Kevin Alviti comes up with a smart, space-saving solution for his busy workshop.
My workshop is small but almost perfectly set up to make the small batches of the items I sell. I have to be quite clever with space at times, so lots of areas have to have multiple functions.
Many of my machines are wheeled: my tablesaw, large router table and bandsaw all have to jostle for space and get swapped about when needed. Having them all easily available for me makes a huge difference to my workflow, especially when making multiple items. But one thing I have learnt, even with limited space, it’s sometimes worth having machines dedicated to one task.
I used to think it was decadent to have multiples of the same took but when each extra action costs you time, which in turn costs you money, you soon learn it’s worth doing. Not having to change a blade or cutter, adjust the height or swap sandpaper makes a massive difference to workshop efficiency.
The router is the perfect example of this. I love routers for their hundreds of functions. I have one large old router, which I was given as my 21st birthday present many moons ago, that I have set up purely in my large router table. This has a huge rebating bit and is used almost exclusively for this purpose. I then have another large router for day-to-day use or if I go out on site and fit a kitchen worktop. I also have three smaller palm routers, the cordless one is ideal when routing out hinges or using bearing-guided bits.
But one activity I do a lot is using a small router to round over corners using a bearing-guided bit. When I make a batch of 10 items, each with four routed curved components, rounded over both sides, that’s 80 passes of the router. For this action, it would be easier if I could pass the timber over the router rather than the router over the timber, especially as dust collection on a hand-held router is never ideal, with a hose getting in the way.
So, I decided 1 wanted to make a small router table, one that could be put away if I needed to, with decent dust collection and an emergency stop should I ever need it. Also, the ability for it to be clamped down to a workbench and to clamp a simple fence to it should I ever need one.
The router I chose to use is one that I already have a lot of accessories for and has an interchangeable base with my cordless router.
This router also has a cheaper version online which makes it quite affordable. I wanted to use electric as I wanted a No Volt release switch on it so the router had to have an on/off switch and not be a smart’ switch, as found on many cordless ones, to prevent it from accidentally switching on. The small switch on a router, especially when under a table, can be a fiddle, especially if you want to turn it off in a hurry. But it’s very easy with a big button on the front.
I also wanted it to be modular with my other tool boxes, so that everything fits on the shelves easily. Having the ability to clamp it safely down to the workbench is also really important. So although there are ready-made router tables on the market, I wanted this one to be fit for my purpose.
When you see that I’ve built this from birch plywood most of you are going to assume that I’m either now walking around with one kidney or I’ve cashed in the children’s college fund (sorry kids, there isn’t one). In truth, this was left over from some kitchen units I made for a customer a few months ago. I built the drawers and carcasses with 18mm ply and the base and backs with 9mm ply.
One thing I will say is that I spend a lot of time in my workshop, it’s how I earn a fair chunk of my living so I like the things I make to be as good as they possibly can be (check out my carved workbench in Furniture & Cabinetnuiking issue 299). I have a Paulk MFT style workbench built with birch ply and I’ve no regrets about my choice of material, but it’s doubled from being £60 a sheet to nearly £120 now and justifying the cost would be tricky. I’d recommend making this router table from whatever you have to hand, a good quality hardwood-faced ply will work just as well as one built from anything else, just avoid the lower grades, some shuttering ply isn’t even good enough for shuttering in my opinion.
Don’t be afraid to sort through the sheets of ply at the merchants – the top sheet is often damaged, and depending on how it’s been stored it can be twisted and bent, which makes everything difficult when cutting and routing.
Making the router table
1. Cut all the component pieces to size. I use a track saw with a rail square on the end to make sure I get accurate cuts. Obviously, you can use a tablesaw here but I don’t have the room for one that can manage sheet materials. If you don’t own a track saw then you can get the same results by using a circular saw. clamping a piece of wood to the ply, allowing for the offset to the blade then making sure you run the saw smoothly alongside the wood to guide you.
2. To build this project I used a fairly generic aluminium insert plate for my router. This has mounting holes already in it to fit my brand of router (Makita in this case). This gets fixed to the router base. Alternatively, you could make an insert from good-quality plywood or even acrylic.
3. To set this insert into the top of the router table 1 made a jig that I could use with a router with guide bushes. I first needed to work out the offset between my largest guide bush (I had a 32mm bush) and the 9mm cutter I was using. The offset was approximately 11mm.
4. Using a scrap piece of 9mm ply for the template I marked out the insert, squared it to the sides, then added the offset all the way round. Its essential when you cut this out you cut it accurately, any mistakes will show up when you use it. I used a combination of my mitre saw and a jigsaw.
5. I’d then suggest routing out the recess for the template on a scrap piece first. As you can see with mine, the radius of the corner was slightly different to that on the actual insert. Instead of making a new template, I knew not to use the router tight into the corners.
