The milling table allows you to significantly increase the efficiency and productivity of work. Many models are available for sale for a wide variety of hand routers. However, the price finished products very overpriced. It is much more profitable and more interesting to assemble a table with your own hands. No expensive materials and difficult-to-handle tools are needed for this.
General information about the design of the milling table
The milling table can be installed on a workbench or a specially assembled separate table. The product must have a rigid structure and good stability, because. during operation, a very noticeable vibration will be created. Be sure to consider the fact that the installation of the router will be done from the bottom of the countertop and absolutely nothing should interfere with it. None additional elements are not installed there.
The design of a homemade table provides for the presence of a mounting plate, due to which the router will be attached directly to the table. To create a plate, use a durable high quality material: plywood, textolite, metal sheet, etc.
On top of the tabletop, a sample is created for the plate. The plate is fixed directly with self-tapping screws with a hidden head. The milling cutter is fixed with screws with the same hidden head. Additional fixation of the plate can be performed using clamps.
For convenient inclusion of a milling cutter the button is fixed on a table. Additionally, it is recommended to install an emergency shutdown button of the fungus type. If you have to work with large workpieces, equip the table with upper clamping devices. For even greater convenience and precision, the table is equipped with a ruler.
For self-assembly of the milling table, you will need the following tools:
- Electric jigsaw. If not, you can get by with a hacksaw.
- Plane. Preferably electric.
- Chisel.
- Grinder. In the absence, you can get by with a bar with sandpaper, but processing with their help will require more time and effort.
- Screwdriver or drill with screwdriver function.
- Electric drill with a set of drills.
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The initial stage of the assembly of the table
Explore your workshop and choose a place to install your future milling table. Determine the most suitable product design. Tables are:
- Aggregate. At their core, they are a side extension of a standard saw table.
- Portable. Very convenient and ergonomic desktop option.
- Stationary. Installed separately and assembled specifically for the router.
If your milling table will be used infrequently, or if you have to work outside the workshop, opt for a portable option. If there is enough space, make a separate table. For greater convenience, it can be equipped with wheels that will allow you to “move” to another place if necessary.
You can assemble a small-sized structure and install it on an ordinary table. You can take a chipboard of a suitable size and install a guide on it. The guide in this case is a board of relatively small thickness, fixed with bolts.
Take 2 clamps. Make a hole for the cutter. This will complete the main work. However, if the machine is your main working tool, you need to approach the process more thoroughly and create a convenient and reliable table, for which it will be comfortable to spend time.
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Preparing the bed and worktop
The bed is a stationary part of any milling table. At its core, it is a frame on supports with a tabletop on top. The material of the frame does not really matter. Suitable for wood, metal, chipboard, MDF. The main thing is to ensure the required rigidity and maximum stability. The dimensions of the frame are also not critical. Choose them according to the size of materials you most often have to process.
The lower part of the bed should be deepened by 10-20 cm in relation to the front overhang of the table top. Dimensions, as already noted, select according to your needs. For example, for processing the ends of blanks of facades and door linings, you can make a frame 150 cm wide, 90 cm high, 50 cm deep.
A very important characteristic in this case is the height. The optimal value is considered to be 85-90 cm. It is good if you can equip the frame with adjustable supports. They will allow you to compensate for uneven floor surfaces and change the height of the milling table if the need arises.
To make a homemade table, you can take an ordinary chipboard kitchen worktop. A plate with a thickness of 26 or 36 mm is used with wear-resistant plastic coated. Thanks to the plastic, the workpiece will slide well on the countertop, and the chipboard will take on the task of dampening vibration. IN last resort you can use chipboard or MDF with a thickness of at least 16 mm.
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What you need to know about the mounting plate?
A mounting plate is necessarily fixed near the place of attachment of the sole of the router. The best is durable and at the same time thin material. Most commonly used sheet metal. A more convenient and no less durable option is textolite (glass fiber). Usually it is a rectangular plate with a thickness of 4-8 mm. In the center of such a plate, it is necessary to prepare a hole. Its diameter should be the same as the diameter of the hole in the sole of the router.
