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Used door for router table top? lift info added - shoottmx - 05-02-2019

I want to build a new router table and have a heavy door I'd like to use for the top. It's 1 1/8" particle board skinned with 1/8" masonite on both sides and wrapped with 1" thick soft wood. With a straight edge it looks pretty doggone flat. 

Planning to use a WP PRL1 with a PC 3 1/4 hp router.

I think most commercially available tops are MDF skinned with phenolic. Would it be best to skin both sides with formica which I can pick up locally? 

Is there any real negative to using particle board for a top??

Thanks for reading,  g


RE: Used door for router table top? lift info added - fredhargis - 05-02-2019

I built my RT about 18 years ago, and at the time the forums were buzzing about how easy it would be to do with a solid core door. So I bought one, cut it in 1/2 (roughly) only to find the solid core was particle board. This door is 1 3/8" (just veneer covering the PB), and i was peeved that i had just bought an expensive piece of PB. Nevertheless, I completed the table, and covered both sides of the door with laminate. It has seen a lot of use since then, and is still just as flat as it was then (as perfect as i could measure at the time). I built a norm style table and it has some good cross bracing support under the top, but it's always had a heavy router in it. At first a Freud FT2000 (3 1/4 plunge), then I added a Woodpecker lift to the Freud, then replaced the whole assembly with a used PRL and a  Milwaukee 5625...so it's held some weight. So I say go at it, the PB is stiffer than the more commonly used MDF, and I would laminate at least the top, just to make it more useable. At the time I built mine, laminating both sides was generally suggested to keep the core in balance...I'm pretty sure that isn't as much a concern as folks used to think (with PB).


RE: Used door for router table top? lift info added - chapeleastland - 05-02-2019

Do a search for "sagging router tables." See what the different materials are that are prone to sagging.

Your door may be just fine for a while, maybe forever. But it also may have problems, and is subject to warping.

I was fortunate to locate a steel router table 3/16ths thick. It won't sag. I don't have those worries.

This is not the place to skimp because if your table is not flat, you'll be fighting it and ruining material and wasting time.

Think twice before using particle board doors no matter how much you "reinforce" them.


RE: Used door for router table top? lift info added - shoottmx - 05-02-2019

(05-02-2019, 03:05 PM)fredhargis Wrote: I built my RT about 18 years ago, and at the time the forums were buzzing about how easy it would be to do with a solid core door. So I bought one, cut it in 1/2 (roughly) only to find the solid core was particle board. This door is 1 3/8" (just veneer covering the PB), and i was peeved that i had just bought an expensive piece of PB. Nevertheless, I completed the table, and covered both sides of the door with laminate. It has seen a lot of use since then, and is still just as flat as it was then (as perfect as i could measure at the time). I built a norm style table and it has some good cross bracing support under the top, but it's always had a heavy router in it. At first a Freud FT2000 (3 1/4 plunge), then I added a Woodpecker lift to the Freud, then replaced the whole assembly with a used PRL and a  Milwaukee 5625...so it's held some weight. So I say go at it, the PB is stiffer than the more commonly used MDF, and I would laminate at least the top, just to sinceit more useable. At the time I built mine, laminating both sides was generally suggested to keep the core in balance...I'm pretty sure that isn't as much a concern as folks used to think (with PB).

Thanks Fred,

Appreciate your feedback. The door I'm planning to use was a pocket door that has hung in our house since '93. I'd think it's as stable as it could possibly be. I'm going to give it a  whirl, all I'll loose is a little time if it sags, I'll keep a close eye on it.

Some time ago you and I made a trade--your Freud dado set for my Freud router--don't remember the model. Maybe it ended up in your table? I just built 2 vanities with 10 total drawers, used your dado to cut all the drawer box joints and dadoes in the BB ply. It still cuts like a dream.

Thanks again,  g


RE: Used door for router table top? lift info added - shoottmx - 05-02-2019

(05-02-2019, 05:15 PM)chapeleastland Wrote: Do a search for "sagging router tables." See what the different materials are that are prone to sagging.

Your door may be just fine for a while, maybe forever. But it also may have problems, and is subject to warping.

I was fortunate to locate a steel router table 3/16ths thick. It won't sag. I don't have those worries.

This is not the place to skimp because if your table is not flat, you'll be fighting it and ruining material and wasting time.

Think twice before using particle board doors no matter how much you "reinforce" them.

Thanks chapeleastland,

I googled "sagging router tables.". I read a half dozen different threads, each one with a different table material. I don't have anything to loose but a little time.

Thanks again, g


RE: Used door for router table top? lift info added - fredhargis - 05-03-2019

Glad that dado set is working out for you, the 1700 sits on the shelf with the other routers and used in handheld use. It probably should be in a table since I think it's one of the better choices for that.


RE: Used door for router table top? lift info added - Stwood_ - 05-04-2019

As long as it's supported well, most any solid core door will be ok for a router table.


RE: Used door for router table top? lift info added - MstrCarpenter - 05-04-2019

I worked in a cabinet shop that used a door for a router table.  It always had a 23/32 straight bit and instead of a fence, it had dadoes that the "fence" fit in at all of the common locations for kitchen cabinets. By always referencing off the top (or bottom for uppers) of the cabinet sides the dadoes always lined up. It was hinged to the wall about 3' high so once the sides were milled it was pushed up against the wall. In use it was only supported by those hinges and a folding table leg. I don't recall any noticeable sagging.


RE: Used door for router table top? lift info added - shoottmx - 05-05-2019

Thanks for the responses, I'm going to forge ahead with the door. It's not a front burner project so will be some time til I report back with results.

Thanks again everyone,  g