a wood router is a necessary shop tool
but they can be awkward to work with
when you have to freehand your projects
there’s a better way and it doesn’t have
to be expensive in this project we’re
turning any ordinary table into a
multipurpose workbench with a built-in
flush mount router station for this
project we’re gonna need a wood router I
found this one on my local classifieds
and we’re gonna need a square foot of
plexiglass or acrylic like this
this piece is a quarter inch thick it’s
crystal clear and only cost five dollars
from a local plastics company let’s get
started by choosing a good spot on the
table then tracing the edges of the
square with a pencil or a pen you can
see I’ve put a half inch straight bit
into the Chuck of this router and now if
we measure from the edge of the blade to
the side of the sub-base the distance is
two and five eighths of an inch I use
that measurement to cut a piece of wood
that matches perfectly flush with the
side okay now we can go ahead and use
our piece of wood as a measuring tool to
draw a border around the outside of the
square next we’ll need to draw an inner
square about one and a quarter inches
smaller than the first one I decided to
angle the corners for aesthetics and
support and now all the markings and
measurements look like this alright it’s
time to cut ourselves a hole let’s start
by using a large drill bit to make holes
on the inner sides of the angled lines
this way we can insert the jigsaw blade
and begin cutting right away the goal
here is to cut each line as straight as
possible and when we make it back to the
starting point
the center piece should fall right out
now we still need this plastic plate to
sink down flush with the top of the
table and we’ll be able to do that with
the help of eight concrete paving stones
the concrete squares need to line up
perfectly with the outside edges of the
outer square and when they’re all
aligned it’s time for the action let’s
use the plastic plate to gauge the
cutting depth and we can do that by
adjusting the height of the sub-base
until the tip of the bit is flush with
the top of the plate now when we turn on
the router and rest the base flat on the
table it should be cutting down to the
exact depth of the plastic mounting
plate you can see that as we move along
in a clockwise direction the concrete
blocks prevent the side of the router
from going out of bounds this helps keep
the cuts clean and straight and in line
with the markings we made around the
plate now that we’ve cut the outer
we can freehand the router back and
forth until the inner bits are profiled
down as well then finish up by sanding
the new surface smooth now if you look
at the corners you might notice they’re
a bit rounded so let’s just grind a
little bit of plastic off the corners of
the plate to match the curves and now
you can see that the plate will drop
straight in and sit flush with the top
of the table okay it’s time to mount the
plate to the router base there are three
screws holding the base plate on and
when those are removed it comes off very
easily if we Center it on our square we
can use it as a template to mark the
position of the screw holes then drill
them out with a 7/32 inch drill bit now
I tried taking a little off the top with
a 3/8 inch drill bit and ended up with a
countersink effect you can see that when
the screws are set back in they sit
flush with the top but don’t catch on
anything sliding over them the next step
is to drill a hole in the center with a
one and a half inch Forstner bit then
make two more holes in line with the
center using a 7/8 inch bit these two
holes will give us handles to remove and
replace the router at will let’s go
ahead and remove the protective paper
now then line the plate up on the router
where the sub-base used to sit the
original screws can be returned to
secure the new plate in place and you
can see the plastic is more than strong
enough to support the weight of the
router I added a couple of beams
underneath to reinforce the tabletop and
prevent it from sagging over time for a
nice finishing touch
let’s try cutting a piece of black
construction paper to make a decorative
lining for our new router station at
this point our router table is
completely finished and ready for
operation for our first project why
don’t we try routing the edges of our
new table with this three quarter inch
beading bit you’ll notice that even with
the custom mounting plate the router is
still completely portable for any
projects you need to router by hand the
extra surface area of the plate actually
keeps the unit more stable and helps
ensure the cut lines are as straight as
they can be now just for fun I gave my
table a paint job so when the router
sets in place the whole thing has got a
clean professional look to it
I also rigged up a switch box for
electrical power that will give us the
option of turning on a backlight and
starting up the router from a safer
distance now one of the things I like
best about this design is that the bit
can be fully retracted when we don’t
need it
this means we still have full access to
the entire work table and that can be
very helpful for projects like the
rocket right
that we made in a previous project and
because the system is so easy to remove
and replace changing out router bits as
simple as well well now you know how to
add a professional-looking flush mount
router station to any work table so go
ahead and make a picture frame put
finishing touches on experimental
projects or make some puzzles for
entertaining friends because now you can
and that’s it for now
if you like this project perhaps you’ll
like some of my others check them out at
the king of random calm before you go
please take a second to click the link
in the description for audible.com slash
the king of random they’re big
supporters of these videos and are once
again offering you king of random fans a
free audiobook when you sign up for
their service they have bestsellers like
you are now less dumb where David
McRaney explains 15 different ways that
you might be fooling yourself every day
wouldn’t you like to know if that’s not
your style they have over a hundred and
fifty thousand other titles so chances
are you’ll find one that’s perfect for
you so why not take a second to look
around audible.com slash the king of
random it really helps support these
videos and you might just find that you
love what they’ve got
you