The sole of the router, as a rule, is equipped with standard threaded holes needed to secure the plastic lining. Thanks to these holes, the router is fixed to the mounting plate. If there are no holes, make them yourself. You can use another method of fastening the router, for example, with metal clamps. Holes for fixing the plate are created closer to its corners.
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Step by step instructions for assembling the table
First you need to fix the countertop to the finished bed. A plate is placed on a pre-selected place on the countertop. A pencil is taken and its contours are outlined. Next you need to take manual frezer with a 6-10 mm cutter and choose a seat in the tabletop for mounting plate. It should lie flush, i.e. compose perfectly flat surface with a tabletop, as if a single whole.
At seat should have slightly rounded corners. You can round them off with a file. After adding the mounting plate, take a cutter with a thickness slightly greater than the thickness of the countertop, and make in the countertop through holes exactly in the shape of the sole of the milling cutter. You don't have to try too hard, perfect accuracy is not required at this stage. From the bottom of the tabletop, you need to make an additional selection for the dust collector housing and other accessories that you plan to equip your router table with.
The work is almost completed, you just need to assemble everything into a single product. Start the router from below and screw it to the plate. Fix the plate to the tabletop with self-tapping screws. Self-tapping screws need to be drowned, otherwise they will interfere with the work process. Finally screw the tabletop to the bed.
In order to increase convenience and safety, you can equip the structure with an upper pressure roller device. Such an addition will be especially useful when processing large-sized workpieces, such as door linings. The clamp design has no complex elements, so you can make and install it yourself without any problems.
A ball bearing can be used as a roller right size. The bearing is installed in the holding fixture. The device itself must be rigidly fixed at the required distance from the surface of your countertop. So you will ensure a constant tight pressing of the workpiece to the surface of the countertop at the moment the product passes under the roller. This will improve the accuracy and safety of the work performed.
The milling table will facilitate your work and help to increase the accuracy of processing workpieces. You can buy a ready-made one, or you can make a router table for a manual router with your own hands, using woodworking skills. We have prepared for you a fairly detailed step by step instructions for table making.
The essence of all designs of a horizontal milling table is the same, the idea is clear - you need to think it over for yourself and execute it, taking into account your capabilities. And in the end, get a machine that allows you to process workpieces much more accurately and perform operations that previously seemed difficult for a manual milling cutter.
Decide on the size of the work surface, starting from the dimensions of the workpieces being processed and the free space in the workshop. Start small - build simple countertop, laying in the design the possibility of modernization. Work on it and gradually bring to mind.
Make a tabletop
The simplest table for a milling cutter is a separate working plate, placed on carpentry goats or between cabinets. The fixture costs a penny and is made in a few hours, but will allow you to perform a significant proportion of the same operations as a multifunctional machine. You only need MDF or birch plywood 19-25 mm thick. Better fit a plastic-coated panel that provides less friction resistance, and a plate laminated on both sides will not warp during operation.
Set the exact right angle of the cut on the circular saw, cut the parts according to the dimensions and grind the ends.
Cutting pattern: 1 - main plate; 2 - stop base; 3 - front wall of the stop; 4 - scarf (4 pieces, dimensions for 19 mm plywood); 5 - tsarga (2 pcs.); 6 - side bar; 7 - connecting bar (4 pcs.)
Advice. Before cutting, measure the thickness sheet material often deviating from the standard. Make adjustments to the drawings, eliminating problems during assembly of the structure.
Remove the plastic pad from the sole of the router.
Draw a line in the middle of the slab and mark 235 mm from the edge.
Place the overlay so that the router's main controls are next to the edge of the table. Visually align the center of the lining with the marked point and mark the places for drilling the holes for the mounting screws.
Determine the center location for the sole with equidistant screws.
For a base with asymmetrical screws, measure the diameter of the rubber and the distance from the outer circumference to the cut of the sole.
Draw a line with a pencil in the middle of the beveled side, calculate the distance from it to the center:
- S=D/2-(D-H)
Position the cut perpendicular to the midline and mark the center of the sole.
Mark the mounting screw locations.
Drill mounting holes and under the cutter, countersink the recesses. Mark semicircular cutouts in the base and front wall of the stop.
