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Tax season's going to bring some tooling possibilities this year. How many of you make use of router tables? What do you use them for? Which models would you recommend?

I'm tentatively looking at the Bench Dog 40-001 for its size and portability.

http://www.amazon.com/Bench-Dog-40-001- ... 328&sr=1-2

I've got a small one. I use it for truss rod and CF slots, trimming necks to match the FB taper and shaping various parts I have templates for. Be careful, I believe a router table has the potential to be a fairly dangerous tool.

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I've got a full size one. Don't use it.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

why ever not ???

James I own the full size Bench Dog and use a Bosch router in it. I use it to flush trim most of the neck to the fingerboard....and flush trim most of the headstock to a pattern I use. That's about it. I use the my table saw to do the the truss rod slot and carbon fiber slots if applicable. I find it easier (for me) to find center using the saw AND adjusting the depth of cut on my table saw is much easier. Just me though....

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

I have the Benchdog table with a PC motor and a Woodpecker lift. I use it all the time and have been very happy with it. Template routing for bridges and headstocks, truss rod/carbon reinforcing bar slots, mold making, etc.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I have 3 sears router tables set up for all type of things. Neck blocks , and other jig set ups . Handy little things

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I can see it being really effective in bridge making, peghead shaping, roughing braces, profiling sides before bending, and tapering fretboards.

I have one. I end up stacking wood on it and never use it.

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I built a really fancy one years ago with a PC 3-1/4 horse and other that routing mould lams, I don't use it. I mostly stack junk on it or park sanders and various cans of solvent on it.
If you really want a tool you will use ALL the time, my advice is a 6 X 89 edge sander.

I'd suggest doing something else: If you've got a table saw with an MDF extension table, buy a router plate and build your router into that table. Saves a ton of space, way cheaper than a table and you can probably use your table saw fence with the router.

That said, I use my router table a lot but in the last 10 years, I've never used a fence with it, I always use a bearing piloted bit of some sort. Keep in mind that I build mostly banduras, not guitars though. I could see how a fence would be useful for cutting a truss rod slot though.

I use the table to mostly to follow templates to make various curved parts in my instruments. It's also great for copying layers of a mold. It can be a kind of scary device though, I'll tell you that.

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For routing my channels for truss rods, I simply drilled a hole in my workbench in an out of the way spot, and mounted my router on the underside of the table. I don't think I'd buy a separate router table. (given my limited space in the workshop).

It's interesting to see such a variance in how people use these. Thanks for the feedback.

Don't know, just haven't needed it. I cut a lot of stuff on the band saw that some folks might use templates and a router for. Just the way I do it.

Actually I do use it, kind of, the drawers in the bottom hold my non-dedicated laminate trimmers, accessories, and all my router bits. Plus my belt sander sits on top.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

That's how I do it, and yes, you can use the table saw fence with it. And since I'm really cheap, my table is a scrap piece of counter top, and my "router plate" is just a fairly thick piece of steel that I drilled and tapped some holes for various uses in. My router is the sturdy Milwaukee 5625 3-1/2 HP, which allows me to adjust the height from the top with a T-handle, so I haven't really missed a separate lift mechanism.

I use the table a lot to make both jigs, parts and shaping (but like Hans, I use my long belts sander a lot more, though).

Most of these uses have been mentioned already, I guess, but since I have all these pictures...







Shaping a headstock








Cutting the binding channel








Truss rod / CF slot

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I use a home made router table with a woodpeckers insert plate. I clamp it to the work bench and prop up the free end with a stick.
The fence is just a piece of oak that pivots on a bolt. So far I 've only routed truss rod slots and it works well for me.

I have a PC router with a Mast R Lift. Mounted in a cheap table that I modified. Couldn't live without it. Use it to make templates, jigs, rout truss rod slots, shape electric bodies and cavities, profile necks, pre contour braces, pre shape sides prior to bending, etc.

The dial on the lift allows me to adjust the bit up and down 1/64" per 1/4 turn, and I use a dial indicator in the slot on the table to adjust the fence by a few thousands of an inch at a time.

Works great for me.

I have a cast iron router table replacement wing on my tablesaw. I added a router fence on to the back side of the tablesaw with dust collection. Very flat and solid table. I can't imagine life without a router table

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Tony, I don't see why not. I mainly use it for mandolins (I’ve only made on arch top guitar so far), and I got the idea from pictures I’ve seen of Lynn Dudenbostel’s shop. Actually, I think I’ve seen a commercial version that is similar, and I believe they recommend using a foam material of some sort as a cradle for the instrument (when using the jig to cut the binding channel on a flat top guitar). I’ve never tried that, I “free hand” it, using my knuckles on the table surface to keep the instrument level, as I feed it to the tool. Seems to work just fine.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

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