Made my own router mounting plate for 21829

[BenW]

I just posted this as a response to thread in the classifieds, but figured it ended up detailed enough it may be of interest to folks in this discussion group as well...

My Sears clone has holes already in the table for mounting the router, and the manual says to just attach your router, blah blah blah. BUT they don't fit any of my 3 different routers. There are 2 different set of holes near the 2" center hole, but they're not aligned properly for my bases.

Complicating matters, all the factory holes in the accessory table have "nipples" or whatever they're called sticking out on the bottom of the cast table, so it's not easy to drill addditional holes (nor does it seem safe to try and use new holes while these improperly aligned nipples are spacing your tool away from the underside of the table, but not at the attachment points)

Never seen a BT up close and personal, but sounds like their accessory table was designed to use a mounting plate for adding a router. My model also has 4 holes (with nipples) spaced farther away from the center hole... presumably for a mounting plate. At least, that's what I used them for, though there's no mention of them in the manual.

So I...
-- went down to the local metal supply (BORG, etc. didn't carry material I felt was beefy enough) and bought the smallest portion of a sheet of 12 gauge steel that they'd sell me ($18 with tax, enough for 4 plates) and stick of metal cutting lube paste ($6)
-- from BORG bought metal abrasive blade for circular saw ($5), #10x24 tap & drill set ($5) (chose this spec because it matched screws already used in base plates of 2 of my routers), tap handle ($7), 2 1/4" bi-metal hole saw ($16)
-- from Dixieline bought small pack of #10x24 x 1" phillips drive machine screws (BORG here only carries flat blade, which I don't know why anyone would use a flat blade screw in this day and age for anything, but especially for this where things will get tight & hard to unscrew due to vibration, etc.) ($1)
-- cut metal sheet into approx 7"x7" squares using cicular saw with metal abrasive blade. Loud & messy, but it works. Recommend clamping a 1x piece of wood as a guide 'cause it's slow going in that size metal, too.
-- used 4" angle grinder to soften the edges so I don't cut myself later
-- meticulously marked the 4 corner holes by setting one plate on a block to hold it up off the workbench, setting accessory table on it and using one of those spring-loaded punches to mark the holes just right
-- stacked the 4 metal plates, clamped together, drill-pressed the corner holes first with a tiny bit to pilot, then with bit from a tap set
-- used the tap & tap handle to thread the holes. Note, always do 1/4 turns & back off repeatedly until through. (You could just drill through & use a nut on the bottom, but I like screwing right to the plate because then you don't have to mess with a nut on the bottom while screwdrivering the top, making install/removal easier)
-- marked the centers, used hole saw & very slow pressure in drill press to eventually cut through each plate individually (flipped them half way through as it seemed to go easier that way). Probably trashed that hole saw in the process. Loud & slow. Frequently applied metal cutting lube in the process (this may not be necessary, but what do I know).
-- centered, marked, drill-pressed holes for each router's base plate in separate mounting plates (could have done them all on one if I wanted to use one plate for all, but my bases will each stay attached to the mounting plates, switching off on the saw when needed)
-- counter-sunk router mounting holes with counter-sink bit on drill press. May not be necessary since many of my screw heads had clearance between all the nipples.
-- attached router base(s) to mounting plate(s) with existing or new screws
-- attached router mounting plate to bottom of accessory table with the new screws. Again, easiest to set base/plate on bench, set accessory table on top and screw together rather than try to hang the thing under the table while it's on the saw.

Cost me about $50 and half a day of shopping and 4+ hrs of metal working (I'm putting togther a wood shop, NOT a metal shop... could have been done in minutes in the right facility, I'm sure). Was worth it to me to get it done since I didn't readily find one pre-made out there (or on this board) at the time, but can't say I'd do it again if I had another option.

Hope that all helps someone out somehow
--Ben

p.s Ok, now is when someone posts the link to the $5 pre-made in the color of your choice with free overnight shipping...

[Stormbringer]

Pics would be kewl

[LCHIEN]

That sounds like a lot of work!
Hints: those things properly are called "bosses" but the slang is nipples or even tits.

Life would have been a lot easier if you had gotten some 3/16" or 1/4" aluminum plate instead of steel. I hate working with steel, aluminum is so much easier to work with.

There are a number of sources other than Lowes/HD you might have to go to for alum plate.

[BenW]

Considered aluminum since it is so much easier to work with like you say. But was concerned about stripping out the mounting holes I was threading (if not early on, maybe down the road with use.) Don't know much about metal, so basically duplicated what came on a cheaper bench-top table I'd seen which used steel.

Also considered wood, but wanted to thread for the mounting screws, as I said. Also was getting pretty far from the table surface with a comfortable thickness of plywood, so depth of cut would have been compromized by bosses + plywood.

And yeah, it was more work than I expected but got it done so I could move on instead of spending the same amount of time (or more, which is often the case with me) figuring out something more refined/available.

Will post some pics if I get a chance.

[jlm17]

I just bought the Craftsman 21829. I followed the instructions in the FAQ and added holes to the router table for my Makita 1101's adjustable base. This works like a charm. I looked at the router's base and it rests on most of the bosses that are closest to the center hole. It's just that the Makita mounts with only three screws 120 degrees apart, and none of the holes in the table line up.

So I guess my point is for those who's router base is solid enough to rest on the bosses in your table, you can just drill your holes directly into it instead of creating a mounting plate.