Cut out the bends with an electric saw. Make auxiliary frequent cuts perpendicular to the edge of the part, slightly leading to the marking line. Then lead the file a little closer to the contour line - the pieces will fall out without interfering with the movement of the blade. Sand the cutout with sandpaper wrapped around the pipe.
Fasten the connecting strips from the bottom of the tabletop.
Glue all the blanks and fasten with additional screws. Pick up screws longer than the regular ones by the thickness of the plywood and install the router at the bottom of the slab.
1 - side bar for fastening with clamps on the goats; 2 - tsarga; 3 - countersunk guide holes; 4 - front wall of the stop; 5 - self-tapping screw with countersunk head 4.5x42; 6 - scarf; 7 - stop base
Fix the table on the goats with clamps, fix the position of the stop with clamps and get to work.
Build a solid foundation
The worktop can be installed on a frame of low height, sufficient to accommodate the router. A portable table is stored on a rack, and is fixed on a workbench for work. If you often mill and have free space in the workshop, add support pedestals to the table top and get a full-fledged machine.
Cut the cabinet pieces to the dimensions given for the 820mm high table or modify them so that the tabletop is level with other equipment .
Frame details: 1 - outer side panel; 2 - inner panel; 3 - rear panel; 4 - base
Lay the tabletop upside down. Install side panels in sequence and fasten them with screws, pre-drilling pilot holes. Fasten the base, lay the frame face down, align the square corners and install the two back panels.
At the end, attach the wheel supports to the bottom of the hull using roofing screws. Position the wheel mounting pads at least 20 mm from the edges.
1 - side stand; 2 - wheel support; 3 - bottom; 4 - internal rack; 5 - rear panel
Use free space in cabinets to solve the problem of storing tools and consumables.
Insert mounting plate
Get a longer cutter overhang by placing the tool on a 4-6 mm thick plate made of duralumin, getinaks or solid polycarbonate.
Cut out a 300 mm square from the sheet, put it on a workbench. Glue the plastic sole of the router on top with double-sided tape, placing it in the middle face up. With a drill of the same diameter as the fixing screws, drill holes in the plate using the plastic pad as a template. Remove the sole, make recesses for the caps with a countersink or a large drill.
Screw the plate to the disconnected router, insert an 8 mm drill into the collet. Lower the body of the tool until the drill touches the surface and rotate the chuck, marking the center. Unscrew the plate and make a hole according to the mark with a hole saw.
Place the plate on the tabletop and trace the outline. Draw and cut the cutout by inserting the jigsaw blade through drilled hole. Trim the ends with a file and sand with sandpaper.
Fix the thin boards around the marked contour with clamps.
Clamp in collet copy cutter bearing, set the cutting depth to match the thickness of the mounting plate. Carry out the milling in several passes, then add 0.5 mm with the micrometer regulator of the router and make the final pass.
Drill through holes for the screws and expand them with reverse side countertops with a 11 mm drill for self-locking nuts. Clean the surfaces and install the nuts on the epoxy, leveling with the screwed bolts.
Fit the mounting plate to the cutout, lay it in place, drill the fixing holes and countersink with front side. Attach the part to the sole of the router, insert the tool into the tabletop and tighten the screws. Check that the plate is flush with the tabletop plane, if necessary, compensate for errors with washers.
Improve your focus
For faster and more convenient setup of the machine, modify the parallel side stop and complete the machine with a rotary stop, which helps to process the ends of narrow parts. The latter can be taken from a stationary circular saw. Cut aluminum guides with a T-profile into the surface of the plate. To make cutouts in the countertop, use a router or a circular saw with a slotted disc.
Lightly round the top corners of the grooves with sandpaper. Cut the profile to size, drill holes according to the diameter of the screws, process them with a countersink. Insert the parts into the grooves, make thin holes and tighten the hidden screws.
Drill 7mm holes in the base of the stop, pick up hex bolts and plastic handwheels with nuts.
Install the guide profile in the front plate of the stop to secure the clamps, auxiliary pads and protective devices.
Cut a plywood cover with a hole in the center, fasten it to the scarves located near the cutout longitudinal stop. Connect the adapter and connect the vacuum cleaner when working on the milling table.
