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To use a router table, you just require a short time to set it up and acquire skills. Thus, woodworkers would like this power tool for their workshops. In this post, you can learn basic techniques for using a router table during a few weeks.

 

Making with small, narrow, or long stocks

These stocks are easily made on a router table with a feather board. It keeps a stock tightly face on the table and fence to flat the stock.

• A router table will help you create dimensions for stocks that is not easy to make with a handheld router. For narrow and long stocks, you can easily make strips and trim efficiently and quickly by a router table while the handheld is nearly impossible to make that. The handheld will help you make long edges of particular bases or doors, but it’s the best efficient that you use a router table.
• Because of the balancing problem, a router table is the best choice for making small stocks. When operating small parts, you’re very hard to hold a small piece in a hand while grasping a handheld in another hand. With a table, you can use two hands to hold tightly small pieces and work with the stocks as your needs.

Creating edges and patterns

One of the router’s strength is making edges of stocks neat, smooth, flat or square surface. This tool can easily make clean outlines of a shape and create any dimension of the top of stocks. Attaching a bar with one accurately straight edge for checking whether a stock is straight, you are easy and quick to clean up edges and have the perfectly curved shape of a door, a frame or any wood board.

To create a nice pattern work rapidly, you can use a router table for the best efficiency. This tool increases the speed of the process since it allows you to completely remove the necessity for holding workpieces and pattern at the same time you make a cut. The bit is very useful for making a neat outline from one side while the top supports the weight of workpieces very well.

Making joints

• A good thing of the router table is playing the same role as a jointer. It can create a variety of wooden joints depending on each type of router bits, such as rabbets, dadoes, half-lap joints, grooves, dovetails, and other types. With this tool, you will save the money and space for buying one device instead of owning an extra jointer.
• A joint must be highly solid and accurate to connect two boards. A hand saw or router can achieve this goal, but if you want complex and several types of joints, using a router table is the best choice, especially for dovetail joints that are regarded as the strongest type. You can buy dovetail jigs in the store, however, you will save the money for making these jigs with a router table.
• Lock miter joints are also the reason you should use a router table. To cutting exactly a lock miter joint, you need to know how to set up the router bit. First, you raise the router bit until it’s placed in the middle of the material, then you control the fence until the miter’s top is extremely thin. It’s important to place the bit correctly in the center so horizontal and vertical cuts are made with the same setup.

Stopped cuts

A router table makes perfectly stopped cuts for your cabinet or wood boards. Stopped cuts are often used for decorating wood crafts like cabinets. A handheld router can help you do this task but the pockets are often not aligned and correctly square. With a router table, you can simply make stopped cuts exactly following your needs. You can need a guide to learn how to make a stopped cut, but it’s a simple task that you just spend some seconds to finish.

Raised Panel Doors

If you want to build a raised panel door, you certainly need a router table since the essential parts made on the device is the high quality. The important tools are some kinds of router bits that are very dangerous if you use a handheld router. Moreover, rightly milling panel doors and frames is an impossible and impractical task with a router. Using a router table, you can make sure the safe situation while building a nice project.

These are some basic techniques for using a router table. If you spend much time for using, you can discover many other possibilities of this power tool. It’s better for you to find guides of wood crafts and then you can practice on your router table to build nice projects. Whatever your woodworking style, budget, or skill level, a router table brings many benefits for your workshop.

Put a right router in your shop to improve your work’s quality. Use a router to create cutouts, make copies of boundary lines into a certain shape, separate joints, and serve to make surface cuts look more attractive. For both craftsmen and thoughtful woodworkers, a router can bring about many benefits in use.

You should find the router is the course of a search, pros and cons of each type, to purchase the best suitable router for your workshop. Start making a list of your requirement through these suggestions:

• The amount of edges or deep cutting you will do.
• The plan of organizing a router table.
• The importance of a portable tool.
• The good operation of large bits.

After having a clear plan, you need search benefits of types to know which matches your requirements.

Each router makes appropriate for each task, so most professional woodworkers have several types for supporting the flexibility and convenience in use.

When you use a router table, a router allocating exclusively to a table can fit in well with your needs. Thus, it’s convenient if you use a table and hand type at the same time. Always thinking of your request when you form an idea of every router type.

Plunge base

There are two types: plunge base and fixed base. The holder of the plunge allows to supervise the vertical running of a cut, so it’s quicker to push the bit against the display of a piece. It also makes the accurate cuts situated within a piece, like a slot cut and recess cut, decorative arrangement, and a generic model.

