Homemade table for wood router. Milling table - general description. Buy a milling table in the Kapla-Vriksha store.

• First stage table assembly
• Drive installation and recommendations for safe operation

The milling table allows you to significantly increase the efficiency and productivity of work. Many models are available for sale for a wide variety of hand routers. However, the price of finished products is very high. It is much more profitable and more interesting to assemble a table with your own hands. No expensive materials and difficult-to-handle tools are needed for this.

General information about the design of the milling table

The milling table can be installed on a workbench or a specially assembled separate table. The product must have a rigid structure and good stability, because. during operation, a very noticeable vibration will be created. Be sure to consider the fact that the installation of the router will be done from the bottom of the countertop and absolutely nothing should interfere with it. No additional elements are installed there.

Design homemade table provides for the presence of a mounting plate, due to which the router will be attached directly to the table. To create a plate, use a durable high quality material: plywood, textolite, metal sheet, etc.

On top of the tabletop, a sample is created for the plate. The plate is fixed directly with self-tapping screws with a hidden head. The milling cutter is fixed with screws with the same hidden head. Additional fixation of the plate can be performed using clamps.

For convenient inclusion of a milling cutter the button is fixed on a table. Additionally, it is recommended to install an emergency shutdown button of the fungus type. If you have to work with large workpieces, equip the table with upper clamping devices. For even greater convenience and precision, the table is equipped with a ruler.

For self assembly milling table you will need the following tools:

1. Electric jigsaw. If not, you can get by with a hacksaw.
2. Plane. Preferably electric.
3. Chisel.
4. Grinder. In the absence, you can get by with a bar with sandpaper, but processing with their help will require more time and effort.
5. Screwdriver or drill with screwdriver function.
6. Electric drill with a set of drills.

Back to index

The initial stage of the assembly of the table

Explore your workshop and choose a place to install your future milling table. Determine the most suitable product design. Tables are:

1. Aggregate. At their core, they are a side extension of a standard saw table.
2. Portable. Very convenient and ergonomic desktop option.
3. Stationary. Installed separately and assembled specifically for the router.

If your milling table will be used infrequently, or if you have to work outside the workshop, opt for a portable option. If there is enough space, make a separate table. For greater convenience, it can be equipped with wheels that will allow you to “move” to another place if necessary.

You can assemble a small-sized structure and install it on an ordinary table. You can take chipboard right size and install a guide on it. The guide in this case is a board of relatively small thickness, fixed with bolts.

Take 2 clamps. Make a hole for the cutter. This will complete the main work. However, if the machine is your main working tool, you need to approach the process more thoroughly and create a comfortable and reliable table, at which it will be comfortable to spend time.

Back to index

Preparing the bed and worktop

The bed is a stationary part of any milling table. At its core, it is a frame on supports with a tabletop on top. The material of the frame does not really matter. Suitable for wood, metal, chipboard, MDF. The main thing is to ensure the required rigidity and maximum stability. The dimensions of the frame are also not critical. Choose them according to the size of materials you most often have to process.

The lower part of the bed should be deepened by 10-20 cm in relation to the front overhang of the table top. Dimensions, as already noted, select according to your needs. For example, for processing the ends of blanks of facades and door linings, you can make a frame 150 cm wide, 90 cm high, 50 cm deep.

A very important characteristic in this case is the height. The optimal value is considered to be 85-90 cm. It is good if you can equip the frame with adjustable supports. They will allow you to compensate for uneven floor surfaces and change the height of the milling table if the need arises.

To make a homemade table, you can take an ordinary kitchen worktop from chipboard. A plate with a thickness of 26 or 36 mm with a wear-resistant plastic coating is used. Thanks to the plastic, the workpiece will slide well on the countertop, and the chipboard will take on the task of dampening vibration. In extreme cases, you can use chipboard or MDF with a thickness of at least 16 mm.

Back to index

What you need to know about the mounting plate?

A mounting plate is necessarily fixed near the place of attachment of the sole of the router. The best is durable and at the same time thin material. The most commonly used sheet metal. A more convenient and no less durable option is textolite (glass fiber). Usually it is a rectangular plate with a thickness of 4-8 mm. In the center of such a plate, it is necessary to prepare a hole. Its diameter should be the same as the diameter of the hole in the sole of the router.

The sole of the router, as a rule, is equipped with regular threaded holes needed to secure the plastic trim. Thanks to these holes, the router is fixed to the mounting plate. If there are no holes, make them yourself. You can use another method of fastening the router, for example, with metal clamps. Holes for fixing the plate are created closer to its corners.

Back to index

Step by step instructions for assembling the table

First you need to fix the countertop to the finished bed. A plate is placed on a pre-selected place on the countertop. A pencil is taken and its contours are outlined. Next, you need to take a hand router with a 6-10 mm cutter and select a seat for the mounting plate in the countertop. It should lie flush, i.e. compose perfectly flat surface with a tabletop, as if a single whole.