Add a safety shield to the stop, made from plywood trim and a strip of plexiglass.
To make oblong cuts, drill 7 mm holes at the indicated points, connect them tangentially and make cuts with a jigsaw.
Make homemade clamps and clamps needed for milling small elements.
A comb press can be made from maple wood, choosing a straight-grained area. Make the gaps between the ridges on a circular machine:
- Set the cutting height to 50 mm.
- Set the cutting width to 2mm.
- Make a cut.
- Pull the workpiece back with the manual pusher.
- Turn the board 180°, saw through the other side.
- Move the stop by 5 mm, repeat the operations.
- Move the fence back again and make cuts all over the workpiece.
Secure the clamps to the rail with bolts and wing nuts.
1 - stopper; 2 - clamp-comb; 3 - protective shield; 4 - aluminum guide; 5 - nozzle for a vacuum cleaner
Sand the surfaces of parts, especially in places where workpieces will pass during the milling process. Clean the machine from dust and cover with oil.
1 — drawer for cutters; 2 - trapezoidal groove for stop
Summing up the project
Materials needed:
- Plywood 19x1525x1525 mm - 2 sheets.
- Plastic 4x30x30 mm.
- Several dozen screws.
- Aluminum guides - 2.3 m.
- Wheel support with brake — 4 pcs.
- Glue joiner's and epoxy.
- Bolts M6 with nuts.
The ability to take your time and think through every step, accurately mark and cut blanks, or the desire to learn this, came in handy. The result is a solid milling table for little money. In the future, it is worth thinking about equipping the machine with a switch and a milling height adjustment mechanism.
- Device
- FS design example
- bed
- table top
- Working plate
- Rings
- Frazier
- Router fixture
- guide rail
- Thrust bars
- Nozzle
- Longitudinal movable stop
- Additional latches
- Rotary FS
The owner of a private house has to do a lot of repairs, improve his living conditions. The milling table will become great solution in the manufacture various details and fixtures made of wood, as it ensures accuracy and good quality workpiece processing.
The table is the main base of the machine. The working body of the equipment is a cutter, a part with several cutting blades. With its help, in wooden blanks they make different kind grooves, channels, windows (vertical recesses), oval profile bevels and much more. Milling - machining of workpieces with a multi-blade tool. The cutter, in addition to rotational movement, performs translational movements. Machine bed with worktop wooden products called the milling table (FS).
Device
The correct installation of the router in the table depends on the flawless design of the bed. On the bed is the working surface of the machine. A milling cutter is attached to the plate from below, which moves along the vertical axis. The workpiece is fixed in the transverse direction with a special device - a parallel stop for the milling table.
The principle of operation of the FS can be compared with how a circular saw works. A wood material is pushed onto a rotating blade body installed in a stationary position for processing.
FS design example
For the manufacture of FS you will need the following materials:
- small pieces of chipboard or plywood;
- various hardware;
- metal corner;
- steel plate;
- aluminum profile;
- elevator (jack);
- carriage;
- plastic clamps.
The drawing shows the dimensions of the parts that can be adjusted in each case of an individual design of the FS. This homemade table for a manual milling cutter - an example of the most primitive FS design. Homemade designs FS can be made from other materials. It all depends on the capabilities and qualifications of the one who undertook such work.
Independent production of FS
Consider the structural features of the parts of the FS:
bed
The base of the machine can be made from wooden beam or brewed from metal profile. Required drawing the bed is shown below.
Under FS, you can use an ordinary workbench. But you need to know that during the operation of the power unit strong vibrations will occur. If the workbench is not stable enough, then a special support structure. The main load is transferred from the working platform down to the machine support. Therefore, the bed must have a lot of weight.
table top
The working area of the table is the tabletop. It is better to make it from textolite with a thickness of 20-30 mm. Why choose textolite? This is due to the fact that the entire process of processing blanks is associated with sliding parts on the working surface of the table. Textolite differs from other materials in a high degree of wear resistance and a low coefficient of friction. A tabletop made of such material will not harm the solid surface of the workpiece and will last for many years.
Instead of textolite, a steel plate with a thickness of 6 mm or more can be used as a working platform for the table.
