58 F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G

ver the years I looked at a lot of router-tabledesigns, but every one I came across lackedone feature or another. Shopmade router

tables usually are limited to tabletop routing and fallshort if you want to do anything more, like mount therouter horizontally or use an overhead pin routingguide. The same is true for most store-bought tables.

My own router-table design combines all of the fea-tures I was after. The table I arrived at is easy to build,and it can be made with low-cost materials. Aboveall, because it accommodates the router in a varietyof orientations, it can handle any cut that I could pos-sibly think of making.

With the router mounted horizontally in an ad-justable carriage, the table is set up ideally for cuttingsliding dovetails or mortise-and-tenons. And shaping

A Versatile Router TableThis economical design

is capable of conventional,

overhead, or horizontal routing

B Y K E V I N M c L A U G H L I N

O

An adjustable carriage holds the router in its horizontal cutting position (left) andacts as a base to mount overhead attachments, such as a pin routing guide (right)for template-guided cuts.

A D J U S TA B L E C A R R I A G E A D D S V E R S AT I L I T Y

The tabletop and back aremelamine and joined witha miter to provide asmooth, unobstructedsurface for routing. Therecess in the center of thetable allows the routerbaseplate to sit flush withthe tabletop. Size theopening in the top so thatthe router can be loweredin from above. Themeasurements in thedrawing may need to bemodified should you usedifferent hardware.

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 0 4 59Photos: Matt Berger; drawings: Jim Richey

Framing squares ensure a 90° fit. Clamp thetop and back to two Speed Squares, and thenclamp the mitered joint.

Rout the insetin the top.Clamp routerguides in place,then rout a ledgeinto the top. Therouter baseplateshould sit flushwith the top.

Melamine top,24 in. wide by181⁄8 in. deep

Front and backlower rails, 203⁄4 in. long

Front and backupper rails, 173⁄4 in. long

Left and rightupper rails, 171⁄2 in. long

Left and rightlower rails, 15 in. long

Miter-gaugeslot, 3⁄8 in. deepby 5⁄8 in. wide

Cutout forsacrificial block,33⁄4 in. wide by 5 in. long

Sacrificial block forhorizontal routing

Ledge, 1 in. wide,supportsbaseplate.

Opening in stop blockfor sacrificial block,23⁄4 in. wide by 3 in. long

Legs, 351⁄4 in. long

Back panel,173⁄4 in. wideby 25 in. long

Bottom panel,173⁄4 in. wide by15 in. long, isnotched for thefour legs.

Melamine back,3⁄4 in. thick by 24 in. wide by 8 in. long

Cutout forhorizontalrouter bit, 4 in. wide by31⁄2 in. high

Recess forrouterbaseplate,3⁄8 in. deep

N O - F R I L L S S TA N D

To keep down costs, the stand is constructed with2x4s milled flat on a jointer and planer. The toppart of the stand is screwed to the tabletop with15⁄8-in. drywall screws; the legs and bottom framerequire longer screws. McLaughlin added a 25-lb.weight housed in the lower frame to anchor therouter table.

R O U T E R -TA B L E C O N S T R U C T I O N

C L A M P - B L O C K D E TA I LCarriage bolts and threaded knobs keep theclamps in place. The steel dowels keep thecarriage in line.

60 F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G

the edge of a wide board doesn’t requirebalancing unwieldy material on end.

The adjustable carriage also doubles as abase to mount several overhead attach-ments. A pin routing guide makes the tableuseful for template-routing. A fence guardis easy to set up for safety. Finally, a hori-zontal carriage attachment allows therouter to be mounted upright above thetable surface and the workpiece. In this ori-entation, you can reference the flat side ofthe workpiece on the tabletop, which ishelpful when removing wide areas of ma-terial or when cutting irregular moldings.With such a simple system for mounting at-tachments, I can build new ones to tackleany tasks I think of down the road.

The adjustable carriage moves in a truevertical line perpendicular to the tabletop,so overhead attachments can rest on topand be moved up and down while remain-ing parallel to the tabletop, a design that’scritical to using the overhead attachments ef-fectively. This construction method differsfrom most horizontal router tables onwhich the router height is adjusted on asingle pivot point, and the router moves upand down in an arc when it’s raised andlowered.

