Quick and Easy Router Table
Quick and Easy Router Table
Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras Page 1 of 5 ©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.
OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 20"L x 32"W x 14!/4"H
Fence is easy Fence brace
to adjust
I O D D
Sturdy
J two-layer top
G
E Router
mounts directly
K H to tabletop
L
F
Q
R S
M N
T
B B P P Pinch
block
U Pivoting arm
A A C
Router table
and fence are built
from one sheet of
Materials, Supplies & Cutting Diagram !/2" plywood
CASE
A Sides (2) 1⁄ ply - 131⁄ x 151⁄
2 2 4
B Bottom/Divider (2) 1⁄ ply - 153⁄ x 24
2 4
C Back (1) 1⁄ ply - 131⁄ x 241⁄
2 2 2
D Front Stiles (2) 1⁄ ply - 3 x 131⁄
2 2
E Drawer Guides (2) 1⁄ ply - 151⁄ x 21⁄
2 4 2
F Corner Blocks (4) 1⁄ ply - 21⁄ x 21⁄
2 2 2
DRAWER
G Front/Back (2) 1⁄ ply - 115 ⁄ x 187 ⁄
2 16 16
H Sides (2) 1⁄ ply - 115 ⁄ x 151⁄
2 16 4
I Bottom (1) 1⁄ ply - 141⁄ x 177 ⁄
2 2 16
TOP Tabletop lifts
1⁄ ply - 20 x 32 open for easy
J Top (1) 2 access to router
1⁄ ply - 2 x 32 Top tilts
K Front Brace (1) 2 on piano
L Back Brace (1) 1⁄ ply - 1 x 32
2
hinge
M Side Braces (2) 1⁄ ply - 3 ⁄ x 17
2 4
N Side Fillers (2) 1⁄ ply - 2 x 17
2
O Arm (1) 1⁄ ply - 3 x 13
2
FENCE
P Inner Faces (2) 1⁄ ply- 3 x 16
2 Arm pivots
Q Outer Face (1) 1⁄ ply- 3 x 32 to securely
2
support top
R Base (1) 1⁄ ply - 31⁄ x 32
2 2
S Braces (4) 1⁄ ply - 21 ⁄ x 21⁄
2 2 2
T Pinch Blocks (2) 1⁄ ply - 1 x 2
2
Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras Page 2 of 5 ©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.
A
BACK
SIDE F
3 24!/2
#/4
FRONT F
STILE
CORNER
a. D
BLOCK
24!/2
SIDE
DRAWER 13!/2
GUIDE
B
BOTTOM A
DIVIDER SIDE
E (15#/4 x 24)
!/2 NOTCH DRAWER
2#/4 DETAIL GUIDE
15!/4
15!/4
14!/2
b.
BACK I
2!/2
DRAWER
BOTTOM B
CORNER BOTTOM
BLOCK
2!/2 17&/16 G
BOTTOM DRAWER
SIDE 1!%/16 BACK
G DRAWER
DRAWER DRAWER SIDE
GUIDE H NOTE:
FRONT Both bottom
18&/16 and divider
FRONT are notched
CORNER STILE
BLOCK
TOP VIEW
c. d. !/4 SIDE BACK
DRAWER
TOP SIDE
VIEW DRAWER !/2 SHELF
BOTTOM
build the
DRAWER DRAWER DRAWER
DRAWER GUIDE
!/8 FRONT 2!/2 SIDE BACK
DRAWER BOTTOM
One of the goals I had when build- piece, as you can see in Figure 1a. so lowering the corner blocks ensures
ing the case of the router table These notches hold a pair of narrow that they won’t interfere with the fit.
was to make sure it could be built stiles that keep the front of the case There are just two parts left to
quickly. But it still needed to be rigid while still providing a large add to the case before moving on
strong enough for every day use. opening for access to the router. to the drawer. And those are a pair
Straightforward Joinery. As I men- The back is a simple plywood of drawer guides. They’re cut to fit
tioned earlier, the router table case panel that’s sized to overlap the sides. behind the front stiles to keep the
uses sturdy plywood construc- With these main parts cut, you can drawer from binding in the opening,
tion with dadoes and rabbets. The glue and clamp the case together. as shown in detail ‘d.’
whole table is built from 1⁄2" ply- Corner Blocks. The divider and Simple Drawer. The drawer in the
wood. (I used Baltic birch.) case bottom make the lower por- router table provides a place to
Sides First. I began by constructing tion of the case plenty strong. But store wrenches, bits, and other sup-
the case sides. In detail ‘d’, you can since the tabletop isn’t screwed to plies. And like the rest of the router
see that there’s a dado and a rabbet the case, the upper part of the case table, it’s straightforward to build.