Working plate
The plate for the milling cutter is made of textolite or sheet metal. A hole is made in the plate into which metal rings are inserted. Rings with different diameters are inserted into each other. Ring inserts are flush with the tabletop surface.
Rings
What are the rings for? They provide a tight entry of the cutter into the body of the workpiece. different size rings corresponds to different diameters of the cutting elements.
Frazier
Since the router is attached to the bottom of the tabletop, the design of the FS creates free space below. Installation and maintenance of the power plant should not be difficult due to the cramped conditions at the bottom of the machine.
A universal power unit that drives a cutter is called a milling cutter. It can be done using any suitable electric motor. But this is within the power of a person with extensive experience in this field of activity. The best option will purchase a ready-made hand mill.
Manual milling cutter is a multifunctional unit. Power tools perform a variety of tasks. It is mainly used for the processing of wooden blanks.
However, it is very difficult to hold the tool in your hands and at the same time try to fix the wooden part. This will not bring the desired result. In order for the manufacture of parts to occur with high accuracy, the milling cutter is fixed on a special table.
The sole of the milling cutter has threaded holes. The holes are used for fixing the tool with screws to the plate built into the FS tabletop.
Router fixture
Tabletops and plates at milling tables must be located strictly in the same horizontal plane. The fixing screws on the plate are screwed into countersunk holes. Nothing should protrude or sink into the working surface of the FS.
With absence mounting holes in the body of the router, they are cut independently. To fix the plate in the countertop, a sample of the material is made from below. If the working platform is made of steel sheet, then the metal plate is equipped with special fasteners.
Elevator
On professional machines to move the milling cutter vertically, set special device- elevator.
With a certain skill, you can adapt a jack or other lever as an elevator lifting mechanism. The best option would be to purchase a ready-made elevator in the distribution network. The main thing in the design of the lifting mechanism is to ensure reliable fixation of the unit at a particular height. The conical arrangement of the cutting elements of the cutter allows, at a certain height of the protrusion above the working surface of the FS, to adjust the depth and width of the working in the body of the workpiece.
guide rail
The guide rail is made of duralumin profile. You can use duralumin tracks used in furniture for moving cabinet sliding doors as a guide rail. A selection is made under the rail with a manual milling cutter. The guide track must be placed parallel to the opposite thrust wall.
Thrust bars
At the ends of the tabletop on both sides, duralumin tracks are installed along which the frame structure with thrust bars moves. Parallel to the track at the end, a ruler is attached. The ruler can be made from a tape of an ordinary roulette.
The stop bars act as lateral support for the workpieces. They are located on both sides of the milling head. To protect the operator's eyes from chips, the gap between the bars is covered with transparent plastic.
Nozzle
From the outside of the thrust bars above milling head install the suction nozzle. It is connected to a vacuum cleaner during operation of the machine. Thanks to this, wood dust and chips are effectively removed from the working area.
Longitudinal movable stop
The lower part of the mobile stop is inserted into the guide track. The stand moves freely along the FS. With its vertical wall, the fixture rests against the base of the workpiece. Pressing the stop, the machine operator during milling moves the part along the table.
Additional latches
The fasteners are made of plastic. They keep the workpiece from involuntary displacement of the part in the vertical and horizontal plane. Clamps are mounted on a special rack.
Rotary FS
Turntable for milling machine is quite complex technical device. Rotary FS allows you to set the angle of inclination of the workpiece. This is due to the ability of the working surface of the table to move in different directions. On machines equipped with CNC, it is possible to manufacture parts with a round and spiral configuration.
FS with manual control perform various roundings, allow processing curved surfaces of parts. The most common FS diameter is from 300 to 600 mm. Swivel mechanism moves work surface table both in the horizontal plane and in the transverse-longitudinal and vertical-horizontal planes.
The horizontal-vertical turntable ensures the processing of high quality workpieces. The vertical-horizontal working platform makes it possible to perform circular machining of parts and form screw channels on the surface of products.
Rotary tables are used for processing steel parts and workpieces made of other metals.
Craft rotary machine only highly qualified specialists can do it with their own hands. A machine of this design is advantageous to have in the implementation entrepreneurial activity. For one-time work, it is economically unprofitable to keep a rotary FS in your household.
