If you’re a professional woodworker or do-it-yourself enthusiast, looking to execute some advance woodworking projects with ease, then owning a router table will make your job to become easier as well as keeping your work environment clean.
So, what is a router table?
A router is a hand-held device used to make cuts, engravings, carving on pieces of materials mainly wood. While a router table is a stationary woodworking machine featuring a stationary router mounted upside down with the cutter facing upwards.
This makes it easy to control the feed rate and direction of feed movement. Apart from cuts, engravings and carving, a router mounted on a router table can do other stuffs like beading and moulding.
While the router itself would make your work as a woodworker easy, the router table will make it easier. You can use a router on small pieces of wood without much trouble. But don’t expect it to work accurately on several full sized woods without giving you trouble.
What are the advantages of using a router table for your woodworking projects? Below are some of the benefits of using a router table for your woodworking projects:
To build raised panel doors
Works involving large bits with multiple passes absolutely need a router table. After making multiple passes, the separately routed pieces still need to be assembled with utmost precision. With the router table, you can make accurate passes using the top of the table and the fence. If your router table comes with a lift, making height adjustment to suit your purpose will be more convenient.
Working with small or not too wide pieces
You might have to work with very small or narrow pieces and a router won’t do for this purpose. Here, you might have to alter your design or risk getting injured because you’re without a router table. Your options are limited unless you get a router table that will make it safer and comfortable to work with small pieces.
Making a dovetail
This is almost impossible without the dovetail part of a router table. While there are several ways to cut a dovetail, the absence of a table would make it very difficult. Let’s just say it isn’t worth the trouble.
Making varieties of jigs
The T track is a standard feature on almost all router tables. It makes it possible to make a wide range of jigs as a pair with your table. There are quite a lot of inexhaustible ways you can make a jig from a simple crosscut to more complicated ones.
Less mess to clean up
Using a hand held router can get really messy with dust flying everywhere. Leaving a mess for you to clean up, if you are not covered in dust yourself. Router tables usually have dust collectors that clean up the mess as soon as you make them.
Now that you’ve understand the numerous advantages of using a router table for your woodworking projects, how do you get one and what are the features to consider when choosing one.
Below are lists of some of the features you’d expect to see in a router table below although it depends on your need for the table:
- The dust extraction port
- The guard
- The fence
- Mitre fence slot
- The NVR (no-volt release) switch
- Insert plate
Conclusion
There are lots of wood works you can get done easily with a router table. A router will do the job, but a router table will do it better and more accurately. From making different types of joints that catch your fancy to shaping the edges of tables, a router table is less difficult and more fun. You can either buy a professionally made router table or build one yourself. Just make sure to get a table that is as large as possible and has lots of useful features.
