Semi-metal-related/semi OT question

I've never been happy with home duty router tables. I currently run a

28" wide table with cross fence from a Craftsman table saw, routers attach to a 12" square 1/4" alumium plate that dr> I am looking for a router table. Are all of the mounting holes universal

I think you will find that your biggest problem is with your routers themselves. I understand that the craftsman routers tend to have really poor collets that will fail you in bad ways. Skil is not much better.

A router table only needs to be flat and your fence can be a simple strait edge or if you want to get a little more capacity you can have a fence with an adjustable out-feed.

You might want to check out rec.woodworking for a more definitive answer.

Well, not exactly. First, although the bolt patterns aren't standard (I really wish the manufacturers could agree-it would make things infinitely easier), most commercial products have a number of different patterns to suit most routers. Most have the holes labeled and have a table which tells you which holes to use based on your model. Secondly, all of the cuts made on the table are measured from the router bits as installed. Although you would want the bolt holes to be reasonable precise to allow easy fitting of the router to the baseplate (which is what the router is actually bolted to), the actual location relative to the edges of the baseplate needs only to be approximate. It shouldn't be terribly hard to make one to fit. The other option, particularly if you find that your router is particularly unusual and won't fit any sort of accessory, is to make a sub-base with a bolt pattern to fit your router as well as a common pattern that will connect to various accessories. This sub-base can be permanently mounted and could be aluminum, polycarbonate, or any similar material. Hope this gives you some info ww88

I have a sears router table that I can give you for free. I consider it to be poorly made and too light and it takes space that I would rather use for other things.

i

On Sat, 5 May 2007 21:53:53 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "Roger Shoaf" quickly quoth:

Huh? You set your fence to the bit, not to some scale as you would a table saw. I had the same problem with my B&D micrometer adjustable router and a metal router table by Crapsman. I ended up with an oval hole for the router and it never much mattered. (Jeeze, that was 30 years ago.)

You're referring to the ARHA collets on the Crapsmans, aren't you? That stands for Automatic Random Height Adjusters. When it comes to Crapsman tools, your MO should be Caveat Emptor.

- Metaphors Be With You -

I'm sorry that you have such a low opinion of the tools I own. I got these tools free from the widows of two good friends that died. I'm sure that they, too, were probably poor craftsmen and poor judges of tools. Probably poor husbands and abusive fathers, too.

I know nothing about routing, and very little about woodwork. Perhaps you're right. Maybe I SHOULD go out and buy the best and spend a couple of thousand dollars to make a few lamp tables and picture frames.

Now, someone slap me in the head really good for reading Larry's f****ng shit. And please, don't hold back, leave a mark.

Steve

E mail me at snipped-for-privacy@cox.net, and I'll set it up.

Steve

done

Oh hell...I LIKE that..and so damned true too!

Gunner

This Message is guaranteed environmentally friendly Manufactured with 10% post consumer ASCII Meets all EPA regulations for clean air Using only naturally occuring fibers Use the Message with confidance. (Some settling may occure in transit.) (Best if Used before May 13, 2009)

Chill out Steve. He wasnt dissing your dead friends.

I own a LOT of Craftsman tools, including 2 differnt routers and Yes...the damned collets will let the bit move. Ive screwed up more than one project because I was routing along, happy as a pig in shit and my .375 groove wound up punching through the workpiece at the end of the cut..another .5" deeper.

So now when I use one..I use a BIG wrench to tighten the collets, sacrifice a chicken to Santa Ria and cross my fingers when I grab the handles and hit the trigger. And one of them..with the threaded body type height adjuster...Ill wrap duct tape around the body of the router so IT wont move either.

I do tounge and groove carpentry..primarily shelf making and so forth a LOT..and have cursed both of them many times. Both are well over 15 yrs old..work marvelously, lots of power, good ergonomics, durable, and generally well made. But yes..the description as Automatic Random Height Adjusters is apt.

No one is suggesting you toss em into the trash. Hardly! Just be aware of the weaknesses and plan accordingly. Id not toss either of mine away either. Now if someone offered to trade me straight across for a couple of older Porter Cables....hummm...

On a further side note..I occasionally get called by the Hersaf factory to do field service work on panel saws and routers.

Clients have had their router fail and have stuck on a Craftsman router. Usually an older one, likely the same vintage as ours.

And have the SAME experiences with ARHA issues.

Shrug. Now that you know what to watch out for, you can find work arounds for the weaknesses of your routers.

My condolences for the loss of your friends.

Gunner

This Message is guaranteed environmentally friendly Manufactured with 10% post consumer ASCII Meets all EPA regulations for clean air Using only naturally occuring fibers Use the Message with confidance. (Some settling may occure in transit.) (Best if Used before May 13, 2009)

On Sun, 6 May 2007 08:41:51 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "Steve B" quickly quoth:

See? People told 'em that Crapsman tools were dangerous.

Who said any thing about buying the best? OK, have it your way, but let us know when the thing explodes on you at 20,000rpm. I want pics of the holes in your body and the missing appendages, please. 8x10 color glossies with a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one is.

Lean jussssst a little bit closer...OK, now plonk me before you forget, Twitley. Whadda maroon.

------------------------------------------- Crapsman tools are their own punishment

On Sun, 06 May 2007 18:05:06 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Gunner quickly quoth:

After his outburst today, perhaps I -would- have chided them if I'd known who they kept as a friend. ;)

As do I, after learning the hard way and sacrificing pounds of skin and gallons of blood to them. I bought most of them (all hand tools, no power tools) prior to the quality downfall in the late 70s/early

80s. Whenever I have to warranty one of their items, I hold my breath, cross my fingers, and yell at their managers when the drones at the counter won't replace it with exactly the same item. That's getting harder, as they've replaced every old model with cheaper copies. I own none of their routers, though, luckily.

...and if you'd kept it running, the bit would have flown out of the collet like a nice, sharp 20krpm gyroscope.

I saw it time and again on the Wreck, year after year. P.S: It's "tongue".

Trade it in for ANYTHING else, Gunner. Fools who worship at the Searz altar will happily give you good money for it. Hell, I'm sure I've had better luck with the $27 import job I got off eBay a couple years ago.

Yeah, that's never any fun.

-- The Smart Person learns from his mistakes. The Wise Person learns from the mistakes of others. And then there are all the rest of us...

-----------------------------------------------------

"Larry Jaques" wrote

Your wish is my command, all knowing, omnipotent, impotent one.

Bye.

Steve

All of the store- bought router tables I've seen are pretty flimsy. I built my own from a laminated-top school desk. I made a mounting plate out of polycarbonate- it was square with locating holes that lined up to dowels on the table. Worked great and it was very solid.

-Carl

Never have had a collet problem with a Sears router. Friend of mine has three of them (he's a contractor) and has never had a problem with a collet loosening. Maybe you need to eat your Wheaties .

-Carl

I have, it was good for several years, but then all of the sudden, it won't hold the bits for any thing.

jk

Steve,

I am not sure if the above barb was aimed at me but if it was please accept my appology for giving you insult, for it was not my intention to be insulting, but rather to consider the experience of others before a project you put a lot of effort into was scrapped by a poorly performing tool.

No offense taken. Mr. Jacques seems to have historically either been a grump, or just answers many of my posts in a brusque negative fashion.

Many people use what they have, regardless of how they got it, or what it cost. Lots of guys have expensive tools and can't build squat with them. But they like to brag about their expensive stuff and denigrate those who don't own nice stuff. Kind of like a male Paris Hilton.

Steve