Router Fence

[mcmulm01]

What type of wood would be the best for a router fence MDF or Plywood? I plan on making my own router fence and I am just looking for suggestions or examples?

Thanks!

[DaveW]

IMO, you need a face that's smooth enough for your work piece to slide over. I'd say MDF over plywood, and add a laminate face. When I built mine, I used left-over laminate flooring on top of MDF.

[mcmulm01]

When you say MDF over Plywood, are you saying to make the fence out of plywood and make the face with MDF and laminate? You to just use MDF?

[gmack5]

I plan to use either MDF, HDMW Plastic or Baltic Birch Plywood with a Formica facing on both sides of the actual Fence.

Regular Plywood is not stable enough and it has too many voids to be a suitable material IMHO for a Router Fence. YMMV

[mcmulm01]

Thanks for the information!

[JohnnyTest]

MDF is very nice, very cheap and very consistant thickness wise. I purchased a router table from a guy who makes them, and it had an mdf fence. I sanded and then used Danish oil on the mdf. The fence looks great and wood slides on like silk.

The HDMW is really nice, I'd like to try that as well.

[DaveW]

quote:Originally posted by mcmulm01

When you say MDF over Plywood, are you saying to make the fence out of plywood and make the face with MDF and laminate? You to just use MDF?

Sorry - I guess that was bit ambiguous, eh? I meant I'd choose MDF instead of plywood (because of potential voids in the latter). And with the MDF, add something to make wood slide easier (like the laminate, or as JohnnyTest suggested, Danish oil).

[LarryG]

The structural body of my fence is 1/2" Baltic birch plywood, and the fence facings themselves are 3/4" MDF. Laminate is nice but is not truly necessary. I didn't use it on the fence you see here because I regarded this one as an experimental prototype, but I've found that it works just fine. If you do use laminate, put it on both faces, to keep the assembly balanced.

[mcmulm01]

Thanks for the pictures, but what is the purpose on the two adjustable sub-fences. I understand the ones closest to the bit but what are the other two for?

[mcmulm01]

Do you use the other board mounted to the table as a feather-board, if so what are the other holes for ?

[LarryG]

This fence is a semi-clone of a design that appeared in WOOD Magazine about a year ago. The lower, 2" high set of moveable fences will accomodate most bits. The upper, 1" set can also be opened up if you have an unusually tall bit. I've never used the upper pair and if I had it to do over, I'm not sure I'd include them ... I'd maybe make the bottom pair 2-1/2" high and let it go at that.

Yes, the flat board is essentially a featherboard. I use it mostly when routing grooves, to keep the workpiece from moving laterally and thus ruining it. The openings are so the handle for the router lift can fit into the lift's adjuster when the featherboard is positioned partly over the lift. If the socket isn't accessible thru the elongated hole, I flip the board end-for-end and access the adjuster via the notch. IOW, between the elongated hole and the notch, there's always a way to get to the adjuster no matter where the board is positioned.

[mcmulm01]

Thanks again! How high would you recommend the fence to be?

[LarryG]

The height depends on what you'll be doing. For most operations, where the workpiece is flat on the table, two or three inches would be enough but if the workpiece is stood up on edge, you'd want more, maybe a lot more. I made this one 6" high, per the WOOD plans, and I guess that's as good a compromise as any. I have an auxiliary fence that attaches to the track on the upper section with T-bolts; it's 9" high, which is as high as I could make it without getting a longer extension for the lift handle (when the bit is buried in the fence opening, the horizontal arm on the handle overlaps the fence when it is cranked).

[crokett]

I have a router fence made of 3/4 ply that works quite well. I used it because it is cheaper and sturdier than MDF and I could route a t-slot for T-bolts in it. I finished it with a high-gloss poly that makes it as slippery as I need it to be.