Finished project - checking in...

[crosscreekcraig]

Hi All,

I haven't been around in a while... err, I haven't posted in a while. I've been lurking here and there. I finally finished a project I started a couple of months ago. I built a router table inspired by the SS Pro Fence Router Table and a design from Shopnotes magaazine and Plansnow.com. I laminated two pieces of 3/4" MDF and framed the edges with 1X2 (3/4" X 1-1/2") poplar, topped that all with plastic laminate, cut out and routed a hole for a Kreg router plate, and added Pro Fence (520) rails (they came via FedEx from SS yesterday), then topped it off with a hollow fence made from 3/4" MDF and 1/4" hard board and an adapter for dust collection. It turned out pretty well. This was my first time using a router for a major project - heck, any project really. Not exactly production quality, but it's functional. The fence also features interchangeable face plates for the router bit (i.e. zero clearance plates or change out worn plates). The fence also mounts to the Pro Fence using a piece robbed from an old SS feather board to lock it in the T-slot.

I've also been putting my planer, band saw and Power Pro through their paces by milling a ton of reclaimed lumber - a nice hunk of cherry from WV that my neighbor gave me, some nice pieces of red oak, maple and ash from some pallets I got at work. The pallets were 4ft X 8 ft for shipping 25ga sheet metal (think duct work), so I have some staunch 16/4 material to work with. I filled my DC3300 bag to the max just milling the lumber. What fun! I wish I would have taken a picture of that to share with you guys!

[ATTACH]25335[/ATTACH][ATTACH]25336[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]25338[/ATTACH][ATTACH]25339[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]25340[/ATTACH]

[camerio]

it look very good, well done ...

[charlese]

Agree! Looks very nice.!

Suggestion - - You might want to put slots where the two fasteners hol down to the Shopsmith fence. With slots, you can advance one only side of the router fence. This will allow you to make very fine adjustments, toward or away from the router bit. (1/16th inch change in the end = 1/32 inch in the middle, etc)

[crosscreekcraig]

Thanks, guys! Charlese, it didn't really occur to me until you mentioned it - good idea. I built the fence based on the plans I found on plansnow.com (they're from an issue of Shopnotes). It also occurred to me that the fence should be split, so that you can advance the trailing side (I think that may have been what you were talking about). That way the work piece has support after passing the bit and material is removed. I'll be contemplating a way to improve this design without losing the other features like the interchangeable face plate. I also will be adding T-slot/miter slot as well. I forgot to order a SS T-slot when I ordered the Pro rails, but I can just rout a slot in the table top and go without.

http://www.plansnow.com/dn3061.html

[dusty]

Don't be surprised if you see a clone of this sometime in the future. Good idea and good job.

This was my first (but unfinished) cut at something like this. I was thinking 1/4" plywood for most of it in order to reduce the weight.

[ATTACH]25344[/ATTACH]

[crosscreekcraig]

Don't be surprised if you see a clone of this sometime in the future. Good idea and good job.

This was my first (but unfinished) cut at something like this. I was thinking 1/4" plywood for most of it in order to reduce the weight.

[ATTACH]25344[/ATTACH]

Dusty, the front and back panels of the fence are 3/4" MDF with 1/4" X 1/2" rabbets on all four edges with 1/4" hard board set in the rabbets with good ol' Elmer's wood glue for the top and bottom. The ends are 3/4" MDF again rabbeted to fit in the ends; I cut a 2-1/2" hole in one end and relief inside the fence to allow for the dust collection adapter. I routed a 1/4" deep relief in the center and dovetailed each side of the relief for the zero clearance insert (made from 1/4" hard board) to slide into. By now you've probably built your own router table and fence, but I wanted to share that with you.

[dusty]

That was worth waiting for. No, I have not yet built one. The work in the RV has kept me totally occupied but that is coming to a close in the not too distant future. I have plumbing to install and wall paneling to hang. My daughters are then going to take over to do the "interior decorating" and to have it painted.

I'm going to make some minor revisions to your fence attachment because I'll be using it with an Incra fence and I may relocate the dust collector hose.

[JPG]

I think what Charlese was suggesting was to allow pivoting the fence about one of the attachment screws by adding a slot to the other. If so, he under stated the ratio(1/16 vs 1/32). Since the 'pivot' is close to the bit, that ratio is more like 5/32 vs 1/32.

I do not think he was thinking split/offset faces.

[crosscreekcraig]

I know this thread is 9 months old and presumed dead, but I'm reviving it because I have more to share. On with the show...

A couple of weeks ago i was perusing Pinterest and found that someone had pinned my table (among others) to their pin board; I was surprised and flattered! If he's reading this I 'd like to thank the Random Pinner for the props! This got my imagination going again and I started devising a micro-adjuster for the fence system. Taking more cues from the Shopsmith Pro Fence Router Table gave rise to the prototype in the pictures. I'm still on the fence (pun intended) about whether to split the router fence into independently adjustable halves. Both styles have merits and I'm partial to the interchangeable face plate for zero clearance inserts on the one piece fence.

