Router Table White Paper

Thinking about a router table, then here are some points to ponder
and some decisions you may have to make when in pursuit of your
ideal router table set up.

Are you thinking of purchasing a router table system? Then here are
some that I think you should consider and they are in the order that
I think they need to be considered.

1. Your budget or proposed spending limit
2. Your wood working objectives
3. Choice of fence style, this determines the size of table top
4. Choice of router table top
5. Which router
6. Router plates and router lift options
7. Router Table Stand - buy it or build it
8. Router table accessories

1. The first is how much can you afford or do you want to spend. Set
or estimate a figure that you feel you want to spend, the beauty of a
budget is that it should really be an intelligent, quantified and a
researched guestimate of cost and remember that those numbers
can change.

For instance say you are going to undertake a property renovation
then you can save money on mouldings etc if you make your own or
do jobs that you would pay a tradesman to undertake. However, you
may need to invest money in new machinery to do that but at least
you have that after the job is done. Do a good job and not only do
you earn house points but also get more jobs.

2. Next, now you really need to consider what types of woodworking
you want to undertake as this will influence the choice of fence,
which in turn influences the size of table.

3. If you want to do general wood working i.e. shaping, planing etc.
then a fairly straight forward robust fence such as Woodpecker's LE
Fence is more than adequate and will give years of solid service. The
router bit aperture can be up to 4" wide and therefore can handle
raised panel door and other sophisticated cutters for furniture work.

An enhanced approach in this style of fence would be the
Woodpecker Super Fence or an INCRA WonderFence. Whilst both are
able to do all that the LE Fence will do, the Wonder Fence does offer
an upgrade path via the INCRA LS Positioner.

All of these fences require a table top with a centralized router
plate, normally 12" of work space in front with the same to the rear
of the centre point, with 16" of In-Feed & Out-Feed available to the
fence. This equates to the standard Woodpecker and INCRA RT 2432
size for this type of table top.

You may consider building your own table top; some of the items
required will be covered in the Accessories section but in simple
terms the table top is Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) and usually
about 1?" or 40 mm thick. This is generally achieved by laminating
two sheets of 19 mm MDF together and covering both sides with a
phenolic sheet, Formica is one trade name that comes to mind. Then
you cut out the router plate insert and edge the table, simple but
time consuming and not as easy as twenty years ago. Then you
could buy all the materials at your local hardware store where as
now you have to buy 8' by 4' sheets, and be very wary of the MDF
quality as some is more like thick cardboard, and then search for a
laminate supplier and find a suitable adhesive. An alternative is a
quality Marine Plywood with hardwood edging. I can supply the
various Miter & T-Tracks should you decide to build your router table
top, see Accessories.

I know that the table tops I sell are not cheap but I feel they are
value for money when compared with home built tops. Both of my
suppliers' products are manufactured in the USA using the twin
sheets of MDF method with phenolic on both the top and bottom.
The top is white and the base dark brown and all these laminations
have an adhesive that has a consistence similar to water and this
sandwich has 50 tons of pressure applied during the lamination
process. Then the router plate cut-out is machined with a CNC mill
and finally the whole table is edge banded. Remember that by using
quality MDF you are starting with a very flat surface, flatness that is
far superior to sheet phenolic of the same thickness.

4. Now if it is ornamental boxes and more decorative items
incorporating Dovetails and Box or Finger Joints that you are
considering, then a fence with incremental positioning is the route to
go, hence the name INCRA. We offer the choice of two INCRA
products from stock and a third by special order; these are the
Original INCRA Jig, the INCRA Ultra and the INCRA LS System. Now
there are significant differences in these products and I shall
endeavour to explain the differences.

The Original INCRA Jig was designed back about 1995 and was a
market leader for a number of years until a competitor appeared.
Now the fact that the competitor had been INCRA's sales channel
partner on the Original INCRA Jig led to a big legal tussle and
subsequently to new and improved models. But that is history and
so was the Original INCRA Jig until about three years ago when
INCRA were approached by a US company who wished to re-introduce
the product to the market. The differences between the old and the
new Original INCRA Jig models was that now it came complete with
a fence, a very detailed Training DVD and manual.

Since its re-introduction the Original Jig has sold approaching 10,000
units which is not insignificant; it is available both in Imperial and
Metric and is adjusted manually in 1/32" or 1 mm increments and
offers a range of 8" or 200 mm of precisely controlled movement. The
very fine adjustment is achieved by a "nudge" and works extremely
well but unlike the LS System a nudge cannot be dialed up on
demand. The Original Jig achieves accurate fence positioning and is
quick and easy to use, very intuitive. Complete with a fence the total
package is comparatively easy on your wallet @ £90.00 including
VAT. Available from Wood Workers Workshop, this affordable little
wonder offers fast, precise, repeatable fence positioning at a fraction
of the cost of other jigs.

If you want to improve the speed and accuracy of intricate router
table projects like cutting dovetail and box joints but your budget is
restricted then the Original Incra Jig is a note worthy product. Now
precision joinery techniques, and a host of other precision millwork,
sawing, and drilling operations, are in easy reach of every skill level
- and every budget. As the Original Jig only has 8" or 200 mm of
travel it can be used with the standard RT2432 table tops.

The INCRA LS is the current model of INCRA Positioners and is some
three generations on from the Original Jig. It uses a steel lead screw
to achieve the positional registration. Its predecessor the INCRA
Ultra 16 uses INCRA's patented "tooth racks" to achieve positional
registration and is available with both Imperial and Metric "tooth
racks". The INCRA Ultra Jig is still on sale and I can supply to special
order, however when I took on selling the INCRA product line I made
a conscious decision, in consultation with INCRA, not to actively
promote the Ultra. My reasoning was that customers generally want
the latest model so why not promote that, INCRA fully concurred.

A major benefit of the LS model over the earlier Ultra design is the
position of the "Micro Adjust Knob" readily accessible right behind
the fence and the three position Locking Handle is a moving variable
depending on the amount of positioner off set being used. The
controls on the Ultra are at the end of the positioner, furthest away
from the fence and I know which I prefer. The Original Jig is offered
in a choice of either Metric or Imperial versions.

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