but they can be awkward to work with
when you have to freehand your projects
there’s a better way and it doesn’t have
to be expensive in this project we’re
turning any ordinary table into a
multipurpose workbench with a built-in
flush mount router station for this
project we’re gonna need a wood router I
found this one on my local classifieds
and we’re gonna need a square foot of
plexiglass or acrylic like this
this piece is a quarter inch thick it’s
crystal clear and only cost five dollars
from a local plastics company let’s get
started by choosing a good spot on the
table then tracing the edges of the
square with a pencil or a pen you can
see I’ve put a half inch straight bit
into the Chuck of this router and now if
we measure from the edge of the blade to
the side of the sub-base the distance is
two and five eighths of an inch I use
that measurement to cut a piece of wood
that matches perfectly flush with the
side okay now we can go ahead and use
our piece of wood as a measuring tool to
draw a border around the outside of the
square next we’ll need to draw an inner
square about one and a quarter inches
smaller than the first one I decided to
angle the corners for aesthetics and
support and now all the markings and
measurements look like this alright it’s
time to cut ourselves a hole let’s start
by using a large drill bit to make holes
on the inner sides of the angled lines
this way we can insert the jigsaw blade
and begin cutting right away the goal
here is to cut each line as straight as
possible and when we make it back to the
starting point
the center piece should fall right out
now we still need this plastic plate to
sink down flush with the top of the
table and we’ll be able to do that with
the help of eight concrete paving stones
the concrete squares need to line up
perfectly with the outside edges of the
outer square and when they’re all
aligned it’s time for the action let’s
use the plastic plate to gauge the
cutting depth and we can do that by
adjusting the height of the sub-base
until the tip of the bit is flush with
the top of the plate now when we turn on
the router and rest the base flat on the
table it should be cutting down to the
exact depth of the plastic mounting
plate you can see that as we move along
in a clockwise direction the concrete
blocks prevent the side of the router
from going out of bounds this helps keep
the cuts clean and straight and in line
with the markings we made around the
plate now that we’ve cut the outer
we can freehand the router back and
forth until the inner bits are profiled
down as well then finish up by sanding
the new surface smooth now if you look
at the corners you might notice they’re
a bit rounded so let’s just grind a
little bit of plastic off the corners of
the plate to match the curves and now
you can see that the plate will drop
straight in and sit flush with the top
of the table okay it’s time to mount the
plate to the router base there are three
screws holding the base plate on and
when those are removed it comes off very
easily if we Center it on our square we
can use it as a template to mark the
position of the screw holes then drill
them out with a 7/32 inch drill bit now
I tried taking a little off the top with
a 3/8 inch drill bit and ended up with a
countersink effect you can see that when
the screws are set back in they sit
flush with the top but don’t catch on
anything sliding over them the next step
is to drill a hole in the center with a
one and a half inch Forstner bit then
make two more holes in line with the
center using a 7/8 inch bit these two
holes will give us handles to remove and
replace the router at will let’s go
ahead and remove the protective paper
now then line the plate up on the router
where the sub-base used to sit the
original screws can be returned to
secure the new plate in place and you
can see the plastic is more than strong
enough to support the weight of the
router I added a couple of beams
underneath to reinforce the tabletop and
prevent it from sagging over time for a
nice finishing touch
let’s try cutting a piece of black
construction paper to make a decorative
lining for our new router station at
this point our router table is
completely finished and ready for
operation for our first project why
don’t we try routing the edges of our
new table with this three quarter inch
beading bit you’ll notice that even with
the custom mounting plate the router is
still completely portable for any
projects you need to router by hand the
extra surface area of the plate actually
keeps the unit more stable and helps
ensure the cut lines are as straight as
they can be now just for fun I gave my
table a paint job so when the router
sets in place the whole thing has got a
clean professional look to it
I also rigged up a switch box for
electrical power that will give us the
option of turning on a backlight and
starting up the router from a safer
distance now one of the things I like
best about this design is that the bit
can be fully retracted when we don’t
need it
this means we still have full access to
the entire work table and that can be
very helpful for projects like the
rocket right
that we made in a previous project and
because the system is so easy to remove
and replace changing out router bits as
simple as well well now you know how to
add a professional-looking flush mount
router station to any work table so go
ahead and make a picture frame put
finishing touches on experimental
projects or make some puzzles for
entertaining friends because now you can
and that’s it for now
if you like this project perhaps you’ll
like some of my others check them out at
the king of random calm before you go
please take a second to click the link
in the description for audible.com slash
the king of random they’re big
supporters of these videos and are once
again offering you king of random fans a
free audiobook when you sign up for
their service they have bestsellers like
you are now less dumb where David
McRaney explains 15 different ways that
you might be fooling yourself every day
wouldn’t you like to know if that’s not
your style they have over a hundred and
fifty thousand other titles so chances
are you’ll find one that’s perfect for
you so why not take a second to look
around audible.com slash the king of
random it really helps support these
videos and you might just find that you
love what they’ve got
you
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