At seat should have slightly rounded corners. You can round them off with a file. After adding the mounting plate, take a cutter with a thickness slightly greater than the thickness of the countertop, and make in the countertop through holes exactly in the shape of the sole of the milling cutter. You don't have to try too hard, perfect accuracy is not required at this stage. From the bottom of the tabletop, you need to make an additional selection for the dust collector housing and other accessories that you plan to equip your router table with.

The work is almost completed, you just need to assemble everything into a single product. Start the router from below and screw it to the plate. Fix the plate to the tabletop with self-tapping screws. Self-tapping screws need to be drowned, otherwise they will interfere with the work process. Finally screw the tabletop to the bed.

In order to increase convenience and safety, you can equip the structure with an upper pressure roller device. Such an addition will be especially useful when processing large-sized workpieces, such as door linings. The design of the clamp does not have any complex elements, so you can make and install it yourself without any problems.

A ball bearing can be used as a roller right size. The bearing is installed in the holding fixture. The device itself must be rigidly fixed at the required distance from the surface of your countertop. So you will ensure a constant tight pressing of the workpiece to the surface of the countertop at the moment the product passes under the roller. This will improve the accuracy and safety of the work performed.

The milling table will facilitate your work and help to increase the accuracy of processing workpieces. You can buy ready-made, or you can make a milling table for manual router with their own hands, using the skills of working with wood. We have prepared for you a fairly detailed step by step instructions for table making.

The essence of all designs of a horizontal milling table is the same, the idea is clear - you need to think it over for yourself and execute it, taking into account your capabilities. And in the end, get a machine that allows you to process workpieces much more accurately and perform operations that previously seemed difficult for a manual milling cutter.

Decide on the size of the work surface, starting from the dimensions of the workpieces being processed and the free space in the workshop. Start small by building a simple countertop with upgradeability in mind. Work on it and gradually bring to mind.

Make a tabletop

The simplest table for a milling cutter is a separate work plate, placed on carpentry goats or between cabinets. The device costs a penny and is made in a few hours, but will allow you to perform a significant proportion of the same operations as multifunctional machine. You only need MDF or birch plywood 19-25 mm thick. Better fit a plastic-coated panel that provides less friction resistance, and a plate laminated on both sides will not warp during operation.

Set the exact right angle of the cut on the circular saw, cut the parts according to the dimensions and grind the ends.

Cutting pattern: 1 - main plate; 2 - stop base; 3 - front wall of the stop; 4 - scarf (4 pieces, dimensions for 19 mm plywood); 5 - tsarga (2 pcs.); 6 - side bar; 7 - connecting bar (4 pcs.)

Advice. Before cutting, measure the thickness sheet material often deviating from the standard. Make adjustments to the drawings, eliminating problems during assembly of the structure.

Remove the plastic pad from the sole of the router.

Draw a line in the middle of the slab and mark 235 mm from the edge.

Place the overlay so that the router's main controls are next to the edge of the table. Visually align the center of the lining with the marked point and mark the places for drilling the holes for the mounting screws.

Determine the center location for the sole with equidistant screws.

For a base with asymmetrical screws, measure the diameter of the rubber and the distance from the outer circumference to the cut of the sole.

Draw a line with a pencil in the middle of the beveled side, calculate the distance from it to the center:

• S=D/2-(D-H)

Position the cut perpendicular to the midline and mark the center of the sole.

Mark the mounting screw locations.

Drill mounting holes and under the cutter, countersink the recesses. Mark semicircular cutouts in the base and front wall of the stop.

Cut out the bends with an electric saw. Make auxiliary frequent cuts perpendicular to the edge of the part, slightly leading to the marking line. Then lead the file a little closer to the contour line - the pieces will fall out without interfering with the movement of the blade. Sand the cutout with sandpaper wrapped around the pipe.

Fasten the connecting strips from the bottom of the tabletop.

Glue all the blanks and fasten with additional screws. Pick up screws longer than the regular ones by the thickness of the plywood and install the router at the bottom of the slab.

1 - side bar for fastening with clamps on the goats; 2 - tsarga; 3 - countersunk guide holes; 4 - front wall of the stop; 5 - self-tapping screw with countersunk head 4.5x42; 6 - scarf; 7 - stop base

Fix the table on the goats with clamps, fix the position of the stop with clamps and get to work.

Build a solid foundation

The worktop can be installed on a frame of low height, sufficient to accommodate the router. A portable table is stored on a rack, and is fixed on a workbench for work. If you often mill and have free space in the workshop, add support pedestals to the table top and get a full-fledged machine.

