High-Tech ROUTER TABLE

A state-of-the-art shop essential

- Derek Richmond

My former router table was, shall we say, the lowest of low-tech. It was a rickety, stamped steel bench-top model with an underpowered motor and a sad fence. In designing a new one, I wanted everything that garage sale find lacked: storage for bits, collets, and wrenches; enclosed dust collection; mobility; simple bit height adjustment; plenty of power; and a reliable fence and miter gauge. With that wish-list in mind, I pulled together what I view as the state of the art in router tech and incorporated it all into one cabinet.

The cabinet itself is made of oak plywood with a solid oak face frame and topped with a custom, laminated tabletop. Spacious drawers on full-length slides provide plenty of storage for hand-held routers and their accoutrement, while bits and other accessories reside in either the pair of shallow tray-drawers or in the shelves behind the acrylic-paneled front doors. Everything is assembled with a combination of tongue and groove joinery and pocket screws. The high-tech part comes in the form of Next Wave’s computer-controlled fence (see the Tool Review, p. 12) and the power-sensing blast gate for the dust hose. The entire unit sits atop a mobile base that allows me to wheel it effortlessly around my shop. Is all this tech necessary for every woodworker? Maybe not, but I’d bet at least some of it is on your wish-list too. For all the gadgets and gizmos I included, see the Buyers Guide. Then get to making your own router table wish-list.

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