cut in each side piece. This joinery needs some reinforcement. In the drawing above, you can see
locks a divider and the case bottom The solution I used here was to that a rabbeted frame simply wraps
in place for a super strong, wiggle- make four, angled corner blocks, as around the drawer bottom. The rela-
free assembly. The divider also illustrated in detail ‘b.’ You can see tively thick bottom provides plenty
creates a pocket for the drawer that in the main drawing that I positioned of glue surface for a strong bond.
will be added later. them 3/4" from the top edge of the Large, Flat Top. With the case com-
Before assembling the divider and case. The reason for this is simple. plete, I set it aside and turned
bottom to the sides, I cut a 23/4"-wide The hinged tabletop is designed to my attention to the top, shown
notch at the front corners of each nestle down over the top of the case, in the drawing on the next page.
Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras Page 3 of 5 ©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.
K L M NOTE: This
OVERALL DIMENSIONS: #8 x 1!/4" Fh woodscrew
FIRST: This is #8 x 1!/2" Fh woodscrew
X Y Z CROSS SECTION
SECOND: This #8 x 1#/4" Fh woodscrew
END VIEW #8 x 2" Fh woodscrew
F F GG THIRD: This
TOP VIEW #8 x 3" Fh woodscrew
MM NN SIDE VIEW !/16 !/8 !/4 #/4
T T UU PART NAMES
#/8 !/2 %/8 &/8
J
20 2"-dia. hole TOP 1!/4
1#/4
32
N
7!/2
SIDE FILLER #/8 Dia. hole
(2 x 17)
L
24"
Piano hinge BACK BRACE
M w/screws (1 x 32)
SIDE BRACE NOTE: All parts
(#/4 x 17) are !/2" plywood
K
FRONT BRACE
(2 x 32) a. Side Side
6 filler brace
Top
2!/2 1
Arm
FRONT SECTION
!/4" x 2"
Carriage
bolt
b. SIDE SECTION
1!/2 Top
O
!/4" 24" Piano hinge
ARM w/screws
Hex nut (3 x 12!/2)
Front Back
ARM brace brace
DETAIL Corner
block
Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras Page 4 of 5 ©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.
INNER 3 FENCE
FENCE FACE BRACE
P
8!/2 Rout a %/16"
S washer
#/8"chamfer
on cutout
in base
n BASE
R
1!/4
1#/8 16
3!/2
1#/8
Q
OUTER 32 1#/8
FENCE FACE
T
PINCH BLOCK
a. b. (1 x 2)
2!/2 Fence brace
%/16"
Brace T-knob %/16"x 2"
Inner Carriage
2!/2 fence n
1"-Rad. bolt
face n
cut out
Q P n
Base
END VIEW Pinch block
(Cross Section)
{ Router Fence. Grooves in the top
BACK VIEW
allow you to easily position the (Cross Section)
fence and lock it.
a precision Fence
The last assembly to build to com- Heavy-Duty Face. The first step in dust and chips clear this opening,
plete the router table is the fence, building the fence is to make the I routed a chamfer on the cutout in
as shown in the drawing above. faces. Here, I used a double-layer the base (Figure 3a). To reinforce
And it’s really what transforms the fence assembly. The added layer of the joint between the fence and the
router table into a precision tool 1⁄ " plywood makes it less likely to base, I glued braces to the base and
2
you’ll come to rely on. flex or warp over time. A centered the backside of the fence face.
For the fence to work its best, it cutout in each layer is large enough Attaching the Fence. The fence is con-
needs to do three things. First, the to accommodate most router bits. nected to the table with carriage
fence needs to be rigid so it won’t You’ll notice the inside face of the bolts, washers, and knobs. A pair
deflect as a workpiece slides across fence is made from two pieces. I did of pinch blocks slide in the channel
it. Second, the fence face has to be this in order to get all the parts from created by the brace and filler on
square to the tabletop. This way, a single sheet of plywood. the bottom side of the table.
you can be sure your cuts are accu- Stable Base. This assembly is then Once the fence is attached to the
rate every time. Finally, it has to lock glued to the front of a base that table, all you have to do is plug in
securely to the tabletop. has a matching cutout. To help your router and get to work. W
Woodsmith No. 195 Online Extras Page 5 of 5 ©2011 August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.