Fasteners for phenolic router table

[luvmytoolz]

In the knife making world the term for this is micarta, it's simply using resin and fabric under compression to form a slab that can then be machined and turned into handles, etc. Super simple to make and very effective. I've actually been cutting up some old jeans of late to make a denim micarta slab. Using different fabrics can yield a great visual effect in the finished product.

 

[Packard]

I still don’t know how heavy G10 is. 

I was under the impression that manufacturing the stuff required special equipment that allowed the composite material to be under heavy pressure while the epoxy cured.

 

[Michael Kellough]

If thermo setting resins are used then shaping the material in a hot press will speed up production, compared to a vacuum bag at ambient temperature.

 

[rst]

Be sure to wear a good respirator when sawing or routing phenolics as the dust particles are considered hazardous by OSHA.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Thanks to amazing customer service from Woodpeckers I can replace the Rockler phenolic table with a bigger better WP table, which will allow me to finally make use of the old (new) SmartLift.

Removing the wood screws I used on the Rockler table was uneventful. I expected to snap some heads.

For the WP phenolic table I found a better option for the screws. Kreg 3/4” pocket hole screws for hardwood. The threads project less and the pitch is finer. The table is 3/4” thick but with the powder coat the mounting brackets are .14” thick.

Drilled 7/64” pilot holes. Used tape on the bit to indicate maximum drilling depth. A funny thing happened when drilling the pilot holes, the swarf filled the flutes to the tape and backed up in the hole, got too hot, and a puff of horrid white smoke rose up from the hole. Actually not funny. Toxic.

The screws tightened perfectly at the #10 clutch setting on the CXS. Beyond hand tight. The #8 wood screws put into 1/8” pilot holes on the previous table were okay but I have twice as much confidence in these fasteners.