My new router table top

[tablesawtom]

I am finally getting around to a project I have wanted to do for a couple of years. I took the cast iron top off from an old Craftsman shaper. The large hole in the table was a 3 inch diameter hole. My largest raised panel bit was 3 1/8 in diameter so I bored the hole to 3 3/16th. Most of the Katana raised panel bits from MLCS are 3 1/8th inch diameter. There are some that are 3 1/2 inches in diameter but I do not have any of them but I have another router table that will swing them if I ever need to go that big.

I bored down to the shoulder that was existing. The casting has a boss for the opening otherwise wasn't sure if the casting is thick enough. I milled a flat on the bottom and added a piece of aluminum to get the bottom of the casting I could get thickness to the same as the plate thickness on my older Woodpecker's router lift.

The pictures are of what I have now, but I will have to stick it back on the Bridgeport milling machine and a clear out a couple of ribs. I want the router lift to come up another 3/8th of an inch. Right now I can change cutters but is is a real pain. If I can get it up a little more it will be great. When I do that I am going to really check and see if I can possible drop the shoulder in the large hole down to .250 below the top surface. That will give me a little more room to drop the raise panel cutter down.

I have 5 other throat plates to turn down to fit the 3 3/16ths center hole. Also I am not sure I like all the material to the front of the table. After I build the cabinate to house the top and try it for a while I might just cut 4 inches off from the front.

I charted the holes in the router plate and made a print. The first picture is the print. The rest are just pictures of where I am at the present.

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And what the total top looks like at the present.

Thanks for looking

Tom

[tablesawtom]

The motor is a 3/4 HP motor so it is a replacement. But reversible. I am planning on getting a couple of pillow block bearings, a shaft, and some pullies and two Shopsmith discs and making a double disc sander. It is hard to use a disc sander to sand a radius on both ends of a board without laying out on end on one side and the ether end on the other. With two discs I can work from one side and do each ends. and by reversing the direction  I should be able to get more use from the disc Same disc different directions. I can mount it on what was the shapers legs.

Tom

[Tapper]

Looks like a nice project, Tom. Got a picture of that Bridgeport?

Doug

[tablesawtom]

Looks like a nice project, Tom. Got a picture of that Bridgeport?

Doug

First picture picking up hole location.

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I shaved a little of from the shoulder and used a depth mike to find out how much deeper I had to go the drop the shoulder to a depth of .250. All of woodpecker's aluminum inserts miked exactly .250. If I don't go deep enough the insert sets proud and is a no no. To low and they drop below so I spent some time to it it exactly at .250. From the picture I needed to lower the shoulder .0815

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The boring head and boring bar is what I used to do it.

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I turned the top over to remove some of the ribbing.  I had to repositioned the table top twice when I cut each rib. I had to remove material so the router would come out of the hole farther for above the table top tool changes.

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I forgot to drill and tap a hole in the top for a threaded pin for free hand work. I Had to turn it over again to do that.

I also managed to reduce the diameters of my inserts so they would fit in the new table top. And if you look center and a little to the right you will see the taped hole that isn't in any of the other pictures.

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And that about finishes the top for now, Maybe more will show up as I assemble it.

Tom

[Stwood_]

Any provisions for a fence in the future?

[tablesawtom]

Any provisions for a fence in the future?

Here are two pictures of the new fence. The fence is no where near being done. It is for a general idea of where I am going. I need to make two pieces so I can have dust collection between the blue fence and the first aluminum spacer.  The fence will have a half nut for quick movement of the fence. I will have to make a much longer threaded piece for movement.  The short one is for helping to locate the ball bearing slides. I have the top half of the half nut to make yet and a lock to lock the fence in position and mount a hand wheel to fine adjustment. I hope to finish it maybe by next Tuesday. I will post pictures of it when I get done.

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I hope I have answered all the questions asked.

Tom

[Bob Vaughan]

Excellent write-up and photos.
Excellent idea of using that 70s era shaper table top.  I used one of those shapers for several years.  What I liked about that top is the absolute ease in clamping down feather boards to hold the stock against the fence.  I miss that convenience to this day.
Consider leaving the top as is for featherboard clamping.  It makes it easy to get two clamps on a featherboard.

[JDuke]

I cut a new hole in a solid cast iron table saw wing years ago, and drilled it to fit a router base. 

That was my first experience with a table saw wing mounted router.  It would have been really nice to use a lift like your doing, but it wasn’t in the budget back then.

I used a benchtop mill to bore mine out, it certainly would have been easier with the Bridgeport, or the Lagun copy of a Bridgeport that I have now. 



Great idea to make a router out of something that should have been a router table from the start

Duke

[Tapper]

Thanks for the shots of the Bridgeport - nice machine and nice work! I'm setting up a home machine shop and have purchased a Bridgeport locally. Will be delivered when the weather warms up (out here that means when the snow melts). They are such handy and versatile machines. Looking forward to making some metal chips!

Also looking forward to following your router table project. Should be a very nice one when you're finished.

Doug

[Stwood_]

Lookin good Tom. Your fence adjustment/mount looks great.