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he router table is little more than a worksurface that secures an inverted router on the underside of the tabletop. Add a fence and miter slots, and you’ve got a flexible tool that will get constant use in the shop.L
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The fence is perhaps the most important part of a router table. Make sure yours is straight and square to the tabletop, and that it is easy to adjust back and forth on the table. A replaceable wooden subfence that opens and closes to accommodate various diameter bits is crucial. It’s also good for the fence to have T-slots for fastening feather- boards and stops, which not only make your work safer, but more accurate as well.
You can use the router you already have in your router table. To mount it, simply switch the plastic baseplate with the router table insert. It’s a good idea to get an extra base to leave mounted to the insert—that way switching to the router table is simply a matter of slipping the motor from one base into the other.
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Router Table 115
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When the molding process will leave some of the original edge on a board, a solid fence works best. This setup is best for rabbeting, molding, panel-raising, and cut- ting grooves. Here, a split fence is set up as a solid fence by aligning the two halves.
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On a split fence, the infeed and outfeed sides of the fence are (or can be) offset. It’s useful when you rout away all of an edge— for edge jointing or some profiling opera- tions. You can build a split fence from two pieces of wood or make its functional equivalent by shimming out the auxiliary fence on the outfeed side of a solid fence.
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Remove the fence and use a bit with a pilot bearing, but don’t start your cut free- hand. Insert a guide pin near the bit and pivot the workpiece on the pin until it engages the bearing. Then you can ignore the pin and rout with the bearing.
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When you’re dealing with square pieces, small pieces, or end grain, use a sled riding in the miter slot for control.
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