Fixed base

However, it’s better to shape the boundary lines with the fixed base. It’s helpful for series of motions requiring skill and care because of the size and handgrip. The fixed can resolve all particular requirements or consideration for both home workers and experts. But it’s hard to do the deep cut and the complicated and detailed movements.

Substitutable base

In the case you need both of features regularly, a substitutable base will be your perfect choice. There are some models allowing to move the plunge to the fixed base as needed. It’s available to take off a motor and replace with installing another type. You can save your money with purchasing two types of the handle instead of the extra full outfit. It’s more convenient to carry around while you are able to do multiple features with the lightweight.

Power

You don’t need to pay attention to the power capacity, but the amp rating is the important factor. Because manufacturers offer the routers with the maximum power, it’s better to notify the holding types of each device, 1/2 or 1/4 collets. That means the stems are acceptable in a tool. The 1/2 type is better with having more various uses than the other because it’s readily obtainable to large diameters.

Other accessories

• Table: Setting a router on a table is more convenient and quicker to do the work. If you’re a professional, the router table is necessary to boost your best results of woodworking.
• Motor feedback: It helps to maintain the set of a stable speed so you don’t worry about the ability of a mess.
•  Micro fine Adjustment: It provides the exact of deep cutting and a strong balance when you’re doing multiple works in the same time.
• Handles: Except for the functions above, they include various sizes and shapes you can choose the match with your hand. They require the careful consideration if you must use constantly in a long time.
•  Dust Collection: Like the name, it can keep the working area clean and provide a healthy environment.

Think clearly of your needs and choose the best suitable router for your shop. It’s a necessary factor to save the time as well as upgrade your ability and products.

Router tables are the power tools in woodworking since they are beneficial for many works, like neat edges, complicated and detailed designs, safe joint and other things of woodworking. However, workers often forgot risks of operating router tables because they control wood boards instead of touching the machine.

Safety cautions

Accident often happens when people don’t pay attention to the mechanical operations. Therefore, you are required to learning about safety cautions of router tables so that you keep the good performance as well as the best protection.

Manufacturer’s manual
Every type of router tables carries the specific safety warnings so you must read its instruction before using, even if you’re a beginner or a professional. The introduction includes special features and precautions but also describing the operating process of the table.

Suitable clothes
Loose clothes and jewelry are the cause of the accidents when using the router table. These clothes are easy to twist the bits when you don’t pay attention to it or are concentrating on wood boards. And because the bits don’t have covers meaning they are out of the table, danger rates are very high. Hence, you should wear an apron or fit clothes and remove all jewelry as working with the router table.

Safe distance
Keep a safe distance from the router table if you are turning on it. The accident often occurs when workers take an overview of a wood boards. Sometimes, they forgot the sharp bit and rely on the table to have a clear view of hidden parts. Remember that the bit easily cut your fingers when you have an unconsciously light touch with it.

Turning off the tool if you want to repair the bit or other relevant sharp things. If you want to supervise your work, just move your spot into another side. The risks of cutters are very serious so you have to be careful as operating the tool.

Large wood boards
It’s safer to hold a large piece than a small one on the router table. That means you keep your hands far from the working bits as working with a large board. The small requires the short distance and increases the risk of stuck wood particles. It’s harmful that the bits can shoot particles toward your face or hit your eyes. Even if you hold tightly the wood and direct a good move, the damage rates are very high with a small piece. It’s the safest that you work with some things you can place on the table and use the top as the assistant.

Protecting equipment

It’s the recommendation that workers should wear protective equipment as doing with power tools. It’s the safe rules with people working on the router table so you have to wear an apron, eye protection, gloves, and other protective equipment before starting.

Follow these tips to protect yourself and keep the work safe and smooth. You should spend some time for making the protection instead of having injuries or lacking some fingers of your hands. This is a serious problem if you don’t pay attention of your safe.

Having twice the useful quality of the router by setting up the router table in your workshop. You can gain many benefits, like rub off the rough edges, remove the rest molding and give a right shape to small projects in an easy and safe way. Learn some tips to use it efficiently.

Create the own moldings

It’s easier and quicker to cut the own moldings if you do by the router table instead of a router only without others’ help. The table is able to hold boards tightly by itself and make them less wide. It’s a hard task with a router since you need hold a board in one hand and a router in another. With a router table, grab a feather board in one hand and take the push stick in another to keep your fingers safe from harm or injury.