6. Position the template in the centre of your top and clamp it down. To cut in the rebate for the insert to sit on it is easier to make the cuts in multiple passes. My insert was 10m deep, to try and do that in one go was too much strain for my little router – although easily possible if I had used a bigger router here.
7. There is no need to use the router on the whole area of the insert as we need to cut some away to let the router through. I drilled a hole and then just used my jigsaw to cut it out, stepping in about 12mm all the way round. Here I also sorted out the issue with the corners. I found a No.6, 14mm carving gouge was the perfect radius to make them a nice tight fit. Make sure when the router insert slips in. it is perfectly flush with the top of the plywood.
8. Flip the top over and line it up next to the base, both being 18mm plywood. Mark up where you are going to cut the grooves and rebates. They are mirror images of each other so setting them up like this makes the marking out easier.
9. To cut the grooves, I have a router base that slots over the guide rails to my track saw to keep it steady and in line. This is another one of those times where you can simply measure the offset, clamp down a piece of wood and hold onto the router well and keep it straight. I used a 9mm straight cutter and made the cuts 9mm deep in one pass.
10. Where the grooves/dadoes are 18mm thick, I just made two passes with the 9mm cutter to save changing bits.
11. With the grooves and rebates routed out, make sure they all match up and are in line.
12. A cheat’s way of working out the height of the sides and back is to put the top and base together, then hold the tape at the finished height you’d like, and just take the lower measurement. As I wanted mine to finish the same height as a Tanos systainer I need it to finish at 315mm, so I cut all the other ply pieces 297mm high.
13. Using the track saw again, I cut out all the other pieces. The back and two sides are in 9mm ply and the two front pieces are in 18mm. Mark out the right-hand side piece with the measurements to accept the plug socket and the port for dust extraction. I plan on using my big extractor so marked it up for 100mm pipe, but it’s just as easy to add a smaller hose here.
14. I also marked out the one front piece to accept the No-Volt release switch. I want this to sit in the ply, but allow enough room under it to accept the plug.
15. Cut everything out that needs to be cut. I used a jigsaw on the 9mm pieces, but did use the bandsaw on the 18mm front piece as it was harder to hold.
16. Mark and drill the holes for the bolts on the No-Volt release switch. Make sure you plan to use bolts and not screws as screws won’t be strong enough to take the pressures needed when pressing the switch.
17. Knock in the heads of the coach bolts and make sure the switch fits. Ensure you can get the plug on and off easily as well.
18. Dry fit it together. It should all slot together nicely and hold quite well without clamps. Check everything fits.
19. Make sure the router table is square then mark and measure the bade. Here we’ll add two small 25 x 25mm pieces of batten to help hold it together while we glue it. Take the table apart and sand it all down.
20. Fix the battens to the two side pieces so they will be on the inside of the router area.
21. Apply glue to all the rebates and grooves then assemble the table. Screw through the back into the battens on the side pieces. Once you’re happy it’s square, clamp it all together and let the glue cure.
22. On the bandsaw, out a piece of Perspex the same size as the opening to the router area. Take the cut steadily, and wear goggles. Sand up the cut edges afterwards.
23. Fix two offcuts of 18mm ply at the base. leaving a gap big enough to slide the Perspex into. Fit one at the top in line with the one at the back for the screen to rest back against.
24. With another otfcut of 18mm ply make a small handle for the screen. Drill a 4mm pilot hole then fix the handle with a screw.
25. Measure and mark out two 12mm holes for a dowel to slide through at the top of the screen. This will slide in and hold the screen in place.
26. Drill a 12mm hole into another piece of 18mm plywood to act as a handle for the dowel. Taper the one end of the dowel to make it easier to fit through both holes.
27. Create some router bit storage with a narrow strip of 18mm ply. Drill 6.5mm holes at regular spacings then glue them in place on the left-hand side of the table.
28. Add two hooks to the front left-hand side of the table. This is for the spanners to change the bits. You could also recess in rare earth magnets here to prevent them from rattling around.
29. With a small piece of 6mm ply create a drop-down cover for the plug hole, fix with one screw. This way when the extraction is on it will suck less through this area than if it was left open. Also fix the dust extraction nozzle if you have one.
30. Remove everything that isn’t wood, give it one last sanding then give it a finish to protect it. I used Danish oil as it’s what I had to hand and gives a good hardwearing finish I can add to over time.
Dust collection
This design certainly improves dust collection when using the router and extractor, but it won’t collect it all. 1 also need to make an adjustable hood to be mounted above the cutter to collect what flies off it, this can be used for other things in the workshop like the lathe then. Additionally, I run an air filter while using this power tool and many others.