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205 Posts
I have found myself doing more table routing lately and in most cases unable to because of my poor quality router table.
Can you blame me?
It's an old Craftsman table with a broken leg base, no fence, and missing reducer rings. The router itself is a Craftsman 1.5hp, single speed, with only a 1/4" collet.
My upgrade ended up costing me $730 in total but I am very happy with it. I sprung for the Kreg router table/stand/fence combo plus the Rockler swivel casters. I originally considered mounting the old Craftsman router under it but did not like how it's height was only adjustable from underneath not to mention it's missing 1/2" collet. I ended up selecting a Ridged 2hp fixed base with variable speed. Its above height adjustment was smooth and after spending so much on the table it was about the best I could afford. Mounting it was easy enough with the target pre-drawn on the underside of the insert plate and the t-handle wrench moves it up and down fluidly.
In the future (and when I can afford it) I may consider one of the expensive router lift insert plates. Also the Ready2Rout system was very attractive, and although it has a USB port for updates, I have a gut feeling that there will be a "next generation" coming out eventually similar to the way the CNC Shark has upgraded.
I guess my next shop project will be a respectable cabinet built into the router table stand. I have seen several including the plans offered by Kreg but would rather come up with my own.
Can you blame me?

It's an old Craftsman table with a broken leg base, no fence, and missing reducer rings. The router itself is a Craftsman 1.5hp, single speed, with only a 1/4" collet.
My upgrade ended up costing me $730 in total but I am very happy with it. I sprung for the Kreg router table/stand/fence combo plus the Rockler swivel casters. I originally considered mounting the old Craftsman router under it but did not like how it's height was only adjustable from underneath not to mention it's missing 1/2" collet. I ended up selecting a Ridged 2hp fixed base with variable speed. Its above height adjustment was smooth and after spending so much on the table it was about the best I could afford. Mounting it was easy enough with the target pre-drawn on the underside of the insert plate and the t-handle wrench moves it up and down fluidly.
In the future (and when I can afford it) I may consider one of the expensive router lift insert plates. Also the Ready2Rout system was very attractive, and although it has a USB port for updates, I have a gut feeling that there will be a "next generation" coming out eventually similar to the way the CNC Shark has upgraded.



I guess my next shop project will be a respectable cabinet built into the router table stand. I have seen several including the plans offered by Kreg but would rather come up with my own.