Table Saw / Router Table in One

[ssmith1627]

Had this done a while back but never posted a pic. This is what I ended up with. Getting good results from it and I'm happy with how it all turned out. Still some trim to put in place but otherwise complete and functional.

Still deciding on whether or not to enclose the cabinet and add dust collection to the cabinet itself. I really liked someone else's idea of a thin metal shroud around the router for that purpose.

Before the new fence:
http://ssmith1627.myphotoalbum.com/v..._0920Smith0003

http://ssmith1627.myphotoalbum.com/v..._0920Smith0005

With the new fence Rockler fence in place:
http://ssmith1627.myphotoalbum.com/v...bum01&id=003_G


Thanks for looking.

Steve

[os1kne]

Looks nice!

[Knottscott]

Nice...that's the way ya do it! (any luck with the "Money for nothin' and your chicks for free"?

[JR]

That is one sweet setup. Nicely done!

FWIW - a door on the front of the router bay, plus a hole in the side, would give excellent dust collectioin, IMHO.

JR

[footprintsinconc]

i like the setup. the first picture shows a metal plate sticking just above the TS rail in the front (it has many holes in it). i am assuming that this plates helps support the TS rail and attaches to you router table?

also, on a side note, what do you use for ear protection? did you buy those from HF? i need to get some, but didnt want to spend a whole lot. maybe you could tell us your experience with the ones that you use.

thanks,

[ssmith1627]

I don't use anything fancy. I should probably invest in something nicer but these do the job. I flip them upside down so the part that runs side to side is under my chin if I'm going to use a full face shield.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...5&ddkey=Search

I have two pair, one for woodworking and one for mowing. Sometimes my wife uses them while using the vaccuum. Her dad is about 80% deaf from working on / around trucks and machinery his whole life. It's really sad because he misses out on so much. Anything we can do to protect our hearing, we do.

What you're seeing in that first picture is the rail for the saw. That rail and the back rail attach to the cast iron sections of the saw itself. The back rail would really only support the end of the fence if you moved the fence out past the end of the table. For my setup now, it's more of a way of locking in the router table top flush with the cast iron top and wings of the saw.

There is a long guide tube that bolts to the front rail. The fence locks to that tube.

All the different holes in the rails are just to accomodate a variety of table saws out there -- it's made to be used with any saw, not just the Delta versions.

That make sense ?

Steve

[BrazosJake]

Pretty slick, gives me some ideas.

What kind of extension wing did the router table replace, cast iron, web, or stamped steel? Does the saw vibrate any more/less with this setup?

Cool poplar drawer fronts. Dunno why everyone paints or dyes it, I think popple is a pretty wood, I love the sap/heartwood contrast.

[ssmith1627]

The saw came with two cast iron wings which are still in place, one on either side. The fence setup was meant to be installed in a certain location. There was a small table top that came with the Bies fence and bolted between the two rails. But with this setup, you only got 30" of ripping capacity. I moved the rails over and took away from my cutting capacity left of the blade to give me more to the right. I ended up with 45" ripping capacity.

But I also found that if I removed the end cap from the tube, I could insert a sized piece of 2x4 with a nice tight fit. Then with a couple of shims between that and one side of the fence T-square, I could get 48" out of it. I don't need that often but it's nice to be able to rig up when I do.

Once I had the rails positioned, I built the router cabinet and then sized the top to fill the opening from the right side of the right wing out to a few inches beyond the ends of the rails. The cabinet also gives support to the rails, replacing the legs that came with the rail / fence set.

Hope that's making sense.

Steve

[BrazosJake]

Ah, didn't look at the last pic. Yeah, makes sense. I shoulda snagged a bies when Lowes was closing them out.

[dlminehart]

Steve, is the router table top basically the top to the cabinet, with the cabinet constructed to the proper height to position the table top level with the saw extension, and then anchored to the saw's fence support arms? Or is the router table top attached to the fence arms at the proper height, then propped/anchored on the top of the cabinet?

I'm trying to do something similar, but with both saw and router cabinet on casters.

[ssmith1627]

I built a frame under the router table top and attached that frame to the top. Then that frame is actually what's bolted to the front and back rails. The holes for the bolts in the frame are drilled a little bigger than the bolts. That bit of play gives me room for alignment with the cast iron wing of the saw -- sitting a 4 foot level on the saw out over the router table top and bringing things level before locking them in place. I actually put a clamp on the end of the two rails to squeeze them together with the router table / frame in between. That way a few taps on top or bottom could get small adjustments while still holding it right where I wanted it before drilling those holes. I wasn't nearly as precise when I built the extended table for my BT3100 and I really regretted it after because it left an 1/8th of an inch or a little more gap between the fence and the table top.

I cut the top edges of the cabinet to different heights because the front and back rails are different on the saw. I built the cabinet so that the two sides would be under the rails. That way I could support the rails. The cabinet is not on casters but is on levelers. That way at each corner I can adjust the height to get exactly the right fit to keep the rails level and also give them the proper support.

That's the same kind of setup for the cabinet for my outfeed table. The end result is the whole thing is not mobile AT ALL. haha But I don't need it to be. After version # 5 of my shop setup, I finally found one that works for my tools and dust collection system. My only real limit right now is that I can't rip anything longer than 8 feet. But for the things I'm building, that's not a problem.

Hope my rambling is helpful. Sorry for the long messages.

Steve

[dlminehart]

Clearly there's more than meets the eye of a casual observer of the photos! I appreciate your providing the details which, as you note, can make the difference in an OK and a great result. Yours looks great!

[JR]

Hope my rambling is helpful. Sorry for the long messages.

I appreciate the full descriptions. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this setup. Getting the details of your perspective is very insightful.

JR

[ssmith1627]

It was far from a well thought out plan. I build the outfeed cabinet from the plans in ShopNotes for the MDF table saw / router table cabinet & outfeed table/cabinet. I followed that pretty closely but modified the top to fit my needs.

From that, I built the router table cabinet and worked my way through what seemed best to make it all come together. It's much tougher to get all the measurements to work out when you're not just following along with a plan for something that someone else already built. I'm happy with what I ended up with so it did work out but it wasn't a pretty process. haha

The big open question with my setup is dust collection on the router table. As suggested, I can just enclose the front and cut a hole in the side and probably get good results. I keep thinking of how that might work -- a door that flips down on hinges possibly, held in the up position with magnetic catches. For now, I just have dust collection at the fence.

Steve

[ssmith1627]

I appreciate the full descriptions. You've obviously put a lot of thought into this setup. Getting the details of your perspective is very insightful.

JR

I'm glad. It's the only way my brain works. Some of this stuff is easier seen with pictures than with words. But I try to be clear in what I say or what question I ask and the only way I know to do that is go on and on and on. haha

The other side is this is a fun hobby and I like talking about it -- if that weren't already painfully obvious.

Steve