Cut the cabinet pieces to the dimensions given for the 820mm high table or modify them so that the tabletop is level with other equipment .

Frame details: 1 - outer side panel; 2 - inner panel; 3 - rear panel; 4 - base

Lay the tabletop upside down. Install side panels in sequence and fasten them with screws, pre-drilling pilot holes. Fasten the base, lay the frame face down, align the square corners and install the two back panels.

At the end, attach the wheel supports to the bottom of the hull using roofing screws. Position the wheel mounting pads at least 20 mm from the edges.

1 - side stand; 2 - wheel support; 3 - bottom; 4 - internal rack; 5 - rear panel

Use free space in cabinets to solve the problem of storing tools and consumables.

Insert mounting plate

Get a longer cutter overhang by placing the tool on a 4-6 mm thick plate made of duralumin, getinaks or solid polycarbonate.

Cut out a 300 mm square from the sheet, put it on a workbench. Glue the plastic sole of the router on top with double-sided tape, placing it in the middle face up. With a drill of the same diameter as the fixing screws, drill holes in the plate using the plastic pad as a template. Remove the sole, make recesses for the caps with a countersink or a large drill.

Screw the plate to the disconnected router, insert an 8 mm drill into the collet. Lower the body of the tool until the drill touches the surface and rotate the chuck, marking the center. Unscrew the plate and make a hole according to the mark with a hole saw.

Place the plate on the tabletop and trace the outline. Draw and cut the cutout by inserting the jigsaw blade through drilled hole. Trim the ends with a file and sand with sandpaper.

Fix the thin boards around the marked contour with clamps.

Clamp the copy cutter with bearing in the collet, set the milling depth according to the thickness of the mounting plate. Carry out the milling in several passes, then add 0.5 mm with the micrometer regulator of the router and make the final pass.

Drill through holes for the screws and expand them with reverse side countertops with a 11 mm drill for self-locking nuts. Clean the surfaces and install the nuts on the epoxy, leveling with the screwed bolts.

Fit the mounting plate to the cutout, lay it in place, drill the fixing holes and countersink with front side. Attach the part to the sole of the router, insert the tool into the tabletop and tighten the screws. Check that the plate is flush with the tabletop plane, if necessary, compensate for errors with washers.

Improve your focus

For faster and more convenient machine setup, modify the parallel side stop and complete the machine with a rotary stop to help finish the ends. narrow details. The latter can be taken from a stationary circular saw. Cut aluminum guides with a T-profile into the surface of the plate. To make cutouts in the countertop, use a router or circular saw with groove disc.

Lightly round the top corners of the grooves with sandpaper. Cut the profile to size, drill holes according to the diameter of the screws, process them with a countersink. Insert the parts into the grooves, make thin holes and tighten the hidden screws.

Drill 7mm holes in the base of the stop, pick up hex bolts and plastic handwheels with nuts.

Install the guide profile in the front plate of the stop to secure the clamps, auxiliary pads and protective devices.

Cut out a plywood cover with a hole in the center, fasten it to the scarves located near the cutout of the longitudinal stop. Connect the adapter and connect the vacuum cleaner when working on the milling table.

Add a safety shield to the stop, made from plywood trim and a strip of plexiglass.

To make oblong cuts, drill 7 mm holes at the indicated points, connect them tangentially and make cuts with a jigsaw.

Make homemade clamps and clamps needed for milling small elements.

A comb press can be made from maple wood, choosing a straight-grained area. Make the gaps between the ridges on a circular machine:

1. Set the cutting height to 50 mm.
2. Set the cutting width to 2 mm.
3. Make a cut.
4. Pull the workpiece back with the manual pusher.
5. Turn the board 180°, saw through the other side.
6. Move the stop by 5 mm, repeat the operations.
7. Move the fence back again and make cuts all over the workpiece.

Secure the clamps to the rail with bolts and wing nuts.

1 - stopper; 2 - clamp-comb; 3 - protective shield; 4 - aluminum guide; 5 - nozzle for a vacuum cleaner

Sand the surfaces of parts, especially in places where workpieces will pass during the milling process. Clean the machine from dust and cover with oil.

1 - drawer for cutters; 2 - trapezoidal groove for stop

Summing up the project

Materials needed:

1. Plywood 19x1525x1525 mm - 2 sheets.
2. Plastic 4x30x30 mm.
3. Several dozen screws.
4. Aluminum guides - 2.3 m.
5. Wheel support with brake — 4 pcs.
6. Glue joiner's and epoxy.
7. Bolts M6 with nuts.

The ability to take your time and think through every step, accurately mark and cut blanks, or the desire to learn this, came in handy. The result is a solid milling table for little money. In the future, it is worth thinking about equipping the machine with a switch and a milling height adjustment mechanism.