These micro-adjuster prototypes are made of 1" MDF (two 1/2" scrap pieces laminated together and a 1"thick piece from an old headboard for my bed). . This arrangement created a little heart burn when drilling holes, so the finished product will be made from a single piece of stock cut to a 1" X 4-3/4" X 8" blank. Then drill three holes for the hardware 3-3/4" deep. The center hole for the adjustment screw is 1/2" in diameter and the other two are 5/16". Rip the blank in two pieces lengthwise - one half is 2-1/2" (same as the width of the SS Pro Fence), the other piece is 2-1/8 inches which will be attached to the router fence. For the prototype I cut 1/2" from the block for the router fence to facilitate installing hardware (threaded inserts and carriage bolt) and hiding said hardware. I think I may try to leave that step out and assemble the part a little differently for the finished product. Incidentally the 4-3/4" dimension of the stock includes room for two 1/8" saw kerfs.

The hardware list (for one adjuster - I got all this from the hardware aisle at the Big Blue Box):
The carriage bolt and other 3/8-16 hardware is for the center adjusting screw assembly. I used 16 TPI for this so that one revolution of the scew will translate to 1/16" of movement in the fence; a half turn will make 1/32" and a quarter turn 1/64" of travel (as if you couldn't do the math yourself).

The 1/4-20 hardware and the springs are on the wings of the adjuster to provide stability and keep everything nice and snug for greater accuracy. They also aid travel when retracting the fence.

• 1@ Carriage bolt 3/8-16 X 6"
  2@ Hex screw 1/4-20 X 6"
  2@ Compression spring 5/16" X 2" X .020" (comes in packs of 4)
  2@ Flat washer 1/4-20
  1@ Knob 3/8-16" insert, through and through
  1@ Jam nut 3/8-16
  1@ Wing nut 3/8-16 (To jam the shaft when the fence is set. Takes up too much room and reduces fence travel. I'm fabricating my own slim profile thumb nut from 3/8-16 nut and ABS plastic left over from another project).
  2@ Brass threaded insert 3/8-16 X 1"
  2@ Brass threaded insert 1/4-20 X 3/8" (two in a pack)
  4@ Steel spacer 1/4" X 1" X 3/8" (I.D. X L X O.D.)(only used two in the prototype. may find a better solution - 1/4" ID brass tubing maybe.)
  1@ Tube of epoxy or Cyanide Acrylate for securing the spacers for the spring loaded guides.
  1@ Tube of red high strength thread locker to lock nuts and inserts in place.

I still need to secure the assembly to the top of the SS Pro Fence, so I'll probably drill holes between the adjuster and each spring guide and use T-bolts to slide in the miter channel and lock everything down. I found some "elevator screws" at the Blue Box that should work nicely, but first I'll have to file down flats on the heads (feet?) so it will fit in the T-slot.

Thanks for sticking with me through this wall of text. I hope you can take something away from all this; even the smallest spark of an idea. Be sure to check out the photos below and their associated comments.

micro-adjustor prototype assembly.jpg (186.67 KiB) Viewed 8606 times

This is the completed prototype. It's definitely rough, but it works well! Note the springs mounted on the 1/4" screws with flat washers as reinforcement against the block.

micro-adjustor prototype explode.jpg (239.5 KiB) Viewed 8606 times

A photographic parts explosion... sort of. This is to demonstrate how the hardware is installed and assembled. The steel spacers are for smoother travel of the spring loaded guides; I think I will get longer pieces of 1/4" brass or steel tubing for this. The over sized holes drilled in the blocks are to accommodate the broad wood screw type threads of the brass inserts and the outer diameter of the spacers. The threaded inserts were a bear to install - they are a very tight fit, but if I made the holes any larger the threads wouldn't have enough bite.

micro-adjustor prototype knob and screw assembly.jpg (148.81 KiB) Viewed 8606 times

This is just showing how the screw and knob assembly looks as it is in the prototype. The carriage bolt is situated to push and pull the block while making adjustments.

micro-adjustor prototype knob and screw assembly option.jpg (186.98 KiB) Viewed 8606 times

This is an alternate assembly of the adjusting screw that I may use on the finished product. In this configuration the adjuster screw will only push the router fence block; retraction is solely on the 1/4" spring loaded guides.

micro-adjustor prototype assembly hidden hardware.jpg (208.68 KiB) Viewed 8606 times

Here's the leading edge of the router fence block with the "cover" removed. Drill a 3/4" countersink for relief of the carriage bolt head. The holes and cracks came from using wood screws to secure the cover in place so I can disassemble it later and reuse the hardware. If I use this configuration in the final product I will use wood glue to secure it.

Take care,
Craig

[charlese]

I think what Charlese was suggesting was to allow pivoting the fence about one of the attachment screws by adding a slot to the other. If so, he under stated the ratio(1/16 vs 1/32). Since the 'pivot' is close to the bit, that ratio is more like 5/32 vs 1/32.

I do not think he was thinking split/offset faces.

Now that I'm back in this conversation - -

I was not at all thinking of split/offset faces - that is true!

However if the hold down/pivot points are both equally near the ends of a fence It stands to reason the center of the board/fence will only change 1/2 the distance of a movement of one of the ends. Well, there may be confusion to an engineer; and I agree, if the pivots are not equal distance from the fence ends and the router is at the center.

However, assuming proper pivot/holdown distance, I'm in the ballpark of 1/2 the distance at a centered router when only one side of a fence is moved. The same will be true of a 5 ft. board/fence or a 3 ft board/fence or any length.

BTW: The simplest fence is a straight board, and that will work fine for routing.