Router accessory for BT 3100?

[Saminhillsboro]

Hi Guys,

I am looking to make some shoe molding for my living room and realized that instead of going to my friend's house and using his router table as I have done in the past, I should finally put together my own router table. I started looking at plans online then realized that the BT 3100 can be fitted out to do the job. I see that one of the table elements has a hole for a router, and seem to recall a router kit was an add-on you could buy.

Any feedback on if the router kits are still available, or if there's a better solution to use the saw this way?

Thanks,
Sam

[MikeMcM1956]

Sam,

Search eBay for BT3100, there's a vendor there selling the OEM kits for about $45....

Mike

[dbhost]

Mike beat me to it... You will want to build better fence faces with T track for featherboards for it... But it can be done very easily...

[capnjack2]

I just used apiece of 3/8" plywood and fit the piece into the sort-of-a-square shape under the table. Then I marked the circle cutout on the ply as well as the location of the screws. Took out the hole saw and cut out for the router and drilled for the screws (#12 wood screws work best). There is a little deflection but it's very usable. One of my routers stays there permanently.

[Alex Franke]

It's not exactly what you're asking for, but here's a thread on what I did... lots of pictures if you scroll down a bit. I use it all the time and so far I'm very happy with it. Plus it was really really inexpensive

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=42603

[Garasaki]

I use my BT3 as a router table - bought a nice router fence from ebay and made some brackets to use it on the bt3 fence (with regular old clamps to keep it held in place). I think it works really good. Table routing beats handheld routing any day of the week IMO.

[Black wallnut]

IMHO the only useful item in the router mounting kit is the router mounting plate. I'm not saying that the rest can not be used but it is far from ideal. You can make your own plate from a variety of materials including plywood, aluminum, or phenolic. Even the Ryobi supplied plate will have to be drilled for your router unless you have a Ryobi brand router or one made to the same specs.Check the old BT3Central Articles section, a link is posted in the announcement in BT3 Discussions, for plans to build your own.

A router mounted in the accessory table served me for several years until I had the space for a side table kit. I still have one router attached to a mounting plate for the odd time that I may need to use it.