Pic request... Table tops and t-tracks

[cmorrowk]

I would love to see examples of what folks are doing for their router table tops. Are you using aluminum extrusions or mdf, maybe something else? As I continue with my build, this is the area I'm struggling with the most. How should I construct the work surface? What clamping methods work best? How can I avoid gouging the work surface, or is that possible? What spacing works best with t-track? Please share your thoughts. Thanks!

[sirkossorg]

Wow. I was looking forward to a bunch of replies to this thread since I'm building machine number 2 right now. Maybe it will get some legs.

What I used on my first machine was lanes of extrusion. It usually has a MDF spoilboard sitting on it, though. I don't think I have pictures of it without the spoilboard. I'll check.

For my next one, I'm thinking aluminum plate with a grid of threaded holes.

[JohnZ]

Here is a picture of the table on the machine I am currently upgrading. The milling table is a Newport Optical 900 x 1200 mm (Close to 3' x 4') Breadboard. You know, the kind that they mount lasers to for science demonstrations etc. This one is a bit over 2.5" thick and weighs over 260 lbs. An optical breadboard is designed to eliminate or greatly minimize vibrations between the top and bottom surfaces. What I like about most is that it has M6 mounting holes on a 25mm grid over the entire surface.

[DonFrambach]

For my small router, I used a 14x14x.5" MIC 6 aluminum plate for my table. I covered that with t-slot extrusions I purchased form WoodHaven.com. I sometimes used A2ZCNC hold downs. However, for most of my work, I secure a piece of sacrificial .75" mdf to the t slots. I screw my workpiece to the mdf. Here's some photos:

[Coogrrr]

I think this was given to me by another person on the zone but here is my method...

I have a table built with this and I have a pic I am including. Basically I drilled holes in the table top with the router itself so the spacing would be perfect. Each hole was slightly larger than the T-Hat nut.. This is what I call it anyway. It is a nut that has teeth and an internal thread that receives the bolt. This is place under the table and up into the hole. The teeth sink up into the wood of the table to hold it into place. The bolt goes down into it through a .5" by 6" piece of aluminum that has a hole drilled through it on one end larger than the bolt but a few sizes to allow some play.

I put the bolt through the bar on one end the other end of the bar on the project material with safety padding if need be and the bolt gets tightened down to the nut in the bottom of the table. I also can place a bolt in an additional hole and brace the project from the side to there is no lateral movement.

So for the cost of 20 bolts and t-hat nuts and some cheap scrap aluminum I am able to hold down all my projects for very little cost. Is this the best solution - no but certainly a cost effective one!

Coog

[solodex2151]

Attached is a picture of a general purpose tabletop for the routers. I recommend applying the base layer like in the picture and then adding t-Tracks on top sandwiched between strips of MDF. The strips of MDF are held on by screwing them down to threaded inserts in the base. The strips are easier to replace than the whole board and the tracks are sunken below the surface. Quite handy.


If your router table is a larger size, I advise against anything like T-Tracks, sub-plates, or the like except maybe if you are trying to turn it into a milling machine for metal. Use a spoilboard because it will take out 99% of alignment errors when you surface it.

You can use aluminum extrusions like DonFrambach, and it works well on fixed gantry routers. However, if you have a movable gantry router like the FLA100 it is an absolute bear to tram the mill without surfacing whatever surface you use first.

Note on gouging the surface: if you do decide to go ahead with a subplate or extrusion surface and you really don't want to gouge it, just use parallels to lift your work above the surface. If you do a lot of sheet processing, you will want to put a sacrificial surface under the sheet to be cut.

Regards,

Nate