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I'm trying to get my head around a bit of a redesign in my tool room. I have a big 4x4 island bench stuck in the middle which is awkward to actually use for fretting, it's main use. But it also holds my router table.

I want to replace the saggy cheap mdf router table I have with a metal topped Bosch on which is affordable at 250 and looks to be a step up from what I have. I also want to build it into a wraparound bench running the walls rather than in an island bench. The island us good because there's mondo clearance around the router table, but it leaves a lot of dead space in a tiny shop.

I'd like to know how much clearance you generally leave behind and to the sides of your router table, and if you build t track into any infeed/outfeed benches it may be embedded in.

Just looking for ideas...


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Are you also moving the fretting set up to the wrap around bench? If you make the router table part of the wrap around "bench" you could put it on casters and make it so it could be moved into the center of the shop for times you need to rout inside curves and other situations where a wall mounted table doesn't work.
Clearing the center of the shop and having tools on castors that can be rolled out as needed, but otherwise pushed against the wall I think is a good strategy for a small shop.

If you don't already have a router lift mechanism that allows fine adjustments from the top of the table, i would highly recommend one.No need for it to be the overkill digital electronic lift kind. The cheaper Jessem ones work really great and you'll never regret it. Many of us put our routers in our tablesaw extensions, but sounds like you may not have that option. Good luck!-Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

Mounting the router in the table saw extension is a good space saving option. I have a cabinet saw (old unisaw) that has a small foot print since I shortened the fence to the length of the outfeed table. I also put it on castors and can push it out of the way as necessary. I mounted an extra router base under the extension and use that as a router table. Something like that could be incorporated into a wrap around bench and rolled out when needed to use as a saw or router table or walk around bench.
I have mounted several of my "stationary" tools on castors and have found that to be a great way to increase their utility and ease of use.

All my major equipment is on casters: large Drill press, large band saw, 16-32 thickness sander, 24' square granite table/go-bar deck in my tiny shop.

The granite table serves many purposes such as sanding, routing table, table saw, go-bar deck, tower binding router, and more. My router table is small enough to store on a shelf and then move to the granite table and connect dust collection when I want to use it. It not very heavy at all. For guitar building I have not found the need to have a large router table. I also have a portable table saw stored on a shelf (with the router table) and I just move the saw to the granite table when I need it and connect the dust collection. I'm amazed how accurate a cheap $100 portable table saw is when used with a sled for small guitar wood parts.

My shop is only 7'-9" x 21'. I wish I could have dedicated space for router, table saw, jointer, go-bar deck, sanding, etc. But with a shop this small I have to really decide what will take dedicated space and what will rotate in and out as needed.

My set-up above is unusual (out of the box?) due to necessity. You are obviously reassessing your current needs and if they have changed from the past needs you may want to make more changes than just the router table for your guitar building. It sounds like your table saw takes up prime real estate and maybe for good reason.

Gook luck with your modifications!

Ed Bond (the thread originator)—

To directly answer the question you asked regarding clearance around the router table: For guitar parts, I find I don’t need much clearance. The guitar parts that see action on the router table are all under 2 feet long.

I recently moved to a cast iron router table wing on my table saw, with a decent router lift and router table fence, and it meets/exceeds every need I have for routing guitar parts. The miter slot on my cast iron table, combined with the t-track on top of my fence, give me all of what I need in terms of that sort of assistance in controlling the workpiece.

Something that comes to me as I try to picture your shop in my mind is: why such a large, square island in the middle? My biggest continuous work surface is my 5 foot x 2.5 foot freestanding workbench. I think it is hard for one worker (you work alone, right?) to make good use out of an island as big as yours. I would keep a work island, but make it narrower. I like 2.5 feet for my bench width.

I'll put up some pics of the space I'm trying to improve later. I didn't build the island, it was built by my apprentice at the time who turned a shelf unit into the island, one half router table, one half extra work surface, with space beneath to hold the top and back jointing doodads, as well as rando parts storage.

I have an idea but before committing I like to see what other people do. I guess I also want to know how much use the T-track is on a router table gets, and, if the table top is embedded coplanar with a work top, if you'd extend the t track into the extended worktop.

I hardly use my router table, mostly for molds and bender jigs, I don't think I've ever used the t track. But, I'd like to build it in in the most practical way...

Like Bob, I have my router table in my table saw extension. That gives you an idea of how much side to side clearance I have. If you're putting it against the wall, your clearance depends on what you use it for; I think clearance in front of the bit is more important than behind. Be sure you have enough clearance to access all sides of the router underneath. I don't use a track, but the fence is all important.

I knew an ukulele builder who had his router right in the middle of his workbench, room on all sides, no fence or track, just bearing bits. Of course, he didn't route necks like we do now.

If you use your router for making molds you will be routing inside curves which will require some room "behind" the router. I have gotten along O.K. without the T track, but if I need it I will rout a dado in the plywood the same width as the table saw miter gauge takes (and far enough away that a router bit won't hit it).
Again, I like having a router table on wheels I can spin around and use from any direction (my old Unisaw is on casters and the router is mounted in the extension).

I agree that mobile bases are a huge help in fitting everything into a limited space. One of my favorite things about my Ridgid hybrid saw is the built in mobile base. Almost all of my “stationary” power tools are on aftermarket mobile bases.

I’m another with my (3-1/4 HP Triton) mounted in my contractor table saw extension. The safety switch for the saw does dual duty for the router (swap plugs). Besmeyer fence is awfully handy, and there’s a ton of room around it. I might choose a different router now (this brute was bought used 12 years ago in NZ and isn’t compatible with top-mounted lifts), and I really need to improve the plate insert fastening (vibration causes it to self adjust), but the situation is perfect and I have no desire for a separate router table.


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I have my router table in the middle of my shop and it serves dual purpose as a go-bar deck.

For an inexpensive lift, check out the Router Raizer. It works on any plunge router. Even the Bosch Colt.

http://routertechnologies.com/routerraizer.htm

Thanks Barry -- that Router Raizer deserves some investigation, as they claim it is compatible with Triton.

You are welcome, Tim. The Router Raizer is very different. When you get one, you will be shocked because it is a bag of screws and plastic bushings. The main element is a small diameter, Acme lead screw that gets installed in one of the downtubes of your router plunge base. But this turns the plunge base into a threaded lead mechanism that works not only inverted in a router table, but also as an adjustable depth setting as a hand held router. I have several of them and wouldn't be without them.

Hi Barry,
How much does the router raizer cost? I have an extra 3 1/4hp PC plunger I could put in place of the 690s I am using now.

Tim, I have the large Triton 1/2" router (mounted in a table), bought new a dozen or more years ago. It came with a crank handle which engages with the raise mechanism through a hole drilled in the router table top, so it doesn't need an aftermarket router lift. It maybe worth checking to see if yours has that facility, as the crank handle may not have been included if you got the unit second hand. If it has, it shouldn't be too hard to make a suitable crank or even get an original spare through Triton.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

$85

That’s really helpful, Trevor, thanks! I got the TRA001 in 2007 with the original box and packing, and moved it twice in New Zealand, once to Kenya and again to Canada — I’m quite sure I never had a crank. It got bolted into my contractor saw almost immediately and I obviously didn’t explore its capabilities. Better late than never! It turns out that an original crank can be purchased quite easily, so I need now to reacquaint myself with this beast.


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