Brad’s Router Table

From: Brad Lockwood

Location: Stratford, CT

Hobbyist or Pro: Hobbyist

Project Name: Router Table

Wood Species: Birch Ply/Maple/Polar

Finish Used: Standard Stain with General Finish Dye stain, 3 coats of General Finish Wipe On Stain. I also used Shellac on the top.

Project Description:
This was my second project and I needed a good Router table. I wanted to see the effects of different finishes on different woods and what happens if I don’t do the light sanding after the water base stain. I also wanted to practice dovetail, rabbet joinery, inlay (t-tracks for the miter and fence). I also ordered and installed the Jessem Router Lift, which I bought after watching Marc’s router lift segment. Marc was right on with his analysis in my opinion.

As you can see from the full front photo, I fully integrated the dust collection using hose connected to the fence and a pickup from the router cavity. I placed plexi-glass on the door to the cavity and placed a light in there as well that turns on when the router is on. The very bottom door area is for storage. The left side drawers are sideless as I drilled holes to hold the bits. The Top right side drawer is a false front to hold the switch and the 3 lower drawers are half blind dovetails using the MLCS jig.

I learned a lot about finishing, dovetailing, drawer guide mounting and many other techniques as well. Now I have a top-of-the-line table and lessons learned. So as my friends say, this is the most furniture like router table east of the Mississippi.

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