My new router table
As I mentioned last week, I bought a new router table. It came in a million pieces and took me about an hour to assemble. I used it to make some chamfers on a project on Thursday and it worked like a champ! The new router is way more powerful then the one that came with the beginner table that I had previously. I have all the pieces for another thumb chair that have been sitting around my shop for about a month so I got off my butt and made all the finish cuts and then put a 1/2″ round over on them using the new router table. The insert plate totally sagged and warped and all of my pieces got caught on the lip at one point or another. The difference between the 2 days? About 15 degrees hotter on the second day. That was unacceptable so I took it back to Home Depot this morning. I found a Craftsman router table with a die cast aluminum top on the Sears website on sale for $118 so I went to my nearest Sears and picked it up. They didn’t have the sale price on the shelf but I told the clerk that it was cheaper on their website and they price matched it. I brought it home and started the assembly this afternoon. It had many less pieces and went together in a few minutes. It is about 6 inches shorter in length but probably half the weight. From watching Steve Ramsey’s YouTube channel I knew that he had a Ryobi router in a Craftsman table so I figured there would be no problems. I screwed with that thing for 20 minutes and couldn’t get it to fit so it looks like I am going to take the router back tomorrow and go pick up a Craftsmen router. I signed up for the Craftsman Club while I was there and they sent me a $10 off coupon for joining so I plan on using that on the new router.
2 Replies to “My new router table”
Gabreil Riley
July 18, 2021 at 5:23 am
Mounting plate was so rough and uneven (NOT flat, as others have noted) that it literally served as a brake, preventing work piece from sliding across the surface. Fixed that by grinding it level, sanding it smooth, cleaning/polishing with fine steel wool and wax paste, and buffing with white rag till clean. (No black residue ended up on work piece this way.) After all that work, wood slides beautifully across the surface. But…then it’s time to re(re)adjust the plate. The countersunk leveling screws and plate screws, if adjusted properly, SHOULD keep the plate tight and level, but they don’t. They vibrate loose with EVERY PASS throwing everything out of balance. Finally, the fence: it will not stay square no matter how well you set it up and tighten it down. Was trying to joint boards, but the littlest bit of pressure threw the fence out of alignment every time. Trouble shot the issue eight different ways before throwing in the towel.
This was my first router table. The only positive thing I can say is that I learned a LOT about what features are essential in a good router table. Unfortunately this table has none of them.
admin
July 18, 2021 at 9:53 am
Thank you for your feedback! I’m sorry to hear how much trouble you had with it. I only use mine a couple of times a month and have been having good luck with it so far. When did you buy yours? I bought mine in 2013 so there may be a difference in the quality control since then.