Router plate for Porter Cable

[Ian1020]

Being a newby, I'm tryng to find the best way to attach my Porter Cable router (690LRVS) to my BT3100. I have the router adapter from the accesory kit, but this is only set up to accomodate Ryobi routers. Is there another router plate I should get that is pre-drilled to accept the PC router, or should I drill through my existing accesory plate to match the PC. Is screw size an issue? Any help appreciated.
Thanks

[LCHIEN]

quote:Originally posted by Ian1020

Being a newby, I'm tryng to find the best way to attach my Porter Cable router (690LRVS) to my BT3100. I have the router adapter from the accesory kit, but this is only set up to accomodate Ryobi routers. Is there another router plate I should get that is pre-drilled to accept the PC router, or should I drill through my existing accesory plate to match the PC. Is screw size an issue? Any help appreciated.
Thanks

The supplied plate is aluminum and very easy to drill.

Use your router's black plastic baseplate as a template.

You want to drill a hole that just clears the body (outside of threads) of the screw. You need to pick the screw by what your router uses to hold the baseplate on, probably #8-32 or #10-32 flat-head machine screws. You may be able to use the ones that mount your baseplate.

When you drill the holes, use a centerpunch to put a small dimple in the center of the hole location. Then use a pilot drill about 1/16th-3/32 to put a larger dimple there. Then you can use the final drill size without its walking on you. A medium slow drill speed and a sharp drill bit will cause long curly strips to peel off as you drill.

You will also probably want to countersink the holes to match the flat head screws (counttersink the side opposite the router, of course...

[Ian1020]

Thanks for the tip... after doing a little more research, this seems to be the preferred way to do this.

[gmack5]

To add to LCHIEN's post, just be sure you counter-sink enough so that the screw heads are just barely BELOW flush, so they don't interfere with the mounting of the Adapter Plate to the bottom side of your Accessory Table. [^]

[tmaceroli]

Any tips on how to line the plate up properly so that it is mounted centered?

[LarryG]

quote:Originally posted by tmaceroli

Any tips on how to line the plate up properly so that it is mounted centered?

Just eyeball it, basically. You can use a steel rule to check the placement if you don't trust your eye. You do want the router to be reasonably close to center in the hole in the accessory table, but since the bit is round, the exact position is not critical. If you're off a skosh, it's NBD.

[tmaceroli]

Do you use the plastic insert rings that come with the accessory kit for the router table? A couple of them have pretty small diameter holes, and I was concerned that if the router base wasn't aligned properly, then the bits wouldn't fit through the inserts properly. I've never used a router table, so I don't know how important the rings are. Seems like they would help with dust collection. Guess if it didn't fit, I could just use the next size up. Probably no need to stress over, but I'm generally trying to improve my accuracy in measurement, layout and execution. If it's not needed, then I won't bother in this case.

[LarryG]

I do use the plastic insert rings (I have a standalone router table, but I use the accessory table on the BT as a secondary table). You are correct that you ideally want the bit to be centered in the insert's hole. But it's not hyper-critical, which is why I said you can probably just eyeball it and get it close enough. Bits come in all sizes but you've only got about half a dozen inserts to choose from, so you typically end up with a hole somewhat bigger than you need. But yeah, technically, the better the bit is centered, the better your chances of using an insert with the smallest possible hole.

You may or may not want to do that, however. Since the router bit is rotating in a horizontal plane, these inserts don't really work like a zero-clearance throat plate for a saw blade. The main reason you want the hole size to be reasonably close to the bit size is so the workpiece (especially a small or narrow workpiece) will have less of a tendency to tilt and try to fall into the hole. But often you will want a certain amount of clearance around the bit, to give the chips and sawdust another place to escape. This is particularly true when you're cutting a groove or dado in the bottom side of the workpiece ... the debris is not going to have a chance to get sucked up by your above-table dust collection since the workpiece is in the way.

So no, it's not anything to stress about. You do want to avoid using an insert with a hole that is grossly bigger than the bit. But if you were using, say, a 1/4" diameter straight bit and an insert with a 1" diameter hole, that's good enough in almost all cases. Do your best to get the router centered, but if it ends up being 1/16" or so off, it'll still work.

As someone new to router tables, you might want to pick up a copy of "Woodworking With The Router" by Bill Hylton and Fred Matlack. It contains all manner of good advice on router usage in general, with particular emphasis on router tables.

[tmaceroli]

Larry,

Thanks for your very detailed and informative answer. I have actually been procrastinating about installing the router in the table, because I didn't want to do it wrong. I also have plans to build a router table, but have been putting that off for the same reason. Now I can get moving.

Best,
Tony