Rockler router table extension

Couple thoughts

I recently tested router tables for an article in Workbench magazine (September '01). We tested the stand-alone Rockler table with the wooden leg set, but the extension model is very similar in most respects.

Our take was that Rockler puts out a very good, serviceable system. The table is flat, the aluminum base plate is flat (if noisy) and the fence system functions fine.

There were some little things that bugged us though. The screw-in insert disc that fits standard P-C template guides wasn't concentric, for one thing. Also, the featherboards were generic and not very useful or easy to use, and the stop is just a block of wood with a bolt through it.

If there's one thing that could cause you some grief in a tablesaw extension application, it would be the slotted table design. Every time you want to remove the fence so you can use your tablesaw, you have to undo the bolts and knobs that hold the fence to the table. Not only is this time consuming, but if your tablesaw extension is anything like mine was, there's a lot of stuff piled under there, and getting to the bolts could be tough.

I'm a do-it-myself kinda guy, so I've always made my extension tables out of melamine board or plywood with HPL on it. I just make a hardwood frame and structure it with a couple support rails underneath. If I wanted a router table, I'd probably buy the base plate and rout it in there myself. I find I've gotten by for many years without a miter gauge on my router table, although it would be nice. And, instead of a separate router table fence, I'd be making up a box with a cutout and a dust port that I could attach to my tablesaw fence.

But, that's just me. I'd feel real smug about saving all that money, and it would cost me $500 worth of time. :-)

Ellis Walentine, Host

Re: Couple thoughts

I agree with you Ellis.I made my right hand extension for my Sears saw at least 10 years ago and it's worked well for me.Currently I'm using my Bosch plunge router in it. My fence system is a box affair that clamps to existing saw fence and I can hook it up to my DC.I like to tinker and it saves me money. Floyd