The table is built with inexpensive materialsThe construction of the router table is rela-tively simple. The stand is made of 2x4sheld together with drywall screws. This is asturdy and inexpensive method that can bemodified easily if you want to add drawersor make an enclosed cabinet. Allow the

Threaded brassinserts, spaced 61⁄4 in. betweencenters, vertically

T H E A D J U S TA B L E C A R R I A G E

Carriage bolts,16 tpi by 3⁄8 in.dia. by 3 in.long

Steeldowels, 1⁄4 in. dia.by 11⁄2 in.long

Clampblocks, 11⁄2 in.thick by31⁄2 in.wide by 8 in. long

Frame for routerbaseplate, 3⁄4 in. thick by 1 in. wide

Router-bit hole, 11⁄2 in. dia.

Upper rail, 11⁄2 in.thick by23⁄4 in.wide

Threaded brassinserts, spaced73⁄4 in. betweencenters

Melamine panel,3⁄4 in. thick by 113⁄4 in. wide by 233⁄4 in. long

Lower rail, 11⁄2 in. thick by 21⁄2 in. wide

Through-hole,3⁄4 in. dia.

Threaded rod, 10 tpiby 3⁄4 in. dia.

Hex nuts above andbelow wheel

Wheel, 51⁄2 in. dia.with 3⁄4-in.-dia.center hole

Hex nut, insetin lower rail

Flat washer, 3⁄4 in. dia.,placed in bottom of holein lower adjustment rail

Flat-bottom hole forthreaded rod, 13⁄16 in.dia. by 15⁄16 in. deepLower adjustment rail,

11⁄2 in. thick by 3 in.wide by 173⁄4 in. long

Handlewith 1⁄4-in.threadedbolts

Carriage bolt

Back oftable

Backpanel

Steeldowel

Clamp block

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 0 4 61

2x4s to acclimate in your shop so that theydon’t move significantly after the table has been constructed, and mill them on ajointer and planer to help the parts fit to-gether squarely.

For the tabletop and adjustable carriage Iused 3⁄4-in.-thick melamine. I purchased pre-cut shelving material from a local homecenter. The precut material is easier to han-dle, but a 4-ft. by 8-ft. sheet also will do. Ichose melamine because it has a slick fin-ish and is extremely flat. The various at-tachments are constructed with melamineand 3⁄4-in.-thick birch plywood.

Start with a flat tabletopBegin by choosing a router-table baseplate,and build the tabletop to accommodate it. Ichose the Bench Dog ProPlate, availablefrom Woodcraft for $30. It has a simple de-sign with openings that can accommodateseveral bit diameters.

The router-table top consists of a hori-zontal surface and a vertical back piecethat are joined with a mitered edge. Caremust be taken to ensure the top and backjoin at a perfect 90°.

Rough-cut the pieces 1⁄8-in. oversize, andtrim them to exact dimensions using arouter and a flush-trimming bit. This methodwill leave a clean edge on the melamine,unlike a tablesaw blade, which tends tochip the edges. Before assembling the twopieces, cut an opening in the back edge ofthe tabletop where the bit will be exposedwhen the router is mounted in its horizon-tal cutting position. This opening will holda sacrificial block that can be replaced pe-

A frame on the back of the adjustable car-riage holds a router baseplate. The framesupports a horizontally mounted router. The up-per rail also supports overhead attachments.

Mount the adjustable carriage to the table.Clamp the carriage in place so that it sits per-pendicular to the tabletop. Drill holes for car-riage bolts and steel dowels.

Clamp blocks secure the adjustable car-riage. The clamp blocks fit over the carriagebolts and steel dowels and are tightened inplace with threaded handles.

Two ways to set the adjustable-carriage height. The position of the carriage can be finely ad-justed with a wheel. Gross adjustments are made by moving the lower adjustment rail to differentpositions on the table legs.

62 F I N E W O O D W O R K I N G

riodically. Once the opening has been cut,the top and back can be glued together.

Next, make a 2x4 frame to reinforce thetabletop. When building the frame, millthe 2x4s on the jointer and planer to getflat surfaces and right angles. This will pre-vent the top from warping when it ismounted on the frame. Assemble thepieces on a flat surface, and glue andscrew them together. Then mount thetabletop to the frame with drywall screwsand attach it to the stand.

Build the tabletop—With the top of thetable assembled, make the remaining cutson its worksurface to accommodate the

baseplate and miter gauge. First, cut a recessinto the tabletop for the baseplate. The base-plate must sit flush with the table, so thedepth of cut is determined by the thicknessof the baseplate. Cut the opening to matchthe baseplate. To do that, make a guide forthe router to follow by clamping a straight-edge and two right-angle squares onto thetabletop (see the bottom photo on p. 59).