Begin from narrowing the bit against the router, setting the router at the lowest edge and moving slightly to achieve the desired height. To keep away red marks on the bit from burning, move a board gradually and steadily without pausing. The speed of moving relies on wood types and the bit.

Easy last-fiber routing

Make the last fiber fit and have the approximate shape of a cube block by a table. Move the piece to securely fix on the wood place and force it forward to pass the bit. Keep the slight moving on the fence in order to ensure the edge touches the fence during the cutting process.

That makes the bit unlimited in guiding and carrying because the fence directs the cut. Moreover, it’s easy to tight pieces as the same broad for all. The table also removes small pieces of boards in the course of chopping, cutting, or breaking the hard surface into the smooth.

Remove completely redundant material on boundary lines

You need spend more time to installing for smoothing the edges. It’s important to force the left side of a fence into a narrow space and manage the arrangement in a straight line. When the fence has not been adjusted yet, fasten a plastic layer to the left side with a narrow strip for an alignment. With this method, you can easily take it off as done.

Follow these tips to complete this installation successfully:

– First, smooth the edges up to the wood edging is applicable

– Second, ease the cutting marks on the edges

– Final, put the edges in fit together

Done manually in routing a pivot point

It’s easy to make small pieces in a shape with the router table which allow to free your hands. Use your free hand to rotate the board against the bit in the way direct it along the bit. Maintain the force relying on the pivot during moving and cutting the bit.

If you feel more confident to manage the wood cutting with a router table, replace a router into a table type to work efficiently and easily. A table makes you become the professional with the high-quality wood products.

If you only clean your workshop with a brush and pan until now, you are increasing chances of health problems. Think seriously of your healthy and protect yourself with a dust collection system. If you are the senior or intend to work as a full woodworker, it’s necessary to learn about dust cleaning to keep the effective work.

Remove your broom, clothes, and vacuum cleaners in cleaning the machines. In this post, I will gather information of installing dust collection system into your router table to keep the clean area for woodworking. Then, it’s easy and simple to apply dust collectors to other power tools.

The wood dust

Staying in the harmful wood workshop can damage your health since you unconsciously breathe wood dust for a long time of working. There are many bad effects on health conditions or the causes of unexpected injury

• Suffering from cancer or respiratory diseases. Because woodworkers often ignore the effect of dust as breathing wood dust, the results are recognizing visual symptoms when diseases are hard to treat.
•  Having unexpected injuries. They can lose the balance as stepping on wood particles that are separated from cutting and randomly dropped on the floor. That can lead the physical injuries as well as healing and absence in the workshop for a long time.
•  Affecting the health of your family. They will have the bad effects on the dust bringing in your clothes if you do woodwork every day.

If you consider a broom, clothes, or a vacuum cleaner can help, it’s really far from enough safety for you. The problem is totally solved with the serious dust collection systems.

Dust collecting process

There are two types of dust in the workshop, large and tiny wood particles. Regularly, the router tables produce tiny types, also called as chips and shavings.

• The dust collecting system is installed in the  back of the table and harvests the wood pieces through the pipeline.
•  Then the air flowing starts destroying the large into tiny pieces and transfer them into the collecting place.
• It’s important to have a powerful rotating fan to increase the power of the air flowing during the process.
• The line with the right size about 2 inches to collect all dust and keep the clean air.
• Find the fit holder to put the lines into a proper state thus, the mechanical devices can continue work efficiently.
• After that, add some flexible tubes conveying the air to the machines and ensure they are tight as well as possible.
• Finally, test the efficiency of the system. For instance: try to cut the edges on your router table, then if you see no dust on the table, the installation is ready for collecting dust.

The important features

When you intend to buy a dust collector for your router table, it is necessary to sort out your requirements first.

•  Notify the size of your shop and router table, and also the other machines if you have them collected dust.
• Estimate the connection between the table and pipes, and large size of wood particles to choose the right pipes.
• Choose the portable collector if more than one table requires the job. Thus, you can use one collector for multiple machines without paying a big budget for many dust collectors, while your workplace is clean and safe.
•  Always check the effect as soon as installing the system to any applications. Try a deep cut and then define if particles appear on the table. If you have the clean layout, that means the system is efficient and safe to work.