Below is a video demonstrating a simple circuit FS structures. To assemble such equipment is quite accessible to a person who has experience in carpentry.
Safety Compliance
The milling table is equipped with an electric tool. During the operation of the machine, the following safety precautions must be observed:
- If the frame of the FS is made of metal, then it is necessary to arrange the grounding of the countertop support.
- It is important to install the machine in a well-ventilated and well-lit area.
- In the case of the manufacture of FS from wooden parts ground the body of the router.
The plates are a combination of two plates 3 mm thick each, which are attracted to each other with flush M4 screws. The plates can be purchased in a disassembled state, a cheaper (budget) option. Then you yourself will have to countersink the holes in the top plate for the M4 screw, and cut the threads under the M4 in the bottom plate in the holes, and assemble the plates together yourself. Or you can purchase it in a version that is already completely ready for installation in the countertop.
The plates have dimensions based on the size of the soles of the milling cutters and can be made in three versions:
Option 1: Both plates (upper and lower) are completely made of steel (steel3)
Option 2: Top plate made of of stainless steel AISI 430, St.3 bottom plate
Option 3: Both plates are made of AISI 430 stainless steel.
In addition, for some types of routers there are two options external dimensions plates.
The plate is installed in milling table top into a specially milled window and aligned parallel to the plane of the tabletop using hardened pins (the pin has a flat tip and a hole for a hex key), which are screwed into the formed shelf of the tabletop window. To do this, it is necessary to drill holes in the shelf of the tabletop on which the plate will lie with a 4.5 mm drill, and then use the wrench to screw the pins into these holes. Table top for milling table can be made from laminated plywood, solid wood, chipboard, etc.
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Router inserts allow you to make homemade milling table.
The milling cutter is the most frequently used tool of a self-respecting craftsman. Thanks to him, you can make the things we know with incredible ease. There are operations in carpentry that cannot be performed without this tool.
The milling cutter consists of an engine, a collet for mounting replaceable cutters, a speed controller, and a vertical bar. IN model range From any manufacturer, there are many models with different capacities. A manual milling cutter is a fairly versatile electrical device that has a wide potential and possibilities. It becomes possible to improve the router by installing it on a horizontal surface, which will allow you to process fairly large workpieces with minimal effort.
Purpose of the milling table
Installing the router in a table or workbench allows you to achieve good results in the manufacture of many products. In the furniture industry, it is an indispensable tool. Since this process often requires trimming the edges of the canvases, making figured grooves and recesses.
Such tables can be found in large tool stores. The cost of such equipment directly depends on the functionality and material from which they are made. But even with the most minimal set of functions, but with quality coating, the price for such a product is quite high. For a simple amateur who works for his pleasure in the garage, the price is unaffordable. The way out is a homemade table for the router.
Before you start buying material for the future table, you should decide on its functionality. Consider the main features of a manual milling cutter and its machine version.
Hand Router Operations
- Figured or rectilinear processing of ends or edges of preparations.
- Hole cutting various shapes to install furniture fittings.
- Removing a quarter of the thickness.
- Grinding and cutting of workpieces.
- drilling.
- Finishing the cutting area.
- Removal of grooves of slots, grooves.
Milling table operations
A do-it-yourself table for a router allows you to perform operations such as:
- parallel fine cutting;
- facing surfaces and edges of great length;
- quarter sampling;
- edge finishing.
From the list it becomes clear that all the same operations are performed on the milling table as with a conventional manual router, but only with greater accuracy and quality. In addition, the dimensions of the blanks are already many times larger.
Choosing a hand router
For a tiny workshop, buying a separate router is an unaffordable luxury. Therefore, a router table will be required with a quick-release router design. This means that it will work in two versions, both on the table and in manual mode. To do this, you need a quality power tool.
There are two types of manual router:
- submersible;
- trimming.
Their names speak of their functionality. Since the miter router is highly specialized, its further consideration will not be interesting to the reader.
By power, an electric tool is classified into:
- low power- from 500 to 1100 watts;
- medium power - from 1200 to 1800 watts;
- high power - from 1900 to 2500 watts.
