router table major improvements

Sometimes, in order to be more effective or efficient when using a tool, you need to modify the tool to make it best for you.
I decided it was time to modify my router table in order to make better use of my existing space.
I have a router table but it takes up a lot of the rooms in my garage and the space is huge because my work area is in 3rd car stalls.
I\'m trying to place as many things as I can on the casters so I can move things away or move them where I need them.
I was never ready to put the router on the wheel for some reason.
I think it would be great to make some other major improvements to it at the same time.
Below is a detailed video of the router table improvement.
Don\'t forget to subscribe to more videos of upcoming projects.
The goal of this project: more information for each goal.
Add better dust collection
I have a dust collecting port on the back of the fence on my router table, pulling out some saw dust from the router bit area, but there is a lot of dust around the drill bit under the table.
In the past, I stored some items under the router and put them in the cross section on a new dismount.
A lot of saw dust was piled up on these items, making a mess. 2.
Let it move
I don\'t use router tables often, so I also like to use it for assembly tables and grinding tables.
It is important to put it on the wheel.
More importantly, the wheels are double-locked casters.
This means that the casting does not rotate and the wheels do not roll when the wheels are locked. 3.
Make the router bit and wrench closer to the router-
I always seem to lose the wrench by tightening and loosening the collet on the router.
Having a location on the router to save them is the key to improving the efficiency of using tables. 4. Add Storage -
There is a lot of unused space under the router table.
In fact, all the spaces below are not fully utilized.
I only have some wood, some router fences and accessories and I sit on the cross at the bottom of the table.
In a small garage shop, this is a lot of things that are not used. 5.
Future scalability
I hope the improvements I have made to the router table are likely to expand in the future.
I mean, I don\'t want any improvements to stop me from making new fixtures for the table.
The tools I use in the project are as follows: Note: If you plan to use any tools for the project, please make sure you are familiar with the tool and all the hazards associated with it.
If you are not familiar with a tool, then you should ask someone who shows you the right way to use it.
Many communities have offered courses at local universities on the proper use of tools and machinery.
There are also local woodworking clubs that offer courses at a very reasonable price for beginners.
For your safe and most efficient use of the tool, I strongly recommend that you use these resources.
Safety first, always wear eye and hearing protection devices.
Always use the security work on the appropriate safety equipment and tools.
The first thing I did was add lock casters to the table.
These types of casters wheels lock the wheels from rotation and rolling.
The ones I bought at the local housewares store are easy to lock and unlock with hands or feet, so it only takes a second to lock or unlock with feet.
The flat feet on the table are screwed to 3/8 \"-
Insert 16 tpi per table leg.
I decided to add a 3/4 piece of plywood to the bottom of the table as well.
I reversed the table of the router so it was easier to add the bottom shelf and casters.
I cut a 3/4 piece of plywood to the external dimensions of the table leg and then determined where to drill holes to match the holes of the insert pieces in each table leg.
I then put the casters on the top of the plywood, and the corner holes of the casters plate align with the holes in the legs.
I marked the remaining three holes for each caster and then drilled all the holes.
Next I put the plywood back on my leg and attached all the casters.
I used 2 \"3/8 long\" bolts as holes on the legs and 1 \"3/8 long\" Bolt as the other three holes on the caster plate.
Next, I added a plywood shelf to the cross section of the original table.
I cut a piece of 3/4 plywood with the same size as the bottom.
This is the external size of the table legs.
Then I cut out the plywood corners for the table legs.
This rack is only in place by gravity and locked in place by the gap.
This is a quick way to add another shelf.
Next, I decided the way I wanted to surround the table.
The best way I decided to do this for this router table was to add a piece of plywood to the side and under the back of the existing skirt between the legs.
The existing skirt is 7/8 thick and 3 1/2 tall.
They also have a 1/8 slope on the edge of the part.
I decided to install plywood that was flush with the inside of the skirt plate, and they matched very well with the bevel on the edge of the skirt plate.
This closes the side and back of the table.
Because the front of the table decided that I would turn the door down.
I need to divide the interior of the table into three parts, and the middle part is used to collect dust.
To ensure that there is no loss of suction, the part needs to be as tight as possible.
The front of the table will be surrounded by three falling doors.
I\'m only going to have a door in the center section, but I think it would look better to have a door in all three.
Since both the side and back pieces have the same width, I decided to cut them at the same time on the table saw.
I know I need 10-
The gap from the bottom of the table to the top of the shell is 1/2 \"to 11\" to make sure I have enough space under the router.
The existing table skirt has 3 pieces 1/2 \"high, so I put the new skirt under the skirt 7-1/2\" tall.
Once I cut them into width, I cut them into length.
I measured the length of each opening and cut them a bit long.
I then slowly cut the length of the board to ensure a tight fit between the table legs.
Side pieces are 3/4 \"x 7-1/2\" x 17 1/2\".
I used a Kreg fixture to add holes in the parts and connect to the existing leg and skirt board.
This is perfect for this installation.
On the Side block, I drilled 2 pocket holes from the top and bottom of each end.
I also added a 3 \"pocket hole from each end and one to the center of the top.
Since both the side and back pieces have the same width, I decided to cut them at the same time on the table saw.
I know I need 10-
The gap from the bottom of the table to the top of the shell is 1/2 \"to 11\" to make sure I have enough space under the router.
The existing table skirt has 3 pieces 1/2 \"high, so I put the new skirt under the skirt 7-1/2\" tall.
Once I cut them into width, I cut them into length.
I measured the length of each opening and cut them a bit long.
