Saturday, March 29, 2008

• Major Project Completed

   Today I finally completed a project I started at least two months ago.  Most of that was waiting for the table top, which I had custom built and shipped to me.  It was the one phase of the project I didn't want to try my hand at.  But the rest was all built in shop (except the router of course, which I just got from Amazon).  For those who may not recognize what it is, this is a cabinet style router table.  To buy one outright like this would probably cost over $1000, without the router.  This one probably ran me around half that price.  And it was a ton of fun to build.  I still have a couple cosmetic touches to make, like putting a face veneer on the table frame support to hide the screws, but other than that, it's done and fully functional.  So here it is:

  
  Here it is without the fence.  Part of the design includes a dust collection system that creates a Venturi effect by sucking in air through a small cuttout at the bottom of the doors and through the back into the hose.  The cabinet is built from plywood, and the very convenient storage drawers are poplar with hardboard bottoms.
  
  Here it is with the fence, which is also shopbuilt.  The switch has a nice, large stop paddle in case I have to shut it off in a hurry.  Ordered it from a woodworking catalog.  
  Detail of fence.  The faces in front are split and adjust by loosening four wing nuts in back to keep the bit as enclosed as possible, for safety reasons.  The fence itself clamps to the table top on either end.  Dust collection at the bit keeps everything neat.
  
  
  Detail of bit drawers.  There are three, to store all the bits I'll need. 
  
  
  Detail of dust collection in back.  

  For most of you this might not seem like much of a big deal, but I am really excited about getting to use this machine.  Most shop machinery you have to buy outright, but this is one of the few items a woodworker can make himself, and come away with a really effective and useful piece of equipment at a fraction of the cost of a ready-built item.

   

  Just thought I'd share.

  • 3:00 PM
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