Professionals advise using low-power milling cutters for processing small workpieces, this allows you to achieve maximum ease of use. In this case, you will have to make passes in several approaches, removing a small thickness, layer by layer. However, such routers cannot be installed on a special table. For these purposes, milling machines with a power of about 2000 watts are suitable.
Also, when choosing, you should pay attention to the following features of the tool:
- the maximum depth of lowering the rack;
- smooth start;
- spindle speed control;
- dynamic brake;
- maintaining rpm under load.
- chip removal system.
All these parameters determine the quality of a manual router, which will be useful both in manual mode and in machine mode.
Milling table device
Any milling table consists of the following elements:
- directly to the milling cutter itself;
- countertops;
- parallel stop;
- chip removal systems;
- boxes for storing spare parts and various cutters;
- horizontal clamp.
Depending on the functional tasks of the milling table, it can be made in the following versions:
- side table with a milling cutter;
- stationary tabletop;
- stationary worktop with parallel stop;
- fixed worktop with rip fence, with lift vertical router, cross feed cutter.
materials
How to make a table for a router? What should a person who decides on this business have in his arsenal? To begin with, we need a drawing of a table for a manual router. Finding him is easy. Therefore, making a table for a manual router is quite realistic. There are also many detailed tutorials and videos of local craftsmen showing off their creations. There are models that are so multifunctional that they combine, in addition to milling, drilling, grinding and cutting tables.
Almost any material is suitable for manufacturing. Mainly use chipboard sheets, laminated plywood or ordinary plywood with a thickness of at least 8 millimeters. You will also need wood screws with a countersunk head, aluminum corners(furniture), PVA glue.
Assembly
Consider how the simplest do-it-yourself table for a router is assembled. We will make it from laminated plywood. The size of the countertop is 400 mm wide and 400 mm long. A laminated board is perfect for a countertop. It has a number of advantages over plywood:
- wear-resistant surface;
- low cost;
- quick replacement.
However, we decided to make a table for a manual router from laminated plywood. Carefully cut it to the intended size. The legs will be made from the same material. It retreats from the edges by 20-30 centimeters and fastens the legs with the tabletop, pre-lubricate the joints with glue and make two or three holes for tightening the screws.
We make the following technological holes in the countertop:
- large round for the exit of the collet with a cutter;
- parallel groove for fastening the guide;
- you can make a small groove for attaching the ruler.
Parallel stop can be made from the same materials as the countertop. The stop consists of two parts, the interface runs exactly in the center of the installed cutter. They must move independently of each other. To increase the possibilities of milling, it is desirable that the parallel stop has two degrees of freedom. That is, he could tilt relative to the tabletop, and turn parallel to it. This will allow you to make products of complex shape.
Among other things, a recess with a square-shaped cover is made on the reverse side of the parallel stop, a vacuum cleaner pipe is inserted into one end. As a rule, the chip removal system is made from two sides, one from above behind the stop, the second directly near the milling cutter collet.
This is the easiest table for a do-it-yourself router. In the future, you can refine and install a lift for convenient adjustment of the departure in height and horizontal cutter.
Accessories
Since the router installed in the table is an electric tool, an external switch can be built into the table for safety. This will allow you to conveniently and safely turn the machine on and off when needed. Here you can also install additional sockets for connecting a portable lamp or a hand drill.
With sufficient free space, milling tables are made with dimensions of 1500 by 1500 millimeters and a height of one and a half meters. Get full-fledged workbenches. At the same time, they make sliding shelves, in which it is convenient to store various cutters and a key for changing the spindle. Big table allows you to process large sheets of plywood or other material so often used in the manufacture of furniture or doors. Such a table increases the accuracy of machined parts and reduces the percentage of defects in manufacturing.
Safety
It is worth remembering that tables for wood routers are sources of increased danger. The speed of the cutter reaches 25,000 rpm. Any awkward movement will lead to irreparable consequences. Hands should be kept at the maximum safe distance from the rotating head, the cutter should be changed on a stopped and de-energized machine.
When working, you need to wear special glasses that will protect your eyes from getting small chips. The noise level during operation is quite high, you should take appropriate precautions. Keep children away from the router.