I then slowly cut the length of the board to ensure a tight fit between the table legs.
Side pieces are 3/4 \"x 7-1/2\" x 17 1/2\".
The back is 3/4 \"x 7-1/2\" x 25 1/4\".
I used a Kreg fixture to add holes in the parts and connect to the existing leg and skirt board.
This is perfect for this installation.
On the Side block, I drilled 2 pocket holes from the top and bottom of each end.
I also added a 3 \"pocket hole from each end and one to the center of the top.
On the back I drilled 2 pocket holes from the top and bottom of each end.
I also added a pocket hole 3 \"from each end, one in the center, one between the center and the end pocket hole at the top.
I drilled a hole in the center of the bottom of the back panel to collect dust.
The store vac I use for the router table has a hose, roughly 2-
1/2 \"diameter hose.
I marked a 2-on the back piece-
1/2 \"diameter 1\" from the bottom edge of the plate \".
Since I wanted the hose to fit tightly in the hole, I drilled a 2-on-board-
Forstner drill bit with a diameter of 1/8 \", then use the swing spindle sander to slowly make the hole larger.
I grind the edges of the holes with a rotating grinder with an 80-wheel drum, and then use the hose from the vac store that I usually use when wiring to check regularly.
Note: Make sure you offset any pocket holes attached to the same leg so that the pocket screws are not inserted into each other.
Partitions create sides that collect dust areas and need to be placed wide enough spacing so that they are located at the edge of the top plate connected by the router.
I drilled 3 pocket holes in the back, 2 on the top, and 1 in front of each partition.
When I align and insert pocket screws, I secure each partition in the appropriate position with a clip through the router opening.
Before I install the screws before and after the partition, I make sure the partition is vertically aligned.
The bottom part is between the side block and the back block.
It is attached from below to those parts with pocket holes.
The piece is a bit hard to connect due to screw-in from the bottom, but it goes in and is rock solid.
The door was made from a piece of poplar that I found at a local timber supplier.
I would have preferred a more personalized wood type, but the piece is only 1/2 thick and much lighter than the rest of the wood I see.
I don\'t want the heavy door to fall and hit anything.
I think it would look great to cut all three doors from the same piece of wood so that the grain would go through these three doors.
I first cut this poplar into the final width of the door.
Next, I cut one end at 90 degrees.
Then I measured a little more width than the left door.
I then determined the width of the center door and cut it off the poplar tree.
I mark the position of the hinge by the back of the door, then remove enough material using the rotary tool, add the hinge to the center door so that the door is flush with the shell.
Next I installed the center door.
I then measured the width of the left and right doors and cut them into dimensions, mounted the hinges and mounted them on the housing.
I left a few knobs when we installed cabinet door knows at home, so I drilled the drill and added them to the door.
I couldn\'t find the self-closing hinge I liked, so I decided to use some small rare earth magnet brackets as a magnetic catch.
They work very well without any problems.
I installed these on the debris that I stuck to the top corner of the door.
One thing I missed while working on the part layout was adding a hole to the power cord to install it.
At least I \'ve figured it out now, not when I\'m done with the improvement completely.
I decided to pass the power cord through the back piece.
I drilled a hole from the back with the forstner bit.
I made this hole a bit bigger than the current power plug on the router in case I change the router in the future.
I have a piece of scrap plywood on the inner side of the back plate, so when I drill through with a forstner drill bit, it does not tear the edge of the hole when the drill bit breaks through.
I made the board with 1/4 thick plywood.
I drilled a few slots and could be in two 8-
32 machine screws in 2 inch length.
I installed these in two holes that I drilled a little smaller so that the screws would not turn.
In this way, the wing nut will tighten without the machine screw rotating in place.
I added a wing nut and flat washer to the end of each 2 \"machine screw to secure the cover plate in place.
I installed two garage storage hooks on the side of the router table to accommodate the two sanding hoses I have.
I initially installed the hooks and hung the hoses and it turned out that they were easy to slide off the hooks.
I fix this by adding a 24 inch long gear tie belt under each hook so it can wrap around the dust hose and hold them in place.
I found the gear tie that actually locked them together with the hose ribs to wrap the hose.
If the gear tie is not untied, it is difficult to remove the hose from the hook.
I\'m trying to get the wires out there.
I decided to fix the extra length of the wire to the back of the router table with several coat hooks.
See the picture for the layout of the hooks.
This works very well, it doesn\'t let the rope hang down and get caught when I roll the table.
I don\'t have much room for parking buttons in front of the router table frame, but I decided to add one to turn the router on and off easily and safely without having to go into the new central chassis.
Since the legs on the table are fairly thin, I ended up installing the switch to one side of the left front leg, as shown in the figure.
Keep in mind that when you adjust or change the bit in your router, always unplug the power cord from the safety switch.
It\'s just not worth taking risks.
I am already excited about the project as I find that I move the table more times than I thought.
Sliding on the concrete garage floor is a big hassle and reduces productivity.
I should also mention it sounds terrible!
Since I often use the router table as a grinding table, I can now use Sanders, dust hose and sanding supplies together, and the hose is now under control.
I will travel to them often before they are everywhere.
For more information on improvements, watch the video and don\'t forget to subscribe to the upcoming project video.
Now that everything is installed, I think I need some time to polish the wooden surfaces of the original router table and add a few layers of polyurethane to help protect those surfaces.
I should have done this before I start working, but I\'m a little too excited to make an update.
If you have done something like this, please let me know in the comments as I want to find out what works best for others or hear something that doesn\'t go as planned.