It’s easy and efficient to keep the workshop clean and good health conditions with the dust collecting system. You always are in the good situation for a long time of working.

To create high-quality wood crafts, a router table is highly recommended for your work. Either do you purchase the one or make your own router table, you should consider crucial factors so that you can work effectively and have good results. In this post, you can find out what the best router table is in order to purchase the good one or find correct materials for your own.

The surface has to be firm and smooth enough for the safe and accurate cuts. It keeps the router fixed during the strong pressure as well as producing accurate cuts and neat edges. It also supports the router’s weight and makes the lift in place without deflecting.

Types of the material

MDF is the suitable material since the MDF surface has the competitive price and the high quality. People often think this type is a commercial choice so it doesn’t support the high services of the good router table, but you can make a correct performance if the table is made by high standards of production.

You should choose the surface with the width 1″ to keep the firmness. A top will become worse when you use it too many times, for instance, it is too smooth to control boards following your exact plans. The router table including MDF surfaces and an additional material for the both sides can support the right slipperiness and avoid the surface loss.

With melamine, it supplies the good security and is smooth enough for moving a boards gradually and rapidly without surface damage.
With HPL, the surface is tougher than a melamine layout. That means it is strong and thick enough for the great impact resistance and the flat conditions during its life.
With solid phenolic, the sheets support the highest services, extremely strong impact resistance, flat and firmness in the entire work life. It’s outstanding of all features and the greatest material for the router table top.

The plate is an important factor because it has to support the router’s weight while maintaining the flat. You need a plate compatible with the router and firm but also flexible. There are two popular materials, aluminum and solid phenolic.

Moreover, a plate is suitable for the level of the table surface. It’s essential that a level system should be installed under the table to keep the fit between the plate and the top. A good system requires four screws (or more) to save the adjustment and prevent the plate from falling down.

When you use the router table, you guide a board through the cutter while it is faced neatly on the fence. Thus, you need slots to put a board in place for accurate cuts or nice edges. Slots often are set on the face of the fence, and other places if necessary.

The router table is the big help if you purchase the right one or make your own from good materials. You should read various reviews and manufacturers’ introductions to choose the valuable router table for your work. If you want to make your own one, you should find the good router table plans.

Everyone wants the perfect and right work. To gain this goal, you certainly have to use the equipment for your job. For woodworkers, the router table is the big help with the exact measurements. Especially for the amateurs, it’s easy to make good handy crafts if they use a router table in proper ways.

However, when your tool has problems, the simplest work are not able to be finished. Before offering the repair service, you should check if it’s a common problem and try some simple solutions.

The electrical circuit

When you turn on the router table, but the bit doesn’t work, you should check the electrical circuit first. The power can be cut because the electric line is suddenly loosened or there is a break in the circuit. If you don’t see any damages of the fuse, there is something wrong in the electrical switch or outlet of your router table. Call the repair workers to fix the issue in the safe ways.

The lathe

When the lathe is operating, but the bit doesn’t make any cut, you should turn off the power to repair the lathe. Its key is not fastened so the lathe is loose or not fixed in the proper guide. If your router table has the old age, the repair can’t be effective so it’s better to replace a new lathe for the tool.

The wood dust

After a long time of using, wood dust and particles stay in the lathe so the bit position is not correct as your requirement. Often, the table includes a gauge setting the right depths of the bit but dust makes it at the wrong height. You should use a screwdriver to clear all particles stuck in the bit then you can let a compressed air blow out dust in the lathe and bit.

The belts

If the belts are loosened, the operation and speed of bits become too strong or too weak. To solve this problem, you should turn off the power then examining the container to make sure the stable transmission of power to the belts. Another cause can be the damages or cracks on the wheels. You need leave the belts tight and fit in place following the manufacturer’s instruction. If this situation still occurs after you fastened the belts, it’s better to call the repair service.

The guides

The guides are important to make the accurate cuts and keep the nice shape of the wood. It can be unmovable if you don’t use the router table during a long time. The different temperatures of workshops are also a cause of freezing the guides. You can use the fluid to make it smooth or use the pincers to move the bolts. You should be careful as checking to avoid breaking them and make sure they are fastened in place.

Above are some tips for solving problems you will often have as using a router table. If you can’t repair your tool, you should call the skillful workers in your local neighbor. However, you need to learn how to repair a router table and don’t rely on the expert’s help too much.