I've been toying with the idea of building a router table for some time now, but now I really need one so this morning I decided the time had come...

I decided to make it as an 'insert' for my Small Kapex Work Table which I made just over 2 years ago (now looking slightly worse for wear):



I decided on an 18mm MDF top, with a 9.5mm 'Tufnol' insert to hold the router itself. The Tufnol sheet came from eBay, GBP6.99 for a 300x200mm sheet (approx. A4 size). I drilled this so I could attach the OF1400 with 2x M5x20 pan head screws into the 2 tapped holes in the router base.

First, the top was cut to size with my TS55, here it is with the tufnol plate:



I then used a spare piece of 9mm MDF to make a template for routing out the plate recess. Since it was just a template, I didn't worry about over-running on the corners so could cut it straight out without having to cut the corners out with the jigsaw:



This was then clamped to the top piece, and the bit I cut out was cut down in size & tacked inside to carry the router:



I used the 30mm collar with a half-inch bit to cut the recess, once I'd set the router to the correct depth:



With the centre support and the template removed, I was left with cutting out the centre. I'd purposely cut the recess wide enough to take the 3omm collar, so I could simply use the same router setup to cut it out:



I deliberately cut the recess slightly smaller than the insert plate, as the edges of the plate weren't great. So I trimmed the plate to fit on both the length & width:



Obviously, the plate still won't fit due to the rounded cut-out corners:



I could have squared the cut-out corners with a chisel, but I thought it would be better to round the corners of the plate instead. I did this roughly by eye with my ETS150, then a final tweak by hand:



And, the plate fits!!!



The plate sits approx 0.25mm proud of the MDF surface:



And here it is on the base:



To use it, I'll need to remove the systainers from underneath so there's room for the router....

In the next post, I'll detail the process of building a simple fence to use on the table.

Cheers Rey!

BTW, the table itself is already in SketchUp, and available from the Sketchup Warehouse. 

Assembling the Table

As mentioned previously, the tufnol plate is fixed to the router with 2x M5x20mm screws:



The assembly can then be fitted into the table. The depth of the router bit can be adjusted beforehand, or once it's in place:



I had to remove some of the systainers, but there is plenty of access to all the features of the router:



The fence is then fitted. It is the same length as the top, and there is a lip running all the way around the top, so the fence can simply be clamped into place:



It's a very basic method, but it works, and it's infinitely adjustable. Small adjustments can be made by simply loosening one side and tapping the fence.

The small arch I cut into the face is more than adequate for clearance for most bits, but could easily be altered if required. If I ever need a zero-clearance fence, a new piece of MDF can simply be screwed to the face:



I also made a simple featherboard from a piece of 6mm MDF:



And it's all ready to go.

I did make a short video of the table in use - I'll upload it to youtube & then post it here.


Any comments, questions or suggestions are welcome!!!

Very nice description of all this. I am planning to upgrade my own custom router table since it was little basic. I already ordered a 6mm aluminium plate for it. I must say your idea of using the Festool part for the suction appeals to me. Seems like a very nice solution.

I'm only contemplating on how to get the aluminium plate into shape, ie getting holes and slots in it. Anybody know if it's possible to route aluminium with a normal router?
 

Thanks for the reaction. Pat's website was of no use unfortunately. Been Googling around a bit and opinions are divided. I take it the carbide bits you mention are different then the standard bits used for wood? I don't think I have any carbide bits, and they sound too expensive for my purposes. I would hope to get away with using a standard 6 mm straight bit. Of course I'm going to do this very carefully, and slowly, with no more than a 1 or 2 mm depth per pass. I got all the time in the world. Plan is to make a circle template to route a stepped center hole so I can use exchangeable inserts of different sizes around the router bit.  

Jerome, I saw your pm. Thanks for the suggestion but I've got a plate on my way already. Sorry to reply here but you've set your profile not to accept pm's.