Within the area that has been recessed,use a jigsaw to cut the opening for therouter housing. I have a dedicated routerthat I use with this table, and I find it’s eas-iest to just drop it into the table from abovewith the baseplate attached. This requiresthat the router opening be cut with enough

clearance to accept the machine. Youshould leave at least a 1-in. ledge at the nar-rowest spot to support the baseplate.

Finally, cut a slot along the width of thetable surface for the miter gauge. Then at-tach the top and frame to the stand.

Construct the adjustable carriageCut the melamine back panel to size, thenattach a frame to its back side. The framenot only holds the router in a horizontalposition, ensuring that the router does notshift during use, but it also strengthens theback panel. Install two threaded brass in-serts inside the frame for mounting thebaseplate. Finally, drill a hole with a

An overhead router carriage holds the router upright above the table, allowing the flatside of a workpiece to be referenced on the tabletop.

O V E R H E A D R O U T E R C A R R I A G E

This router table can be modified easily to accommodate various routing tasks. With the router mounted upside down in the table, you canmake use of several overhead attachments. For example, a pin guide allows for easy template-routing. McLaughlin built four attachmentsfor his router table, shown here. They follow only one standard requirement: They must attach to the top of the adjustable carriage withtwo threaded bolts with handles that are placed 73⁄4 in. apart from center to center.

Threaded boltswith handles Threaded bolts

with handles,spaced 61⁄4 in.between centers

11⁄2-in.-dia.hole forrouter bit.

Fence

Flat side ofworkpiece isregistered offthe table.

Profile bit

Router

U S E F U L A C C E S S O R I E S

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 0 4 63

Forstner bit through the back panel wherethe router bit will be exposed.

The carriage has an upper rail to supportoverhead attachments. A lower rail is at-tached to the bottom edge of the carriageto house one end of the system for finelyadjusting the height of the carriage.

Set up the adjustable carriage to slidevertically—The carriage is held in placewith four steel 1⁄4-in.-dia. dowels and two L-shaped wood clamp blocks, which secureit to the table.

To make the sliding assembly, drill anddrive the steel dowels into the back of thetabletop. The back panel of the carriage

should be snug between the pins to preventit from moving from side to side. The clampblocks fit over the dowels and are furthersecured to the back with threaded boltswith handles. Loosening the bolts allows thecarriage to slide up and down. Tighteningthe bolts secures the carriage in place.

Build the system for making fineheight adjustments—Fine adjustmentsare made by turning a wooden wheel that’sattached to a threaded rod. The lower railon the adjustable carriage accepts one endof the threaded rod. Another rail is boltedto the legs to accept the other end of thethreaded rod.

When constructing the adjustment system,use a 3⁄4-in.-dia. 10-tpi threaded rod. One fullturn of the wheel will move the carriage upor down 1⁄10 in. For large adjustments, pairsof brass inserts in three positions along thelegs allow the rail to be unbolted and repo-sitioned manually. Set in the lowest posi-tion, the top edge of the carriage should sitflush with the tabletop. The other positionswill raise the carriage enough to mount theoverhead attachments. The brass insertscan be set in various positions to accom-modate attachments of your own design. �

Kevin McLaughlin is a mechanical designer andmachinist by trade living in Helena, Ala.

A clear plastic shield keepsfingers away from the bit whenthe router is mounted upsidedown in the table. A flattened2x4 clamped to the tablemakes an adequate fence.

This adjustable overheadattachment places a shop-vacuum hose right where youneed it.

A steel dowel, positioned in-line with a non-bearing straight router bit,is used for template-routing. The template is guided along the pin whilethe router bit cuts the workpiece to match. The pin guide is attached tothe adjustable carriage. First, locate the hole for the pin by lowering thecarriage while the router is running. When the bit hits the attachment,the dimple left behind pinpoints the location of the pin.

P I N R O U T I N G G U I D E

VA C U U M - H O S E AT TA C H M E N T

F E N C E G U A R D

Threaded boltswith handles

Threaded bolts with handles

Adjustableplasticfaceplate

Threaded boltswith handles

Open area to viewwork from above

Hole forvacuum hose

Hole forvacuum hose

Steel dowel,1⁄2 in. dia.

Adjustmentknob

Adjustmentknobs