and you can see the plastic is more than strong enoughto support the weight of the router. i added a couple of beams underneath to re-enforcethe table top, and prevent it from sagging over time. for a nice finishing touch, let'stry cutting a piece of black construction paper, to make a decorative lining for ournew router station. at this point, our router table is completely finished, and ready foroperation. for our first project, why don't we try routing the edges of our new tablewith this 3/4" beading bit. you'll notice that even with the custom mounting plate,the router is still completely portable, for any projects you need to router by hand. theextra surface area of the plate, actually
keeps the unit more stable, and helps ensurethe cut lines are as straight as they can be. now just for fun, i gave my table a paintjob so when the router sets in place, the whole thing has got a clean professional lookto it. i also rigged up a switch box for electrical power, that will give us the option of turningon a backlight, and starting up the router from a safer distance. now, one of the thingsi like best about this design, is that the bit can be fully retracted when we don't needit. this means we still have full access to the entire work table. and that can be veryhelpful for projects like the rocket rifle that we made in a previous project. and becausethe system is so easy to remove and replace, changing out router bits is simple as well.well now you know, how to add a professional
looking, flush mount router station, to anywork table. so go ahead and make a picture frame, put finishing touches on experimentalprojects, or makes some puzzles for entertaining friends, because now you can. that's it fornow. if you liked this project, perhaps you'll like some of my others. check them out atwww.thekingofrandom.com
