Mother’s Router/Shaper Table

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The finished router/shaper table will look something like this.
The finished router/shaper table will look something like this.
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TOP LEFT: Mounting the router.  TOP RIGHT: Using a miter gauge to form square joints.  BOTTOM LEFT: Installing the shaping pin. BOTTOM RIGHT: Using the table to shape a curve.
TOP LEFT: Mounting the router.  TOP RIGHT: Using a miter gauge to form square joints.  BOTTOM LEFT: Installing the shaping pin. BOTTOM RIGHT: Using the table to shape a curve.
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Parts and assembly diagram for router/shaper table.
Parts and assembly diagram for router/shaper table.

Every well-equipped wood shop needs a router to form the various joints, moldings, and inlays common to all quality cabinetmaking. These versatile groovers are most often used freehand, or with a guide which attaches directly to the tool itself . . . but there are some jobs–such as the lengthy straight-line cuts that are required when making window molding–which demand the steadiness of a solidly mounted power-head and the proper guiding mechanisms to control the delivery of the wood.

MOTHER EARTH NEWS’ router table is designed to turn your hand-held power groovemaker into a versatile and precise molding tool . . . one that can handle most of the jobs normally done on a shaper table, without giving up the router’s freehand capabilities. (By removing a couple of screws, you can easily turn your tool back into the mobile molder you had before.) Better yet, you can assemble the table in a couple of short evenings . . . for a fraction of the cost of a high-speed shaper.

The Working Surface

Begin the construction of your router bench by cutting the frame pieces from 2 x 4 lumber. You’ll need two 14 1/2″ sections and two more that are each 60″ long. Fasten these four boards together with a combination of rabbet (in the 14 1/2″ pieces) and dado (in the 60″ lengths) joints.

For those folks unfamiliar with the technique, the rabbeting needed here involves nothing more than trimming away a 3/4″ deep by 3/4″ long piece from the 3 5/8″ widths of each of the 14 1/2″ boards . . . leaving 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 3 5/8″ tongues at each end. Then, to make the dado portion of these unions, simply move 3/4 inch in from each end of the two 60″ sections and cut a 3/4″ x 3/4″ groove across the 3 5/8″ surface. The tongues on the short pieces of lumber will slide right into the slots in the long boards.

  • Published on Jan 1, 1980
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